Polite Society
Shortlisted
THE CROSSWORD PRIZE
Winner
THE TATA FIRST BOOK AWARD
FOR FICTION
THE SHAKTI BHATT FIRST BOOK PRIZE
Shortlisted
THE CROSSWORD PRIZE
THE TATA FIRST BOOK AWARD
FOR FICTION
THE SHAKTI BHATT FIRST
BOOK PRIZE
Bored witless in her south Delhi cocoon, the beautiful Ania Khurana seeks excitement. Whether tinkering with her novel-in-progress or setting up her single aunt and close friends with suitable men, she undertakes her projects with a passionate focus. Art fairs, literary residencies, a weekend at a cricketer-turned-politician’s country retreat and, of course, dozens of glittering parties — Ania applies her exceptional industry to them all.
But her privilege cannot mask the darkness and vulnerability at the heart of her ornate world — nor does it enable her to influence the dazzling, deadly men and women who appear in it. Keenly observed, sharply plotted and full of wit and brio, Polite Society reimagines Jane Austen’s Emma in contemporary Delhi to portray a society whose polished surface often reveals far more than is intended.
“Witty, smart, compelling — Polite Society is a thoroughly pleasurable read.”
Kamila Shamsie
"Is it possible to marry a book? Because Polite Society is so funny, smart, sophisticated, and captivating, you just want to spend your whole life with it. It was love at first sight from the very first page and I never wanted it to end.”
Kevin Kwan
“A deep and utter treat: a sly, witty Delhi reinvention of Emma.”
Patrick Gale
“A fine and funny novel. Rao has a great eye for absurd detail and a sensitive ear for what’s not said. Polite Society is anything but polite.”
Mohammed Hanif
“An unputdownable jewel of a novel from a writer of astonishing talent.”
Sonia Faleiro
“The only way to write an Austentatious novel.”
Financial Times
One of the “11 best Indian novels to delve into the country’s culture and history”
Independent
“A richly imagined and ably observed comedy of manners. Rao writes with knowing insight.”
San Francisco Chronicle
“The book sucks you into the mystifying world of the Delhi elite, and the more you unwrap, the more layers you find.”
New York Observer
“With biting wit, this send-up of high society deflates social strata while bringing tenderness and romance to its comedy of manners.”
Esquire
“A bitingly funny version of Austen's Emma.”
South China Morning Post
“The pace, style and always entertaining characters will keep readers enchanted.”
Booklist
“Witty, clever and wise. A great choice for Austenites.”
Library Journal
“Fresh, funny and insightful. In Ania, we see some of the same qualities that make Austen’s Emma so irresistible.”
Bookpage
“Sublime writing. Polite Society isn’t just an adaptation of a Jane Austen classic, it sparkles on its own.”
Scroll
“There is much that might seduce us in this novel - the writer's creation of Delhi; the ease and elegance of his language; the sly, stylish wit.”
Indian Express
“A remarkable portrait of the ways in which both money and marriage are valuable currencies in a circle that resists expansion.”
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