Writer and historian Patrick French dies

British author and historian Patrick French has died following a 4-yr struggle with most cancers. He was 56.  

French, best regarded for his authorised biography of V.S. Naipaul, The Planet Is What It Is (2008) and Younghusband: the Very last Excellent Imperial Adventurer (1994), died in London at 8am GMT, his wife Meru Gokhale explained to PTI.

“At 8.10 am this early morning my beloved spouse Patrick French handed absent in London just after a brave fight with cancer. He was an remarkable father, buddy, partner, instructor and mentor to quite a few. His kindness and really like will stay with us for good. He went in peace, without the need of struggling,” Gokhale, former publisher at the Penguin Push Team, explained.

Writers and historians tweeted their tributes during the working day. Writer William Dalrymple stated on Twitter that he was heartbroken to hear about the death of Patrick French “who I have beloved and admired because we have been both equally thirteen, and who was the Very best Person at my marriage.” Dalrymple, who often shared the stage with French at literature festivals in India and overseas, included, “He was amusing & clever & charming, generally entire of enthusiasm & energy. He was also the biggest biographer of our generation.”

French was identified for his deeply investigated and penned biographies, obvious comprehension of South Asia and his private fascination in tales from the area. His other textbooks consist of and India: A Portrait (2011), Tibet, Tibet: A Personal Historical past of a Misplaced Land (2003), Liberty or Demise: India’s Journey to Independence and Division (1997). He was doing work on an authorised biography of novelist Doris Lessing at the time of his loss of life. 

Patrick French was born in England in 1966 and studied literature at Edinburgh College. Apart from successful the Countrywide E book Critics Circle Award and the Hawthornden Prize for The Earth Is What It Is, French gained the Sunday Situations Young Author of the Yr Award, the Royal Society of Literature Heinemann Prize, and the Somerset Maugham Award.

Historian and biographer Ramachandra Guha tweeted: “Deeply saddened to listen to of the passing of Patrick French. He was a great author, whose textbooks on Francis Younghusband and VS Naipaul are classics of fashionable biographical writing. He was also a very good human currently being, unfailingly generous to mates and strangers alike.”

Congress’ Shashi Tharoor and Jairam Ramesh also tweeted condolences.