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{{for|the Irish Roman Catholic bishop|Patrick French (bishop)}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
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[[Image:Patrick French Plane.jpg|right|thumb|Patrick French in an aeroplane]]

'''Patrick French''' (born 1966) is a British writer, historian and academician. He was educated at the [[University of Edinburgh]] where he studied English and [[American literature]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/bios/random054/2002043432.html |title=Publisher-supplied biographical information about contributor(s) for Library of Congress control number 2002043432 |publisher=Catdir.loc.gov |access-date=2015-05-13}}</ref> and received a PhD in South Asian Studies. He was appointed as the inaugural Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at [[Ahmedabad University]] in July 2017.

French is the author of several books including: ''Younghusband: the Last Great Imperial Adventurer'' (1994), a biography of [[Francis Younghusband]]; ''The World Is What It Is'' (2008), an authorised biography of [[Nobel Prize|Nobel]] Laureate [[V. S. Naipaul]] which won the [[National Book Critics Circle Award]] in the United States of America;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.randomhouse.com/author/results.pperl?authorid=52606 |title=Patrick French | Penguin Random House |publisher=Randomhouse.com |access-date=2015-05-13}}</ref> and ''India: A Portrait'' (2011).

During the [[1992 United Kingdom general election|1992 general election]], French was a [[Green Party of England and Wales|Green Party]] candidate for [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Parliament]]. He has sat on the executive committee of [[Free Tibet]], a [[Tibet Support Group]] UK, and was a founding member of the inter-governmental [[India]]-UK Round Table.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biblio.com/author_biographies/2836691/Patrick_French.html |title=Patrick French Books - Biography and List of Works - Author of 'Dreams and Memories Of a Lost Land' |publisher=Biblio.com |access-date=2015-05-13}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=January 2014}}

==Books and awards==
At the age of 25, French set off on a trail across Central Asia to retrace the steps of British explorer [[Francis Younghusband]]. This resulted in the publication of his first book, ''Younghusband: The Last Great Imperial Adventurer'' in 1994.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1995/11/15/books/books-of-the-times-an-impulsive-imperial-soldier-who-turned-guru.html An Impulsive Imperial Soldier Who Turned Guru] ''[[The New York Times]]''. 15 November 1995.</ref> The book went on to win both the [[Somerset Maugham Award]]<ref>[http://www.societyofauthors.org/prizes-grants-and-awards/prizes-for-fiction-and-non-fiction/the_somerset_maugham_awards/somerset_maugham_past_winners.html ] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091204022120/http://www.societyofauthors.org/prizes-grants-and-awards/prizes-for-fiction-and-non-fiction/the_somerset_maugham_awards/somerset_maugham_past_winners.html |date=4 December 2009 }}</ref> and the [[Royal Society of Literature]]'s W. H. Heinemann Prize.

French's next book, ''Liberty or Death: India's Journey to Independence and Division'' was published in 1997 and earned the author accolades and brickbats in equal parts. Described in the Indian media as presenting a "revisionist view" of [[Mahatma Gandhi]] and [[Mohammad Ali Jinnah]]'s role in the [[Indian Independence movement]],<ref>[http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?203970 Gandhi was a wily politician, Jinnah remained a secularist till death] ''Outlook Magazine''. 6 August 1997</ref> there were a few calls to ban the book in [[India]]. On the other hand, [[Philip Ziegler]] hailed it as "a remarkable achievement,"<ref>{{cite book |title=Liberty or Death: India's Journey to Independence and Division: Patrick French |isbn=0006550452 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/libertyordeath00fren }}</ref> and [[Khushwant Singh]] described the author as "a first rate historian and storyteller." The book sold heavily due to the controversy and French was awarded the [[Sunday Times]] Young Author of the Year award for the book.<ref>[http://www.societyofauthors.org/prizes-grants-and-awards/prizes-for-fiction-and-non-fiction/the_sunday_times_young_writer/sunday_times_past_winners.html ] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091016002526/http://www.societyofauthors.org/prizes-grants-and-awards/prizes-for-fiction-and-non-fiction/the_sunday_times_young_writer/sunday_times_past_winners.html |date=16 October 2009 }}</ref>

Published in 2003, ''Tibet, Tibet: A Personal History of a Lost Land'' was French’s third book. According to the author’s own accounts, his interest in [[Tibet]] was triggered by a meeting he had with the [[Dalai Lama]] when he was 16. The book though emerged from "a gradual nervousness that the western idea of Tibet, particularly the views of Tibet campaigners, was becoming too detached from the reality of what Tibet was like. So I did a long journey through Tibet in 1999."<ref>[http://www.outlookindia.com/fullprint.asp?choice=1&fodname=20030310&fname=french&sid=1 Interview: Nandini Lal on Patrick French] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091022135050/http://www.outlookindia.com/fullprint.asp?choice=1 |date=22 October 2009 }} ''Outlook Magazine''. 10 March 2003.</ref> ''[[The Independent]]'' described the book as "intelligent as well as passionate in its approach."<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/tibet-tibet-a-personal-history-of-a-lost-land-by-patrick-french-593811.html Book Review: Tibet, Tibet, A Personal History Of A Lost Land] ''The Independent''. 12 April 2003.</ref> [[Pico Iyer]] in ''[[The Los Angeles Times]]'' book review described French as a "scrupulous and disciplined writer" who "has a decided gift for inspired and heartfelt research and a knack for coming upon overlooked details that are worth several volumes of analysis."<ref>[http://articles.latimes.com/2003/oct/19/books/bk-iyer19 Himalayan Descent] ''[[The Los Angeles Times]]''. 19 October 2003</ref>

''[[The World Is What It Is]]'', an authorised biography of [[Nobel Prize]]–winning author [[V. S. Naipaul]] was published in 2008. In the ''[[New York Review of Books]]'', [[Ian Buruma]] described French as the inventor of a new genre, "the confessional biography."<ref>[http://www.nybooks.com/articles/22062 The Lessons of the Master] ''The New York Review of Books''. 20 November 2008.</ref> The book was selected by the editors of ''[[The New York Times Book Review]]'' as one of the "10 Best books of 2008."<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/14/books/review/10Best-t.html?_r=2 The ten best books of 2008] ''[[The New York Times]]''. 3 December 2008.</ref> In 2008, ''[[The World Is What It Is]]'' was awarded the [[National Book Critics Circle Award]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bookcritics.org/awards |title=National Book Critics Circle: awards |publisher=Bookcritics.org |access-date=2015-05-13}}</ref> in America, and was also short listed for the [[Samuel Johnson]] Prize.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/books/features/samueljohnson/shortlist.shtml |title=BBC iPlayer - BBC Four |publisher=Bbc.co.uk |access-date=2015-05-13}}</ref> French was also awarded the [[Hawthornden Prize]] in 2009 for the book.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.panmacmillan.com/News/displayPage.asp?PageTitle=Patrick%20French%20awarded%20literary%20prize |access-date=9 December 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090927190705/http://www.panmacmillan.com/News/displayPage.asp?PageTitle=Patrick%20French%20awarded%20literary%20prize |archive-date=27 September 2009 }}</ref>

In 2011, Patrick released his book ''India: A Portrait'', billed as "an intimate biography of 1.2 billion people". The book is a narrative of the social and economic revolutions that are transforming India. As part of the book release, he also started an India focused website called The India Site.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theindiasite.com/india-a-portrait/ |title=INDIA: A PORTRAIT | The India Site | Dishing up Indian news and non aligned views | India: A Portrait by Patrick French |publisher=Theindiasite.com |date=2013-05-19 |access-date=2015-05-13}}</ref>

Patrick is currently working on the authorised biography of Nobel Laureate [[Doris Lessing]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.crassh.cam.ac.uk/people/profile/patrick-french|title=Patrick French – CRASSH|website=www.crassh.cam.ac.uk|access-date=2017-07-13}}</ref>

==Personal life==
He is married to Meru Gokhale, currently the Editor in Chief at [[Penguin Random House]] India, and the daughter of author and publisher [[Namita Gokhale]]. He was married once before.

==Views==
In 2003, French was offered and declined the [[Order of the British Empire]] (OBE).<ref>{{cite web|author=Soutik Biswas |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3158852.stm |title=South Asia | Naipaul biographer refuses OBE |publisher=News.bbc.co.uk |date=2003-10-06 |access-date=2015-05-13}}</ref>

==Bibliography==
*''Younghusband: The Last Great Imperial Adventurer'' (1994)
*''Liberty or Death: India’s Journey to Independence and Division'' (1997)
*''Tibet, Tibet: A Personal History of a Lost Land'' (2003)
*''[[The World Is What It Is]]'' (2008)
*''India: A Portrait'' (2011)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
• [https://mattasher.com/2020/11/16/ep-25-patrick-french-on-the-military-tourism-and-mysticism-of-col-younghusband/ Appearance on ''The Filter Podcast'']

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{{DEFAULTSORT:French, Patrick}}
[[Category:1966 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:English biographers]]
[[Category:Tibet freedom activists]]
[[Category:21st-century English writers]]
[[Category:20th-century English historians]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Edinburgh]]
[[Category:20th-century biographers]]
[[Category:21st-century biographers]]
[[Category:English male non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:20th-century English male writers]]

Patrick French - Revision history

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