Agchristie....only to happy to oblige with recommendations ! Is nice to break off from discussing important world issues, and have a chat about books.
I must try the Farrel books again it would seem. It was some ago that I tried, so perhaps I can be successful next time.
What you say about Manning is interesting, as I was not aware of any problems. I think she is a much-neglected writer. I can recommend "School for Love" I found this in a church jumble sale a few years ago and was charmed by it.
" The Raj Quartet" are simply the best books ever to be written about India by a British author, including E M Forster ! Scott loved India, as did most Brits who lived there.
When I was about 14, I used to deliver groceries from the local Co-op, after school and at weekends. Every Saturday my last job,, on my way home, was to take a box of stuff around to a elderly lady that had lived in India her whole life until independence. Her deceased husband had been in the Indian Civil Service and of course, there was no job for him after 1947.
Her home was stuffed with Indian things, like brass trays and tables, and lots of statues of the various deities. She would tell me stories about the annual movement of the Government from Delhi to places like Shimla. I found her endlessly fascinating, and was always late home for my Saturday lunch.
She never really settled in Britain but her finances were such that she had no choice. She also said that she missed her servants ! She was like a fish out of water, in Swansea in the 60's and would have gone back to India if she could have done. A lovely lady, who I felt privileged to have met.