The Hill Station

by J.G. Farrell, John Spurling

To the cool of the Simla hills comes a reluctant Dr McNab, with his wife and young niece. For Emily, romance is in the air. For the mysterious Mrs Forester, there is scandal brewing. And for the Bishop of Simla, rainclouds are not the only storms on the horizon...The Hill Station is the novel on which J.G. Farrell was working at the time of his tragically early accidental death. It demonstrates powerfully what a great loss to world literature this was.

Genres: Fiction, India, Historical Fiction, 20th Century, Asia, British Literature

254 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

James Gordon Farrell, known as J.G. Farrell, was a Liverpool-born novelist of Irish descent. Farrell gained prominence for his historical fiction, most notably his Empire Trilogy (Troubles, The Siege of Krishnapur and The Singapore Grip), dealing with the political and human consequences of British colonial rule. The Siege of Krishnapur won the 1973 Booker Prize. On 19 May 2010 it was announced that Troubles had won the Lost Man Booker Prize, which was a prize created to recognize works published in 1970 (a group that had not previously been open for consideration due to a change in the eligibility rules at the time).

Farrell's career was cut short when he was drowned off the coast of Ireland at the age of 44.

Reviews

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shame Farrell died before finishing this book. The 19 chapters and sections from his friends and his Indian diary were very interesting and moving. He sounded like a wonderful person with a wicked sense of humor.

[John Fetzer · Rating 5 out of 5]

The historical trilogy was great. This unfinished fourth one is on a par for as long as it lasts. It is a heartbreaking reminder of the readers' loss by Farrell early death. It is very enjoyable in the building of characters, scenes, and the early flow of a plot. I think it would have been another Booker shortlisted book.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I've read all JG Farrell - his early death didn't make him famous. Surprising because he was awarded in his life-time - and actually he's really, really good.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

The unfinished novel of J.G. Farrell...140 pages...full of interest & character development...using some of the authors skills to set-up what would surely have been another welcome addition to his canon about Britain & its imperial pretensions.
This is set in the post-mutiny India, at Simla, the retreat in the foothills of the Himalayas for the sahibs when the heat & dust of the plains became unbearable. Dr McNab, his wife Miriam & niece Emily, are thrown together with a cast of individuals, all with their own issues to resolve, and a religious conflict too between the eccentric Kingston, an apostate vicar & the clerical establishment who are looking to avert a serious rupture with the genteel residents who display their own hypocrisies in the strange atmosphere of a world isolated from so many realities.
It is a sad thought that Farrell was swept away by a large Atlantic wave while fishing from a rock in Ireland in April 1979...a fine writer who was unable to complete this novel due to a freak of nature rather than any human weakness or sudden folly.But here, in this promising venture into past human foibles, Farrell shows that we are all susceptible to the relentless twists & reversals of fate.

[Daniela Sorgente · Rating 4 out of 5]

After The Mystery of Edwin Drood I said I would never do it again but I found myself once again reading an unfinished book. In this case an afterword by John Spurling gives us some idea of what the author had in mind for the fate of his characters. The book is unfinished because Farrell, like Dickens, died before he could complete it.
In the book the novel is preceded by a foreword and followed by three afterwords by three different authors; the last part of the book is the diary that the author wrote during his trip to India. The second afterword is by Margaret Drabble and is an analysis of Farrell's writing and mostly talks about books I haven't read. The one I liked most is the one by Malcom Dean which talks about the writer, his life, his character and his sudden death.
I really liked the novel, both for the setting and the characters.

[Damian Moloney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfinished novel but interesting read. A lost talent.

[Cedric · Rating 4 out of 5]

The unfinished fourth novel in Farrell's Empire Quartet, dealing with the summer in the 1870s in the Himalayan resort of Simla and the various people there. The link to the earlier "Siege of Krishnapur" is provided through the character of Dr McNab; but I am uncertain (and it's incidental anyway) how it links forward to "The Troubles" and "The Singapore Grip". A wonderful, beautifully written description of a place and of the people within the caste like society of British India, with it's careful social distinctions among government officials, army officers, civilian British and the poor whites (soldiers and domestic mainly). For a first draft (and only half the intended length) this is an astonishingly complete work, filled with Farrell's exquisite sense of irony. He died in a fishing accident while working on this novel and one can only mourn the loss of such a talented writer.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unfinished, I know, but, if an incomplete novel is to be offered to a reader, this is how to do it. The essays are sympathetic, appropriate and appreciative, and the work itself promised to be as good as anything else Farrell wrote - and that is very good indeed. Farrell had this knack of making history not familiar but even stranger: he doesn't make them our contemporaries or settle for easy or blithe analogies between now and then. How very odd the past was, a different country indeed - and, implied, so will ours become to others in time.

[Maureen · Rating 3 out of 5]

One for the completists, who've already enjoyed his work elsewhere and want to read this, his last, unfinished novel (he died in a drowning accident at 41). Also contains literary criticism and personal recollections from learned friends including Margaret Drabble, and his travel diary while touring India in the '70s.

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sadly, Farrell died while he was half-way through writing this. Unlike so many unfinished writers' projects that should never see the light of day but do because of the author's fame and the publisher's greed, this is a rare exception. Not only is the story compelling, The Hill Station is Farrell revisiting his most powerful work in this sequel to The Siege of Krishnapur. His description of British aristocratic courtship rituals, silly inter-faith squabbles and the depictions of their absurdity make one think Jane Austin meets Blackadder. Be forewarned, the publishers fluffed up the book to make it appear that it has more content than it does. About half of it is taken up by stiff, boring academic essays analyzing the work. I expected a long forward, but the essays are even in addition to that.

[Andrea]

I am not going to rate this book because I do not like it, and it is unfinished. If it was a complete book things might have changed.
One thing I can say for sure is that I really did not like the character of Emily, she sounds spoilt and I hated how she treated Mrs. Forester. She was more interested in her "reputation" instead of comforting this poor woman who is being judged and treated like shit cause she ran off for a few weeks (does that mean she cheated on her husband and was it with that captain, so many unanswered questions)
The casual racism, I will attribute that to the fact that the book is about English people in 19th century India.
All in all, I have two other books by Farrell, so I am interested to see what they are like.

[Dr G · Rating 2 out of 5]

From my point of view, it is difficult to grade an unfinished (only half-finished?) novel in comparison with a complete work.
I am not a particular fan of Farrell's but I thought the characters were quite well drawn and the plot seemed to be heading in a readable direction.
The three essays were interesting, especially "A Personal Memoir" by Malcolm Dean. One sees why Farrell was so well-liked. The diary of his trip to India was very interesting, not so much through any element of the writing style, but rather through the events described.
For a Farrell fan, this book would be valuable reading; for anyone else, probably a little frustrating.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shorter than I was expecting, even knowing that Farrell had died part-way through drafting a book whose title was posthumously bestowed. In my reading, the quality of Farrell's writing surpasses the similarly truncated 'Mystery of Edwin Drood' by Dickens. Both use humour and foreboding presentiments of tragedy to make a bigger social point, written by novelists renowned for their readability. I think Farrell stands the comparison, and his incomplete work was the more gripping.

The wadding descriptive garlanding either side - in the form of friends' and admirers' essays - helps explain how the text lays up what promised to be another darkly comedic take on the embarrassments of Britain's imperial dreams. We are told the that the extant parr was all lay-up with the punch lines still to come. But even the spade work is beautifully rendered, by a craftsman who knows how to turn a sentence and render a scene. It may be a fragment, but it's beautifully enough formed itself to merit attention.

For anyone who hasn't read Farrell yet, you may especially like to look out for how dogs are used ('lapdog', 'going to the dogs', 'biddable', 'vicious') here and elsewhere in Farrell's fictions. I hadn't especially noticed it, but read an article in a contemporary history journal and can now see how the metaphor repeats as a whining and howling descant to the main action.

I rarely re-read books (when there are so many others still to be read...). However, I imagine of a time when I'm in my faded grandeur like a crumbling fortress. If I am luckier than Farrell and make it that far, it's his books - like those of Dickens - that I can imagine revisiting.

[Peter Chleboun · Rating 3 out of 5]

So basically 2 unfinished books and a section of commentary. Clearly these would have made great stories if the author had sadly not had such an untimely death.

It is strange reading a book from another era (1970s) written about a previous era (colonial India). For me the parallels with the debate about religion echo with our current (2023) debates about the EU. Who knows - in the late 70s this was also a hot debate (UK having just joined the EEC) so perhaps this was intentional - we will never know.

[Emma Jackson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This partially finished book held promise but there wasn't enough of it to tell how much I'd enjoy it. It's such a shame when a book is left unfinished by an author's death such as this one. I enjoyed McNabb's character but didn't care for Emily at all. Very interesting setting but I found it a bit over-described in places.

[Steven Severance · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is just the begining of a novel the author never finished. The writing is not up to that of his trilogy books.

But mainly it is boring beause most of it involves how the Church of England servies should be perfomed.

I could care less about that debate even if it is supposed to expliate the ruthlessness of the mob against the independent thinker.

[Kuching Rose · Rating 1 out of 5]

Author died half way through the story and I was led to believe that the end to the story had been completed by a friend. Not so. There's just a bit of discussion about the author's other books etc and then an excerpt from the Author's diary that he wrote in India.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as his other work unfortunately, probably mainly due to the author being drowned in a fishing accident while working on the first draft. Could have become good, as a concept, but smacks of that Rudyard Kipling-ish condescension.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautifully written story set in Simla, India in the late 19th century. It is so sad that Farrell died before finishing the book and we never get to find out what happens to the wonderful characters that he creates.

[Khadeeja Yasser · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very well written, characters are immensely interesting - a pity that it was unfinished.

Greatly disliked the casual racism throughout the book however, and the subtle jabs at Muslims as being extreme.

[Dearbhaile Hunt · Rating 1 out of 5]

It quickly becomes clear that the author was unable to complete the book due to his unfortunate passing. This may not have been the ideal introduction to Farell’s work, so I am considering revisiting this story after reading another of his books.

[Helen Geng]

Read October 2021

[Sivasothi N. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incomplete because JG Farrell lost his life. Was building up to be another delightful tome, inspecting life, and society, in the empire.

[Susanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/6 points, lovely setup and great characters

[Lila Porter · Rating 4 out of 5]

written very well (even if it’s only half-finished which was slightly disappointing). good descriptions of colonial india and cool to recognise places i’ve visited. love the historical satire genre - excited to read more of his stuff!

[Pamela · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Hill Station is J.G. Farrell's final, unfinished novel and has been published along with Farrell's diary of his 1971 travels around India and some essays by Farrell's friends and admirers: Margaret Drabble, John Spurlling and Malcolm Dean. It's a bit difficult to rate an unfinished novel, so I'll take the publication as a whole.

Drabble's very readable essay is insightful on Farrell's fiction, particularly his male characters and their bemused bumblings about the world, his portrayal of sexuality, his distancing use of ironic humor, and his appreciation for the absurd. Spurling tackles an overview of Farrell's oeuvre, but gets tediously tied up in comparisons with Stendhal, Mann, Dostoevsky and other academic side trips. Dean's essay is an affectionate tribute to the man he portrays him a brilliant storyteller, and excellent chef (and fan of Julia Child) and a generous and social friend who had to reinvent himself after a crippling bout of polio. The 1970s India of Farrell's Indian Diary is eerily recognizable to this Noughties traveler to India. Can so little have changed? Bengalaru and IT aside, Connaught Place is still as Farrell saw it 39 years ago.

Farrell's novel is set in Simla, the Himalayan retreat to which nineteenth century British colonialists repaired to get away from the scorching and "unhealthy" summers in the plains. The weather in these highlands might be physically restorative for these people but in Farrell's story the social atmosphere is positively toxic. Emily, the high status daughter of a "Sir" in England is sent to India to find a husband. She feels the pinch of being associated with her lower status aunt and uncle and the shameful squeeze of becoming the unwitting companion to a socially ostracized fallen woman. In the course of his professional duties as a medical doctor, her no-nonsense, atheist-tending, Scots-dialect-speaking uncle gets embroiled in a clerical dispute of farcical dimensions. Farrell uses the historic, and uniquely English, dispute between the Puseyite ritualists and the no-candles-or-choir-boys-in-skirts brigade as a means by which to convey, perhaps, the absurdity of the British hegemony in India. From this distance in time a dispute over religious ceremony that developed into a serious bun fight in the mid-nineteenth century C of E, and which ended with an Act of Parliament that was soon dumped and forgotten, seems really silly. Sillier yet is that it gets played out in the Himalayas with a motley crew of displaced Brits attempting to impress the local people with the superiority of their culture. Would that Farrell had been able to finish ridiculing British rule.

He died in Irish waters, swept away by waves while fishing off some rocks.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just when "The Hill Station" plot delivers a cliff hanger, it ends, never to be finished. J.G. Farrell is an excellent writer — one of my favorite books of all time is his masterpiece "The Seige of Krishnapur". Unfortunately "The Hill Station" was left unfinished due to his death while fishing off the coast of Ireland. The stunning Irish landscape gave him solace while also literally taking his breath away.

As per most of Farrell's writing, "The Hill Station" focuses on the British abroad, this time in the hills of India during the Raj in the 1870s. The cast of characters are unforgettable but the storyline gets overwhelmed with religious musings and tensions between Papists and Protestants.

In this book's edition, there are several great essays by friends of Farrell's as well as his diary entries from his research trip to India in the 1970s. They give you insight into this somewhat unknown yet culturally and historically astute Booker-prize winning author.

[Jane Fudger · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is set in Simla in the Himalayas and is based around Reverend Kingston and his protection of the Christian faith along with Dr McNab , his wife and his niece on their summer vacation,who is treating him for TB
Unfortunately the author only completed 156 pages of the novel before his untimely death in a boating accident. However, he had left notes around the completion of the novel along with a diary about his feelings on India and its population which are helpfully included in the book
It is a pity the author could not completer the novel as I feel it had the potential to be very successful. As with other books I have read an excellent read

[Deepti · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked this piece of fiction from colonial India. It paints an intriguing picture of the life of the British officer in the 'hill stations' of India. It gives insights into colonial practices and the intentions behind them. Also thrown in is a bit of religion, the practice of proselytisation and the arrival of the memsahibs.

[Caterina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just wish he'd finished this.