April 2014 Academic & Specialist Nick Hern

Drawing the Line Howard Brenton

Drawing the Line
Howard Brenton


 

London, 1947. Summoned by the Prime Minister from the Court where he is presiding judge, Cyril Radcliffe is given an unlikely mission. He is to travel to India, a country he has never visited, and, with limited survey information, no expert support and no knowledge of cartography, he is to draw the border which will divide the Indian sub-continent into two new Sovereign Dominions. To make matters even more challenging, he has only six weeks to complete the task. As he begins to break under the pressure he comes to realise that he holds in his hands the fate of millions of people. Howard Brenton’s sweeping epic Drawing the Line vividly unfolds the chaotic story of the partition that shaped the modern world.