On a ferry crossing the Channel, the photographer Marilyn Stafford told the stranger next to her on the deck that she had been asked to buy some books for a friend in New York. They turned out to be all by the stranger: he turned out to be Mulk Raj Anand, and so began a lifetime’s friendship, including forays to India.
On his last visit to London in 1996 Anand stayed at my home and said there were just two people he must see: Michael Foot, former leader of the Labour party, and Marilyn.
Alastair Niven
