Sophie Kinsella, author of the bestselling Shopaholic series of novels, has been remembered as a "wonderful, warm woman" following her death at the age of 55.
The writer, whose real name is Madeleine Sophie Wickham, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer in 2022.
Jojo Moyes, author of Me Before You, said to BBC News that she had "never met anybody who carried more grace." Moyes has known Kinsella for 20 years. She stated, "She was incredibly kind and extremely smart, and she wore her success and brilliance so lightly."
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| Kinsella, pictured in 2024, had been diagnosed with a glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. (Image: Saracresswell/bbc) |
Moyes stated to David Sillito of the BBC, "There was not a person who met her who did not light up in her presence, because she was just good and kind, and people felt that through her characters." "She was one of the best people I've ever met... I feel really glad to have known her, really lucky to have had her in my life."
Kinsella's books have sold more than 50 million copies in more than 60 countries, and have been translated into more than 40 languages.
Author Jodi Picoult said Kinsella "will be missed greatly", while fellow novelist Adele Parks described her as a "wonderful, warm woman" who "brought so much joy to the world".
"She'll be missed so much but celebrated too and will live on in millions of minds and hearts," Parks said.
Writer Jenny Colgan told BBC Radio 5 Live Drive: "When you do lose someone close it can be hard to communicate [who they were] but everybody who has ever read a Sophie Kinsella novel, that is what she was like. She was really funny, really warm."
In 2024, Kinsella made the announcement that she had been given the diagnosis of glioblastoma two years earlier. In a statement on Wednesday, her family said they were "heartbroken" to announce the death of "our beloved Sophie".
"She passed away peacefully, and her last days were filled with her true loves: family, music, warmth, Christmas, and joy." They continued: "We can't imagine what life will be like without her radiance and love of life.
"Despite her illness, which she bore with unimaginable courage, Sophie counted herself truly blessed - to have such wonderful family and friends, and to have had the extraordinary success of her writing career.
"She was forever grateful for the love she received and took nothing for granted." She will be missed so much our hearts are breaking."
'Unique voice'
A statement from Kinsella's publisher said she "defined and elevated romantic comedy by populating her stories with real-life issues that combined wit, emotional depth and societal insight".
Her longtime Transworld publisher, Bill Scott-Kerr, called Kinsella "our author, our cheerleader, our fellow conspirator, and our friend." He added: "Maddy leaves behind a glorious and indelible legacy, a unique voice, an unquenchable spirit, a goodness of intent and a body of work that will continue to inspire us to reach higher and be better, just like so many of her characters."
British romantic comedy writer Jill Mansell offered: "Maddy was a brilliant writer but more importantly a truly lovely person.
"In both respects she brought so much joy to the world."
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| Sophie Kinsella (Image: Sarah Cresswell/BBC) |
The author's agents Araminta Whitley and Marina de Pass described Kinsella as "an intelligent, imaginative, loving and irreverent woman who valued the deeply connective power of fiction".
She "had a rare gift for creating emotionally resonant protagonists and stories that spoke to and entertained readers regardless of where they were in the world or the difficulties they faced," according to the book's author bio. They added: "She also had an unmatched wit and ability to find the funny side.
"Comedy, for her, was both an art form and an intellectual pursuit and she instinctively understood that it is often a tightrope act of balancing light with dark."
"The big mistake people make with Sophie's books is they assume they were easy [to write] because they are easy to read," Moyes stated to the BBC. "But anybody who's tried to replicate them knows that she was a master plotter, and a master at characterisation. She was a genius, actually."
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| Kinsella wrote last year that she had "always processed my life through writing"(Image: Getty Image/BBC |
Kinsella was born in London in 1969, and studied music at New College, Oxford, before switching to philosophy, politics and economics.
While working as a financial journalist, she wrote her first novel, The Tennis Party, at the age of 24 under her married name, Madeleine Wickham. "My overriding concern was that I didn't write the autobiographical first novel," she told the Guardian in 2012. "I was so, so determined not to write about a journalist who was 24 years old. "It was going to have male characters, and middle-aged people, so I could say, look, I'm not just writing about my life, I'm a real author."
The book was acclaimed by critics and became a top 10 bestseller. She released six further novels as Madeleine Wickham.
Five years later, writing as Sophie Kinsella, she published The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic - also known as Confessions of a Shopaholic.
It introduced readers to Becky Bloomwood, a financial journalist who is a serial shopper and hopeless when it comes to her own finances, often buying new clothes or shoes on her credit card rather than saving her money.
Kinsella commented on her best-selling series, "I thought, wait a minute, shopping has become the national pastime, and nobody has written about it." Confessions of a Shopaholic, starring Isla Fisher, was based on the first two novels in the series. The movie was released in 2009.
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| A film adaptation of Confessions of a Shopaholic starring Isla Fisher was released in 2009(Image: Getty Image/BBC) |
Kinsella went on to write eight more Shopaholic novels, a short story, and a total of 18 books, including one for young adults and four for children, after the book's huge success. Kinsella's other works include Can You Keep A Secret? and The Undomestic Goddess.
Her books were occasionally referred to as "chick lit" - a description she did not fully endorse
In 2018, she told the Daily Mail, "When I hear the term 'chick lit,' I feel a pinprick of, not annoyance but of slight resignation." "Oh, this again...' "I've never had anyone say to my face, 'Your books are inferior,' but if people say, 'Your books are beach reads,' I say, 'Yep, that's fine by me. On the beach, read them!
Kinsella's most recent novella, What Does It Feel Like?, published in October 2024, was a semi-fictional account of her cancer diagnosis, written after she had surgery.
In an introduction to the book, Kinsella said she had "always processed my life through writing".
"I have always made my own life a story, hiding behind my fictional characters. It might be my version of therapy. Kinsella is survived by her husband Henry and their five children.
What is a glioblastoma?
Glioblastomas are the deadliest and most aggressive type of brain cancer.
In the UK, approximately 3,200 people are diagnosed with glioblastoma each year. Only 160 of these survive for more than five years. Glioblastomas, a type of cancer that grows quickly, are likely to spread throughout the brain and recur after treatment. Symptoms vary, but can include headaches caused by a build-up of pressure, personality changes, and memory problems. People may also have trouble speaking or experience extreme tiredness, depression, seizures and sight problems.
Common treatments include chemotherapy and radiotherapy, or if a patient is well enough, a surgeon will try to remove as much cancer as possible during an operation.
Source: BBC NEWS
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