Monica Ali

Sara Upstone (Kingston University)
Download PDF Add to Bookshelf Report an Error

Born in Bangladesh in 1967 to a Bangladeshi father and an English mother, Monica Ali came with her parents to Britain at the age of three in 1970, as a result of the civil war. Settling in Bolton, Greater Manchester, Ali attended Bolton School, where she was academically successful, and she went on to Wadham College, Oxford, where she studied Politics, Philosophy and Economics. Despite the similarities often drawn, such privileged beginnings have little in common with the characters of Ali’s fiction.

When Monica Ali was named one of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists in 2003, an accolade given only every ten years, and in each case to only twenty new writers, it announced an important new literary voice. Previous inclusions on the 1983 and 1993 lists included Salman Rushdie, Ian

2752 words

Citation: Upstone, Sara. "Monica Ali". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 13 August 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=11828, accessed 19 March 2024.]

11828 Monica Ali 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

If you need to create a new bookshelf to save this article in, please make sure that you are logged in, then go to your 'Account' here

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.