V.S. Naipaul

Vladimir Surajprasad Naipaul, known as V.S. Naipaul, is a celebrated Trinidadian-British author, born on August 17, 1932, in Chaguanas, Trinidad and Tobago. His ancestors had migrated to the islands from India as indentured servants. Naipaul's works are known for their wistful comedy, particularly those set in Trinidad, and for his keen observations of the wider world remade by the passage of peoples.

Naipaul began his writing career with comic novels set in Trinidad and Tobago. After receiving a Trinidad Government scholarship, he moved to England in 1950 to study at Oxford. It was there that he decided to pursue writing seriously, driven by his desire to "write" rather than study any specific subject. Naipaul's prose is highly admired for its perceptive narrative and incorruptible scrutiny, which would later earn him the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2001.

Over his 50-year writing career, Naipaul published over 30 novels and essays, including both fiction and nonfiction. He won the Booker Prize in 1971 for his novel "In a Free State" and the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2001 for "Half a Life." Naipaul's works often reflect his life and travels, particularly in developing countries. His first wife, Patricia Ann Hale, served as his editor, first reader, and critic until her death in 1996. Naipaul married Nadira Khannum Alvi, a former Pakistani journalist, in 1996. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1989 for his services to literature.