The Siege of Krishnapur - J.G. Farrell

A Booker winner back in the 70s, this splendid novel uses a historical event in 1850s India to look at a microcosm of English society at its imperial zenith. Issues of gender, class, science and art are all played out against a backdrop of an absorbing plot peopled by amusing characters.

The tone reminded me of Waugh's earlier satires. The dramatis personae are shown to be petty and self-deluding, but the reader cannot help but sympathise and when brutal events happen we are shocked and moved.