Established 2014 · London
Ravelstein
Rare Books, Signed First Editions & Letters
AD
❦ ❦ ❦
Biography
Indian

Anita Desai

1937

Anita Desai is an Indian novelist and short-story writer who is one of the most important figures in post-independence Indian fiction in English. Her novels — including Clear Light of Day (1980), In Custody (1984), and Fasting, Feasting (1999) — explore the inner lives of her characters with a psychological depth and prose precision that have earned her three Booker Prize shortlistings and a Sahitya Akademi Award.

Past sales0
PeriodContemporary
NationalityIndian
1. Biography

A short life of the author

Anita Desai (née Mazumdar, b. 24 June 1937) was born in Mussoorie, India, to a German mother and a Bengali father. She grew up in Delhi and studied English at Delhi University. She has taught at MIT, Girton College Cambridge, and other institutions.

Life and Career

Cry, the Peacock (1963) — her debut — established her preoccupation with female consciousness and the claustrophobia of Indian domestic life. Fire on the Mountain (1977, Sahitya Akademi Award) is set in the hills of Kasauli. Clear Light of Day (1980, Booker shortlist) — about two sisters in Old Delhi reflecting on their family’s history — is her most fully realized novel.

In Custody (1984, Booker shortlist) — about a Hindi lecturer who seeks out a great Urdu poet in Delhi — was filmed by Ismail Merchant. Fasting, Feasting (1999, Booker shortlist) explores Indian and American family dynamics.

Major Works and Themes

Desai writes about interiority — the inner emotional and psychological lives of her characters, particularly women trapped in stifling domestic or social situations. Her prose is lyrical, precise, and deeply attentive to landscape and atmosphere.

Key Works

  • Clear Light of Day (1980) — Booker shortlist
  • In Custody (1984) — Booker shortlist
  • Fasting, Feasting (1999) — Booker shortlist

Collecting Desai

Cry, the Peacock (1963, Peter Owen) — the debut — brings $30–$100. Later novels from Heinemann and Houghton Mifflin bring $15–$40. Desai signs at literary events.