The Independent writes that he was widely respected for his writing on India, including his chronicling of the nation’s struggle for liberation from English rule in his 1998 work, Liberty or Death: India’s Journey to Independence and Division.

He was also a very fine human being, unfailingly generous to friends and strangers alike.” Historian Ramchandra Guha, who had a long association with French, said, “he was a wonderful writer, whose books on Francis Younghusband and VS Naipaul are classics of modern biographical writing. French went onto study at the University of Edinburgh and University College London.ĭalrymple told The Hindu that French, who came from an Irish family, “honed his sense of the absurd and resistance to authority which stayed with him all his life” while at the school, which was run by monks known for their tough discipline. He went in peace, without suffering.”īorn in London in 1966, French went on to develop a close friendship with another famous British author historian who moved to India, William Dalrymple, during his school days.

His kindness and love will stay with us forever. He was an exceptional father, friend, husband, teacher and mentor to many. “At 8.10 am this morning my beloved husband Patrick French passed away in London after a brave battle with cancer. Naipaul, The World Is What It Is, and India: A Portrait, died at 8 am (London time), his wife Meru Gokhale said. New Delhi: British historian, author and academician Patrick French died in London after battling cancer for four years on Thursday, his family was cited by PTI as saying.įrench, best known for his biography of V.S.

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