When you realize you can skip 1/3 of the three succeeding books of the Quartet, as they are rehash of the previous books, then it goes quite quickly. I believe it was originally published in serial form. Yes, it was a fabulous series, keeping in mind that it was the British version of the Raj. It helped that it had been made into a movie. If you are just now reading the Raj, I suggest you follow it up with the Native version of the Raj: The House of Blue Mangoes by David Davidar. Written decades later, it is superior in style and content to the Raj.