Page 194 - They Also Served
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His final novel, Man of War, was to have been the first of a World War Two trilogy. Bhowani Junction (1954), set in the last days of the Raj, sold more copies than all his other books combined and was made into a Hollywood blockbuster starring Ava Gardner and Stewart Granger.
Masters’ drive to succeed in life, both in the army and later forging a new life and career in America, partly stemmed from having Indian blood – the result of a liaison by one of his ancestors serving on the subcontinent. His novels concerning life in India have attracted criticism for their portrayal of imperialism, despite him being of Anglo-Indian descent. Nevertheless, the last word on Masters should perhaps be from the novelist Khushwant Singh, who remarked that ‘while Kipling understood India – Masters understood Indians’. Lieutenant-Colonel John Masters DSO OBE died in 1983.
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