entertaining novel...brimming with extremely funny moments of excruciating social comedy.' Writing in The Financial Times, novelist Susie Boyt called it 'wildly entertaining…a bold and generous book'. David Sexton in the Sunday Times concurred, describing Love Marriage as: 'Enormously satisfying in its inventions and observations, and its exploration of cultural diversity in Britain. At once touching and satirical…engrossing and enjoyable'. Critical responses were overwhelmingly positive, propelling the novel into The Sunday Times' bestseller list in its first week of publication. Ali announced on her website that television rights to Love Marriage had been sold to New Pictures after a 'heated auction', and that it is currently in development with the BBC. Views Ali opposed the British government's attempt to introduce the Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006. She discussed this in her contribution to Free Expression Is No Offence, a collection of essays published by Penguin in association with English PEN in 2005. Ali coined the term of "marketplace for outrage" in an article in The Guardian in which she gives her response to events around the filming of Brick Lane. From 2015 to 2020, Ali served as a trustee for the Saint Giles Trust, a charity which helps ex-offenders and other marginalised people, and wrote about the need to help newly-released prisoners. In 2020, Ali was appointed Patron of Hopscotch Women's Centre, a charity that was originally set up by Save the Children to support ethnic minority families who had come to join their partners in the UK. The organisation became independent in 1998 and continues to empower women and girls to achieve their full potential. Marks & Spencer's campaign In 2013, Ali was announced as one of several new models for Marks & Spencer's 'Womanism' campaign. Subtitled "Britain's leading ladies", the campaign saw Ali appear alongside British women from various fields, including pop singer Ellie Goulding, double Olympic gold medal-winning boxer Nicola Adams, and actress Helen Mirren. Personal life Ali lives in South London with her husband, Simon Torrance, a management consultant. They have two children. Books Brick Lane (2003), Doubleday The Weekenders: Adventures in Calcutta (short story), Ebury (2004) The End of the Affair (introduction), Vintage Classics (2004) Free Expression is No Offence (essay), English PEN (2005) Alentejo Blue (2006), Doubleday The Painter of Signs (introduction), Penguin Classics (2006) In the Kitchen (2009), Doubleday Untold Story (2011), Scribner Dangerous Edges of Graham Greene (afterword), Continuum (2011) Closure: Contemporary