British film director Anthony Minghella, who won an Oscar for The English Patient, died in a London hospital on Tuesday after a short illness, his agent said. He was 54. Minghella died from complications following surgery last week for cancer of the tonsils and neck, agent Leslee Dart said.
Ondaatje, Coetzee, Swift, Lessing and Keneally cast aside in favour of novels from lesser-known authors. John Ezard reports.