This Article is From Apr 03, 2013

Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, novelist and screenwriter, dies at 85

Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, novelist and screenwriter, dies at 85

In this photo: Director James Ivory (L) and writer/Oscar winner Ruth Prawer Jhabvala arrive at the 2007 Trophee des Arts gala, 27 November 2007, in New York.

New Delhi: Oscar and Booker winning writer Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, who died in the US on Wednesday, had a strong India connection.

Born in Germany, she married Cyrus H Jhabvala, an Indian Parsi architect. In 1951 the couple moved to Delhi.

Twenty-four years later, she went to New York and divided her time between India and the US. In 1986, she became a naturalised citizen of the US.

In 1975, she was awarded the Booker Prize for her work "Heat and Dust", which views India through the lives of two English women living 50 years apart.

While living in India, she wrote novels about her life and experiences in the country -- "To Whom She Will" (1955), "Nature of Passion" (1956), "Esmond in India" (1957), "The Householder" (1960) and "Get Ready for the Battle" (1962).

In 1963, Ms Jhabvala was approached by filmmakers James Ivory and Ismail Merchant to write a screenplay of her 1960 novel "The Householder".

Merchant once commented about his collaboration with Ms Jhabvala, "It is a strange marriage we have at Merchant Ivory... I am an Indian Muslim, Ruth is a German Jew, and Jim is a Protestant American.

Someone once described us as a three-headed god. Maybe they should have called us a three-headed monster!"

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