India Knight (née Gisèle Aertsens; born 14 December 1965) is a British

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

and author. She writes for British newspapers, and has written the books: ''My Life on a Plate'', ''Don't You Want Me?'', ''The Shops'', ''Neris and India's Idiot-Proof Diet'' and ''The Thrift Book'' (2008). Her novels have been translated into 28 languages.

Early life

She was born to Sabiha Rumani Malik (born 1948) (of a family related to Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, one of the leaders of the

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...

and a scholar and poet) and Michel Robert Georges Aertsens (1927–2002), the son of

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

hero Gaston Aertsens and Marie-Louise Lacroix, of the family of Belgian statesman

Henri Jaspar Henri Jaspar (28 July 1870 – 15 February 1939) was a Belgian Catholic Party politician who served as prime minister of Belgium from 1926 to 1931. He was born in Schaerbeek and trained as a lawyer. Jaspar represented Liège as a Catholic ...

. At the time of India's birth Malik was 17 years old while Aertsens was 20 years Malik's senior. India's parents separated soon after her birth; India went on to live in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

with her mother who, whilst continuing her studies, worked as a translator to support her daughter and herself. India's mother married Andrew Knight, editor of ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...

'', in 1975; at the age of 9, India moved to London to live with her mother and stepfather. At 13, she changed her name by

deed poll A deed poll (plural: deeds poll) is a legal document binding on a single person or several persons acting jointly to express an intention or create an obligation. It is a deed, and not a contract, because it binds only one party. Etymology Th ...

to India Knight, choosing the name to reflect her mother's Asian heritage alongside her stepfather's surname.Barber, Lynn (2 July 2000)
"India's summer"
''The Observer''. Retrieved 27 June 2023. Her mother and stepfather were married for 17 years and had two daughters,

Amaryllis ''Amaryllis'' () is the only genus in the subtribe Amaryllidinae (tribe Amaryllideae). It is a small genus of flowering bulbs, with two species. The better known of the two, '' Amaryllis belladonna'', is a native of the Western Cape region of ...

and Afsaneh. They were divorced in 1991, and soon after, India's mother married a family friend, architect

Norman Foster Norman Robert Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank (born 1 June 1935) is an English architect. Closely associated with the development of high-tech architecture, Lord Foster is recognised as a key figure in British modernist architecture. Hi ...

; they remained married until 1995. In her semi-autobiographical novel ''Comfort and Joy'', Knight writes about her family and her mother. In an newspaper interview in 2000, Knight stated that in England she was educated at the French Lycée and

Wycombe Abbey Wycombe Abbey is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private girls' boarding and day school in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. The school was founded in 1896 by Dame Frances Dove (1847–1942), who was previously headmistress of ...

both of which she was expelled from. She later won an

exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibiti ...

to read Modern and Medieval Languages at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

Personal life

Her first marriage was to Jeremy Langmead, former editor of '' Wallpaper*'' magazine and ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

'' magazine. The couple have two sons. When they divorced, they lived in houses a few doors apart in

Primrose Hill Primrose Hill is a Grade II listed public park located north of Regent's Park in London, England, first opened to the public in 1842.Mills, A., ''Dictionary of London Place Names'', (2001) It was named after the natural hill in the centre of t ...

. Her third child's father is author

Andrew O'Hagan Andrew O'Hagan (born 1968) is a Scottish novelist and non-fiction author. Three of his novels have been nominated for the Booker Prize and he has won several awards, including the ''Los Angeles Times'' Book Prize. His most recent novel is ''C ...

. In December 2015 she announced her forthcoming marriage to former Labour MP Eric Joyce, her boyfriend of six years. Knight lives in Suffolk with Joyce and her daughter. On 6 November 2018, Joyce was arrested and charged with downloading child abuse images. He was found guilty and handed a suspended sentence in August 2020.

Political views

In August 2014, Knight was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' opposing

Scottish independence Scottish independence (; ) is the idea of Scotland regaining its independence and once again becoming a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom. The term Scottish independence refers to the political movement that is campaignin ...

in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue.

Books

Fiction

* ''My Life on a Plate'' (2000) * ''Don't You Want Me?'' (2002) * ''Comfort and Joy'' (2010) * ''Mutton'' (2012) * ''Darling'' (2022) - an updating of ''

The Pursuit of Love ''The Pursuit of Love'' is a novel by Nancy Mitford, first published in 1945. It is the first in a trilogy about an upper-class English family in the interwar period focusing on the romantic life of Linda Radlett, as narrated by her cousin, Fa ...

'' by

Nancy Mitford Nancy Freeman-Mitford (28 November 1904 – 30 June 1973) was an English novelist, biographer, and journalist. The eldest of the Mitford family#Mitford sisters, Mitford sisters, she was regarded as one of the "bright young things" on the ...

Non-fiction

* ''The Shops'' (2003) * ''The Dirty Bits For Girls'' (editor, 2006) * ''Neris and India's Idiot-Proof Diet'' (2007) * ''Neris and India's Idiot-Proof Diet Cookbook'' (2008) * ''The Thrift Book: Live Well and Spend Less'' (2008)

Children's books

* ''The Baby'' (2007)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, India 1965 births Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge British journalists British bloggers Living people Journalists from Brussels The Sunday Times people People educated at Wycombe Abbey People educated at Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle British columnists