Alastair Neil Robertson Niven OBE LVO Hon FRSL (born 25 February 1944)[1] is an English literary scholar and author.
He has written books on D. H. Lawrence, Raja Rao, and Mulk Raj Anand, and has been Director General of The Africa Centre, Director of Literature at the Arts Council of Great Britain and of the British Council, a principal of Cumberland Lodge, and president of English PEN.
[2] Born in Edinburgh, Scotland,[3] Niven was educated at Dulwich College in London and at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge,[3][4][5] and was then a Commonwealth Scholar for two years (1968–69) at the University of Ghana,[4][5] where he "first researched in the field of African literature",[4] receiving his master's degree and lecturing in English literature there.
[11] In the 2012 Birthday Honours, Niven was made a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order (LVO), personally conferred by Queen Elizabeth II.
[27] In addition to his books, Niven "is the author of over fifty articles on aspects of Commonwealth and post-colonial literature, and has also written extensively about the welfare of overseas students".