Who was VS Naipaul? Nobel-winning British writer who died at the age of 85

The writer's wife, Lady Nadira Naipaul, said he "died surrounded by those he loved having lived a life which was full of wonderful creativity and endeavor."

Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul, a British novelist and Nobel Prize winner for Literature, died at the age of 85. (AFP)

New Delhi: Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul, a British novelist and Nobel Prize winner for Literature, died at the age of 85. He breathed his last at his home in London, his family has confirmed. The writer's wife, Lady Nadira Naipaul, said he "died surrounded by those he loved having lived a life which was full of wonderful creativity and endeavor," The New York Times reported. She described the outspoken author as a "giant in all that he achieved".

Who was VS Naipaul?

• Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul was born on Aug 17, 1932, in Trinidad. • He was the son of an Indian civil servant and studied English literature at Oxford University on a scholarship. • He went on to study at Oxford University and his first novel, "The Mystic Masseur," was published in 1957. • Naipaul later gained a lot of reputation as a wrote dozens of books, many of which dealt with colonialism and its dark legacy. • He was awarded the 2001 Nobel prize for literature. • He settled in England but spent much of his time traveling and despite becoming a pillar of Britain's cultural establishment, was also a symbol of modern rootlessness. • Overall he wrote more than 30 books, and was one of the first winners of the Booker Prize, now Britain's leading literary award, in 1971 for "In A Free State".

VS Naipaul's Work

• Naipaul's early works focused on the West Indies, but came to encompass countries around the world, often focusing on the traumas of post-colonial change. • Naipaul’s work reflected his personal journey from Trinidad to London and various stops in developing countries. • He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2001 “for having united perceptive narrative and incorruptible scrutiny in works that compel us to see the presence of suppressed histories.” • From A Bend in the River to The Enigma of Arrival to Finding the Centre, Naipaul’s books explored colonialism and decolonization, exile and the struggles of the everyman in the developing world. • The Swedish Academy described him as a "literary circumnavigator, only ever really at home in himself, in his inimitable voice".

Naipaul's Life and struggle

• During his early career, Naipaul was dogged by money worries and loneliness. • He met his first wife, Pat, at Oxford, who became his constant literary support. • His first wife died in 1996. • He later revealed that he felt he hastened her death by publicly admitting while she fought cancer that he had frequented prostitutes. • Naipaul married Pakistani journalist Nadira Alvi the same year Pat died. • He was famously outspoken and had a reputation for cutting people out of his life, but once retorted: "My life is short. I can't listen to banalities." (With inputs from agencies)