While Ruth Prawer Jhabvala is not British by birth, lived in England for only twelve years, and is no longer a British subject, she can be regarded as a British novelist for several reasons. First, during the period in which she produced the fiction that established her reputation, she did hold British citizenship. Second, the setting and subject matter of those books reflect the continuing British preoccupation with India that has made that country a subject for writers as various as Rudyard Kipling, E. M. Forster, and Paul Scott. And third, irony is a well-established weapon in the arsenal of British humor, and Jhabvala, whose wit is reinforced by a deceptively simple style, ranks among its most expert handlers.

Jhabvala's work has evolved through three stages. Initially she looked at Delhi middle-class Indian life and the tensions between the indigenous culture and imported Western values. The increasing--and often...