On Writing and the Novel: Essays

Author Paul Scott was born in England on March 25, 1920. At the age of 16, he left the Winchmore Hill Collegiate School because of financial difficulties and started a career as an accountant. In 1940, he joined the army and was sent to India. After World War II, he worked as an accountant for two small publishing houses and then as a literary agent. In 1952, he published his first novel Johnny Sahib and in 1960, he decided to become a full-time author. He is best-known for his series the Raj Quartet and his novel Staying On won the 1977 Booker Prize. He also wrote reviews and was a visiting professor at the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma. He died on March 1, 1978.