At the End of the Century: The Stories of Ruth Prawer Jhabvala

Multi-layered, subtle, insightful short stories from the inimitable Booker Prize–winning author Ruth Prawer Jhabvala



Nobody has written so powerfully of the relationship between and within India and the Western middle classes than Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, herself caught between cultures. In this definitive selection, chosen by her surviving family members, her ability to tenderly and humorously view the all-too-human situations faced by three (sometimes interacting) cultures—European, post-Independence Indian, and American—is never more acute.



In "A Course of English Studies," a young woman arrives at Oxford from India and struggles to adapt, not only to the sad, stoic object of her infatuation, but to a country that seems so resistant to passion and color. In the wrenching "Expiation," the blind unconditional love of a cloth shop owner for his wastrel younger brother exposes the sometimes tragic beauty and foolishness of human compassion and faith. The wry and triumphant "Pagans" brings us middle-aged sisters Brigitte and Frankie in Los Angeles, who discover a youthful sexuality in the company of the languid and handsome young Indian, Shoki. This collection also includes Jhabvala’s last story, “The Judge’s Will,” which appeared in The New Yorker in 2013 after her death. The profound inner experience of both men and women is at the center of Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's writing: she creates a vivid emotional landscape for her readers, and rivals Jane Austen with her impeccable observation.



With an introduction by her friend, the writer Anita Desai, At the End of the Century celebrates a writer's astonishing lifetime of gift with language, and leaves us in no doubt of Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's unique place in modern literature.