The Hill of Devi

ANNOTATION

The story of Forster's experiences in the Indian state of Dewas Senior told through letters and linking commentary.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

E.M. Forster likely could not have penned his great masterpiece, A PASSAGE TO INDIA, unless he had worked for a year as the private secretary to an Indian Maharajah. He saw firsthand the puzzling rituals, botched attempts at modernization, and baffling cultural paradoxes that define the Indian story.

In THE HILL OF DEVI, he presents the Maharajah as a genius, a wit and even a bit of a saint, but also as a ruler harassed by the colonial bureaucracy and fearful for his life. The Maharajah's downfall deepened Forster's insights into the dilemma that wracked Indian culture.