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

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

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.

Background

She was born to Sabiha Rumani Malik (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 with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...

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

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

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. Jaspar was born in Schaerbeek and trained as a lawyer. He represented Liège as a Catholic in the Belgian Chamber of Representatives from 1919 until ...

. 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 (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

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 weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Eco ...

'', 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 to India Knight, choosing the name to reflect her mother's Asian heritage alongside her stepfather's surname. 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 or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Nor ...

; they remained married until 1995. In her semi-autobiographical novel '' Comfort and Joy'', Knight writes about her family and her mother.

Personal life

Knight lives in Suffolk with her partner and daughter. Her first marriage was to Jeremy Langmead, former editor of ''

Wallpaper* ''Wallpaper'', stylized ''Wallpaper*'', is a publication focusing on design and architecture, fashion, travel, art, and lifestyle. The magazine was launched in London in 1996 by Canadian journalist Tyler Brûlé and Austrian journalist Alexander ...

'' magazine and '' Esquire'' 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 ...

; he subsequently left London for Youngsbury House in Hertfordshire. 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 Award. His most recent novel is ''Mayf ...

. In December 2015 she announced her forthcoming marriage to former MP

Eric Joyce Eric Stuart Joyce (born 13 October 1960) is a British politician, former military officer and convicted child sex offender. A former member of the Labour Party, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for Falkirk, formerly Falkirk West, from 2000 to ...

, her boyfriend of six years.. 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 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' opposing Scottish independence 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 ...

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

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

External links

India Knight's column in ''The Sunday Times''

India Knight's Twitter feed
{{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