A Suitable Boy

‘A Suitable Boy’ is a rich, epical novel on a grand scale, but Seth’s beautiful writing lacks any sort of pretension. The meandering pace is addictive and his consistently charming characters become friends. You won’t want this book to end.

~ Her Majesty Queen Camilla

More about the Author

Share the book

Featured in: Season 10

Publish Date: 1993

Awards: 1994 Commonwealth Writers Prize

At its core, A Suitable Boy is a love story: the tale of Lata – and her mother’s – attempts to find her a suitable husband, through love or through exacting maternal appraisal. At the same time, it is the story of India, newly independent and struggling through a time of crisis as a sixth of the world’s population faces its first great general election and the chance to map its own destiny.

Explore A Suitable Boy

Vikram Seth

A Suitable Boy

Watch

Neelam Srivastava

On Her Connection to A Suitable Boy

Watch

Vaseem Khan

On A Suitable Boy

Watch

Vikram Seth

On 1951 and the Fate of the Four Families

Watch

Vaseem Khan

On 1950s India

Watch

Neelam Srivastava

On Lata Mehra

Watch

Vikram Seth

On the Research Process

A Suitable Boy

BBC Production

Watch

Vikram Seth

On Writing A Suitable Girl

Online Exclusives

Watch

Vikram Seth

On Lata Mehra

Watch

Vikram Seth

On the Quiet Nature of A Suitable Boy

Watch

Vaseem Khan

On the Style of A Suitable Boy

Watch

Vaseem Khan

On the Influence of A Suitable Boy in His Own Work

Watch

Neelam Srivastava

On the Structure of A Suitable Boy

Watch

Neelam Srivastava

On the Importance of Post-Colonial Studies

Watch

Reading A Suitable Boy

Book Extract

Watch

Reading A Suitable Boy

Book Extract

You might also like these books…

On Beauty

By Zadie Smith

Recommended by: Maggie Shipstead

Publish Date: 2005 Awards: 2006 Women’s Prize for Fiction, 2006 Orange Prize for Fiction

Why do we fall in love with the people we do? Why do we visit our mistakes on our children? What makes life truly beautiful? Set between New England and London, On Beauty concerns a pair of feuding families -…

On Beauty

by Zadie Smith

Quick View

Love in the Time of Cholera

By Gabriel García Márquez

Publish Date: 1985

Fifty-one years, nine months and four days have passed since Fermina Daza rebuffed hopeless romantic Florentino Ariza’s impassioned advances and married Dr Juvenal Urbino instead. During that half-century, Flornetino has fallen into the arms of many delighted women, but has…

Love in the Time of Cholera

by Gabriel García Márquez

Quick View

War And Peace

By Leo Tolstoy

Recommended by: Victoria Hislop

Publish Date: 1865-1867

Against the backdrop of the Napoleonic march on Russia in 1805, the lives of Pierre, Andrey, and Natasha collide with a cast of characters from the upper echelons of society to peasants and soldiers, and Napoleon himself. A great epic…

War And Peace

by Leo Tolstoy

Quick View

Half Of A Yellow Sun

By Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Publish Date: 2006 Awards: 2007 Orange Prize for Fiction

Against the backdrop of the Biafran war to establish the independence of Nigeria, the lives of five people are dramatically upended, and their ideals and personal loyalties tested. The novel follows young Ugwu, the revolutionary professor Odenigbo, the beautiful Olanna,…

Half Of A Yellow Sun

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Quick View

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.

Necessary

Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.

Cookie	Duration	Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement	1 year	Set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Advertisement" category .
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional	11 months	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
CookieLawInfoConsent	1 year	Records the default button state of the corresponding category & the status of CCPA. It works only in coordination with the primary cookie.
viewed_cookie_policy	11 months	The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Functional

Performance

Analytics

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

Cookie	Duration	Description
_ga	2 years	The _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors.
_ga_7RNYGKLEBY	2 years	This cookie is installed by Google Analytics.
_gat_gtag_UA_219310350_2	1 minute	Set by Google to distinguish users.
_gid	1 day	Installed by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously.

Others