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Patrick French, the biographer of V S Naipaul, has died aged 56. His death was announced by his wife Meru Gokhale, a former publisher at the Penguin Press Group.
Born in England on 28th May 1966, French died of cancer in London on 16th March 2023. He studied literature at Edinburgh University, and became well-known for his writing on India, including its struggle for independence in Liberty or Death: India’s Journey to Independence and Division (HarperCollins, Penguin). His book, India: A Portrait (Penguin), was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize.
One of his best-known works was his authorised biography of controversial Nobel Laureate V S Naipaul. Described by the New York Times as Naipaul’s “monument”, The World Is What It Is: The Authorised Biography of V S Naipaul (Picador) was the winner of the 2008 National Book Critics Circle Awards.
India’s ex minister of state and former UN under-secretary-general Shashi Tharoor was among those who paid tribute to French, saying: “Profoundly saddened by the news of the passing of @PatrickFrench today. We have lost an outstanding writer and fine human being.” Journalist and talk show host Vir Sanghvi added that French “wrote about India with empathy, understanding and a deep insight based on research”.
Publishing director Simon Winder, Patrick French’s publisher at Penguin Press, said: “Everyone who worked with Patrick French at Penguin Press is shocked and dismayed at the news of his death. We published his wonderful, prescient book India: a Portrait and reissued the remarkable earlier books which made his reputation: Younghusband: The Last Great Imperial Adventurer, Liberty or Death: India’s Journey to Independence and Division, and Tibet, Tibet: A Personal History of a Lost Land. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.”