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  • The Jewel in the Crown

  • Raj Quartet
  • By: Paul Scott
  • Narrated by: Sam Dastor
  • Length: 21 hrs and 2 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (247 ratings)
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The Jewel in the Crown cover art

The Jewel in the Crown

By: Paul Scott
Narrated by: Sam Dastor
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Summary

In the India of 1942, two rapes take place simultaneously - that of an English girl in Mayapore, and that of India by the British. In each, physical violence, racial animosity, the coercion of the weak by the strong all play their part, but playing a part too are love, affection, loyalty, and recognition that the last division of all to be overcome is the colour of the skin. The whole spectrum of Anglo-Indian relations is vividly evoked in a brilliant assessment of emotions, personal clashes and historical reasons that eventually prised India - the jewel in the Imperial Crown - from its setting.

©1966 N.E. Avery Scott (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"It takes a masterful reader to captivate listeners for 21 hours. Sam Dastor, winner of numerous Earphones awards, does it again. His elegant interpretation makes Scott's prose seem even more eloquent than it is. Even more impressive is his brilliant dramatization of individual characters... Sam Dastor should get a jewel for his crown!" ( AudioFile)

What listeners say about The Jewel in the Crown

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Mesmerising!

I enjoyed this so much. It is beautifully and sensitively read and had me transfixed for the full 21 or so hours. It is a wonderful story, which I knew well from the TV series, and it was fascinating to listen to the book where the details of the story are fleshed out. I am so disappointed that the other three books in the quartet are not available on audio. I do hope they will be soon and that they will be read by the same superb narrator - Sam Dastor.

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21 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good start - where's the rest of the Raj Quartet?

What did you like most about The Jewel in the Crown?

It sets the scene well, beautifully written.

What other book might you compare The Jewel in the Crown to, and why?

Parade's End in another era, another place.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

What happened next?

Any additional comments?

I do hope you will obtain the rest of the quartet. It used to be available in cassettes.

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16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent story, well read, where is the rest?

If you could sum up The Jewel in the Crown in three words, what would they be?

Only the begining!

What does Sam Dastor bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

His reading is neither over dramatised or too flat, and it suits the story.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

I would really like to listen to all of the Raj Quartet, particularly with the same narrator as the accents and tone of his reading were just right. Has the rest of the series been recorded but not bought by audible?

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A Masterly Reading

Probably the definitive account of Anglo-Indian relations during the latter days of the Raj.
I have watched, and very much enjoyed, the TV series but, as always, there is so much more to be had from the book. Having said that, it is sometimes rather wordy and there might be a tendency to skip if reading the print version but, as others have noted, Sam Dastor’s reading is masterly and makes this audiobook riveting from beginning to end. Not only is every character utterly individual but he also manages that most difficult (for a man) of tasks: presenting female characters convincingly.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful

This book is marvellously narrated, and I wish that it could go on forever. I do hope that recordings of the rest of the Raj Quartet are planned.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

One of the best readings I have found on Audible

This is a fantastic reading of a fantastic book. As those who have read the book will know, it is made up of various accounts and the narrator is able to portray each of them perfectly.



I haven't quite finished listening to it yet, but both the book and the narrator draw you in slowly so that you become gradually more and more invested in the story and eager to know the truth.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Outstanding!

I’m quite bereft now it’s ended. Please, please say that the other books are also narrated by Sam Dastor and that you will obtain them. No other narrator will do.

Paul Scott is a revelation - to write so wonderfully is one thing, but to even have all those ideas and thoughts in his head is another. Makes me realise that I know more or less nothing, about anything. This book has shifted my own wish to understand and learn to a level I didn’t know was there. The subject matter is not the only thing, but the way in which it has been shown to me.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Good balance. Last throes of Empire

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Paul Scott gives an insight on the inevitable tensions in the ruled sub-continent.

Would you be willing to try another book from Paul Scott? Why or why not?

There is a mesmeric quality as the viewpoint on the same events changes from witness to witness

What does Sam Dastor bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Dastor is a thoroughly professional narrator.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderfully written, superbly read by Sam Dastor

Paul Scott's book is a wonder of English literature. How is it that he has not had produced more masterpieces? Sam Dastor does a truly amazing job with the different Indian accents, not to mention getting the subtle class differences of the English characters spot on. A rare book that I can safely say that it was better to listen to than read. Wonderful.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

one of the most incredible books ever written.

Sam Dastor brings this phenomenal book to life. When Daphne describes the real events in the Bibigah gardens I could barely breath. Time and time again this book has broken my heart, and led me to reevaluate my own thoughts prejudices and beliefs in a way which will never leave me.

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4 people found this helpful