Balraj Khanna was born in Punjab, India, and arrived in London in the Swinging Sixties to study English. Instead, he took to art ? eventually becoming ''one of the most distinguished painters working in England'' (Bryan Robertson). His enduring love of literature culminated in four works of fiction, of which the award-winning Nation of Fools was awarded the Winifred Holtby Prize. Balraj Khanna still lives in London.