2419 Paul Scott: A Life of the Author of The Raj Quartet, by Hilary Spurling (read 10 Nov 1991) I read the Raj Quartet and Staying On, the Booker winner written by Scott, as well as two other novels by him, and saw the PBS series, and the whole set of books is vivid in my memory. So this book was extremely attention-holding. After a youthful homosexual period and before going to India in World War II Scott married and this book, written with the cooperation of his widow (who was divorcing him until he got terminal cancer) and two daughters, does not indicate he deviated after that. He drank like a fish, and had cirrhosis of the liver. He was born in the London area March 25, 1920, and died March 1, 1978. This is the most modern biography (as to subject) I believe I've read, and it read a lot different than other biographies of authors I've read. It was absorbing, and, though Scott was not an admirable person, I believe I've read the most significant of his work. This book was striking in telling of a visit to a primitive Indian village in 1964 by Scott, and how revolted he was by the difference in the culture. This was a very well-worth reading book. ( )