Patricia Angadi (1914–2001)

Patricia Angadi, née Fell-Clarke, was born to an upper-middle-class family in London. She fell in love with Ayana Angadi, an Indian political writer, and married him in 1943 against her family’s wishes. The couple had four children, and set up the Asian Music Circle, introducing Indian art and music to a wider public. They introduced Ravi Shankar to the Beatles, and Patricia painted a portrait of George Harrison and Patti Boyd. At age 54, in financial straights, she trained as a teacher. When her husband returned to India, Patricia refused to accompany him, turned her house into a commune, and threw parties.
After she retired from teaching, she began writing. Her first novel, The Governess, was published in 1985, when she was 70 years old, and was a runner-up for the Yorkshire Post Book Prize. She went on to publish another six books, including The Highly Flavoured Ladies (1988).