Sir VS Naipul, 2001 Nobel Prize-winning author, dies

British novelist Sir VS Naipaul, who won the Nobel Prize in literature for his historical works has died, aged 85.

This was revealed by his wife who described her late husband “as a giant in all he achieved.”

Awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 2001, the committee said Sir Vidia had “united perceptive narrative and incorruptible scrutiny in works that compel us to see the presence of suppressed histories.”

Sir Vidia wrote more than 30 books including ‘A Bend in the River’ and his most celebrated novel, ‘A House for Mr Biswas’, published in 1961. He was a broadcaster for the BBC’s Caribbean service between 1957 and 1961, and was one of the first winners of the Booker Prize, for ‘In A Free State’, in 1971.