Catherine Lynette Innes was born in Australia and, living on a remote mountain farm, was educated at home, before going to boarding-school and university in
Sydney. After receiving her BA degree from the
University of Sydney, There she developed her interest in cultural nationalism, focusing on Irish, African, African American and Caribbean literatures, on which topic she earned a Ph.D. from
Cornell University in 1973. In 1975, Innes moved to England and taught postcolonial literatures at the
University of Kent, where she is now Emeritus Professor. She was the founding President of
ATCAL, the Association for the Teaching of African, Asian and Caribbean Literatures, which published the literary magazine
Wasafiri, of which Innes has remained a board member since 1984. is a family memoir that tells "the stories of her antecedents, using both family history and source materials from the time, while giving a fascinating insight into the British Raj in India from the perspective of a local prince who was mistreated, and ultimately deposed, by the British authorities. Charting the course of two diverse and multiracial generations of the family, which stretches from the palace in Murshidabad to London and rural Australia, Innes found a commonality in their lives." As described by the reviewer for
Indian Link: "It is an eye-opening saga not only for its compelling plot but also for the truths it uncovers about the British Empire and the injustices faced by millions as a result of their regime." In 2025 she published
Fugitive families: Making Black Lives Matter in Victorian Britain(Lutterworth Press, 2025), exploring the lives of five former slaves and free Back people who sought asylum in Britain in the 1850s and became celebrated abolitionist speakers. Innes has also written for such publications as
The Guardian and
Times Higher Education.
Personal life Innes is a great-granddaughter of
Mansur Ali Khan – the Nawab Nazim of Bengal from 1838 until his abdication in 1880 – from his marriage to Sarah Vennell, an English hotel maid; they lived together in London for 10 years and had six children. Innes and her husband Martin Scofield have two daughters. == Works ==