Jiddu Krishnamurti

A Presence Beyond the Page

 

In Of All Faiths & None and A Remembrance of Death, Jiddu Krishnamurti isn’t just a historical figure—he embodies a philosophical counterpoint for the characters’ uncertainties. Born in 1895 in colonial India, Krishnamurti was “discovered” by the Theosophical Society and briefly hailed as a “vehicle” for the coming World Teacher. He was raised under the care of Lady Emily Lutyens, immersing him into British intellectual society before he ultimately rejected that grand role.

In both novels, his subtle presence offers an unsettling clarity. Krishnamurti’s hope for the world, without war and a brotherhood of man, stands like the enduring stones of Castle Drogo. It is in contrast to the world he lives in, with two World Wars and India tearing itself apart as it struggles for independence.

Time magazine called him one of the five saints of the 20th century—an accolade he would have rejected. He dedicated his life to urging humanity away from organised belief, mandating direct engagement with existence: “You must understand the whole of life … sing, and dance, and write poems, and suffer, and understand”—a call for comprehensive awareness.

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In Of All Faiths & None, Sir Edwin Lutyens is more than the architect of Castle Drogo—he is the architect of atmosphere, eccentric charm, and enduring warmth. Known to history as one of Britain’s greatest architectural minds, Lutyens was a genius who brought classical forms into the modern world with elegance, playfulness, and an indelible human touch.

The novel begins with the real-life moment in 1910 when Lutyens receives a letter from Sir Julius Drewe commissioning the design of a granite castle on the edge of Dartmoor. This marks a pivotal turn in both his architectural career and the novel’s unfolding world. But the story does not confine Lutyens to the drafting table. Instead, Of All Faiths & None brings him vividly to life—as father, friend, wit, and dreamer.

Lutyens was famously beloved. As one contemporary wrote, “Never since the days of Sheridan and Goldsmith has a man of genius been so widely beloved… Lutyens possessed the faculty of making everybody feel much younger.” This energy—the “bubbling friendliness” he extended to queens and cigarette girls alike—echoes throughout the novel in his conversations, asides, and interactions with characters both real and imagined.

His relationship with his fictional daughter, Celia, and his wife, Lady Emily Lutyens, adds a deeply personal dimension to his portrayal. The real-life correspondence between Edwin and Emily is rich in wit, affection, and irony, a tone the novel carefully preserves. Their dialogue sparkles with humour and warmth, and yet beneath the laughter lies the poignant complexity of two people balancing creative lives with spiritual quests, public roles, and private sacrifices.

Through anecdotes, stories, and the imagined rhythm of their household, the novel captures not just the man who designed New Delhi and countless English country homes, but the soul of someone who never lost his sense of play, even as he helped to build the formal and imperial.

In Of All Faiths & None, Lutyens becomes a figure of quiet gravity and irrepressible levity—a symbol of a world changing, and of the people within it still trying to laugh, love, and leave something lasting behind.