Shrabani Basu

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Shrabani Basu
Basu speaks to the British Library in 2021
Basu speaks to the British Library in 2021
BornKolkata, India
OccupationJournalist, writer and historian
Education
Notable worksVictoria & Abdul: The true story of the Queen's closest confidant
Website
Official website

Shrabani Basu is an Indian journalist and historian, and the author of several books including Victoria & Abdul: The true story of the Queen's closest confidant (2010), which was subsequently adapted into the film Victoria & Abdul (2017). Earlier she authored Spy Princess: The life of Noor Inayat Khan (2006), following which she founded the Noor Inayat Khan Memorial Trust, and later she published The Mystery of the Parsee Lawyer: Arthur Conan Doyle, George Edalji and the case of the foreigner in the English village (2021).

Early life[]

Shrabani Basu was born in Kolkata and grew up in Dhaka, Kathmandu and Delhi. She studied history at St Stephen’s College, Delhi, and gained a master's degree from Delhi University.[1]

Career[]

Her career in journalism started in 1983, when she became a trainee journalist for The Times of India in Mumbai.[2] In 1987 she moved to London and worked for the Calcutta-based newspaper Anandabazar Patrika and The Telegraph.[3]

In 2006, she published Spy Princess: The life of Noor Inayat Khan.[4] Following her campaign for a memorial for Noor Inayat Khan in 2010, a bust in her memory was subsequently erected in Gordon Square, London, near Khan's house. Princess Anne unveiled the memorial in 2012.[4][5] Later, it was announced that a TV series would be produced based on Basu's book about Khan.[4]

In the 1990s, during her research on the history of curry, she came across the story of Abdul Karim. After carrying out historical research on the subject she wrote Victoria & Abdul: The true story of the Queen's closest confidant, a book based on the friendship between Queen Victoria and Karim. It was then adapted into the film Victoria & Abdul (2017), which featured Dame Judi Dench and Ali Fazal.[6][7]

Her book , was released in 2021.[8][9] It describes the story of a young Indian lawyer, George Edalji, who hired Arthur Conan Doyle to prove his innocence.[4][10] Her other books include For King and Another Country: Indian Soldiers on the Western Front, 1914–18, which describes India's contribution in the First World War.[11]

Personal and family[]

Her dedications made in her books show that Basu's father was Chitta Ranjan Basu.[12] She has two sisters,[13] and two daughters.[14]

Selected publications[]

  • Curry: The story of the nation's favourite dish. Stroud: Sutton. 2003. ISBN 978-0-7509-3374-2. OCLC 464995246.
  • Spy Princess: The life of Noor Inayat Khan. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Sutton Publishing. 2006. ISBN 978-0-7524-6368-1. OCLC 1043350666.
  • Victoria & Abdul: The true story of the queen's closest confidant. Stroud, Gloucestershire: The History Press. 2010. ISBN 978-0-7509-8258-0. OCLC 495598872.
  • The Mystery of the Parsee Lawyer: Arthur Conan Doyle, George Edalji and the case of the foreigner in the English village. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. 2021. ISBN 978-1-5266-1528-2. OCLC 1233312355.

References[]

  1. ^ Deb, Rishabh (7 April 2017). "Queen Victoria's passion for learning Urdu at such a late stage in her life was remarkable: Shrabani Basu". The Times of India. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  2. ^ "Online Lecture: In Conversation with Sara Wajid and Shrabani Basu - Visit Birmingham". visitbirmingham.com. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  3. ^ "Talk: Shrabani Basu on her book 'Victoria and Abdul: The True Story of The Queen's Closest Confidant' | SOAS University of London". www.soas.ac.uk. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Anjum, Nawaid (26 March 2021). "Interview: Shrabani Basu, author, The Mystery of the Parsee Lawyer". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 3 May 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  5. ^ Alexander, Deepa (16 October 2017). "Discovering Victorian secrets". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 4 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  6. ^ "The True Story Behind Victoria and Abdul". Time. Archived from the original on 3 May 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  7. ^ "The Author Of Victoria & Abdul Opens Up About Her Book Being Turned Into A Film | Verve Magazine". www.vervemagazine.in. 20 October 2017. Archived from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  8. ^ "The Mystery of the Parsee Lawyer by Shrabani Basu review: Racial persecution in an early twentieth-century village". TLS. Archived from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  9. ^ "Shrabani Basu". The Telegraph. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  10. ^ Sands, Philippe (2 September 2021). "Monumental injustices — relics, racism and reparations". www.ft.com. Archived from the original on 2 September 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  11. ^ Dutta, Manas (1 December 2017). "Book Review: Shrabani Basu, For King and Another Country: Indian Soldiers on the Western Front, 1914–18". Indian Historical Review. 44 (2): 346–349. doi:10.1177/0376983617726670. ISSN 0376-9836.
  12. ^ The mystery of the Parsee lawyer: Arthur Conan Doyle, George Edalji and the case of the foreigner in the English village. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. 2021. ISBN 978-1-5266-1528-2. OCLC 1233312355.
  13. ^ Spy princess: the life of Noor Inayat Khan. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Sutton Publishing. 2006. ISBN 978-0-7524-6368-1. OCLC 1043350666.
  14. ^ Victoria & Abdul : the extraordinary true story of the queen's closest confidant. Stroud, Gloucestershire: The History Press. 2017. ISBN 978-0-7509-8258-0. OCLC 495598872.

External links[]

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