Kinsella, who has died at age 55, had a special talent for characters who persevered through the most embarrassing mishaps - often of their own making. Photo: AP
Bestselling English author Sophie Kinsella has died after being diagnosed with a form of aggressive brain cancer.
Tributes were paid to the 55-year-old, who was best known for her Shopaholic series, with a statement from her family saying she "died peacefully, with her final days filled with her true loves: family and music and warmth and Christmas and joy.”
Madeleine Sophie Wickham, who wrote under the pen name Sophie Kinsella, announced in April last year that she had been diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, in 2022.
The Instagram statement from her family added: "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 took nothing for granted and was forever grateful for the love she received. She will be missed so much our hearts are breaking.”
Kinsella signing copies of 'Shopaholic & Baby' at a Manhattan bookstore in New York in February 2007. Photo: The Star/Filepic
While working as a financial journalist she wrote her first book, The Tennis Party, aged 24, and had written it under her real name.
She went on to publish six more novels as Madeleine Wickham, and five years later would go on to use her pen name Sophie Kinsella, for her Shopaholic series.
The first two works in her hit eight-book Shopaholic series, The Secret Dreamworld Of A Shopaholic and Shopaholic Abroad, were adapted into the 2009 film Confessions Of A Shopaholic, starring Isla Fisher.
Araminta Whitley and Marina de Pass, her agents at The Soho Agency, said she was "a once-in-a-lifetime author and friend” and described working with her as "the privilege of (their) working lives.”
Their statement said: "Maddy was 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 wherever they were in the world and whatever challenges they faced.
Part of Kinsella’s 'Shopaholic' series, a favourite among fans of the chick lit genre. Photo: Handout
"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.”
They added: "It is hard to contemplate life and work without Maddy. We will remember her for her warmth, insight and irrepressible sense of humour, for the magnificent, witty and resonant novels she leaves behind, and for making our days infinitely more meaningful and fun.
"We are completely heartbroken at her death. We loved her dearly and will miss her more than we can say.”
Kinsella released The Burnout in October 2023 and her other bestselling books include Can You Keep A Secret? and The Undomestic Goddess.
Her novels have sold more than 45 million copies in more than 60 countries, and have been translated into more than 40 languages.
Bill Scott-Kerr, her publisher at Transworld for the past 30 years, said: "I have had the true pleasure of knowing Maddy for the past three decades. Transworld have been lucky enough to publish every one of her adult novels.
'The Undomestic Goddess' was Kinsella’s fifth stand-alone novel, first published in Britain in 2005. Photo: Handout
"She was our author, our cheerleader, our fellow conspirator and our friend. From the outset it has been a genuine partnership based on commitment, trust and celebration that has gone from strength to strength over the years, right up to the heartbreaking brilliance of her last novella.
"She has been such an unshakeable pillar of our publishing at Transworld for so many years that the thought of a year without a Sophie Kinsella to publish is inconceivable.”
He described Kinsella as a "complete professional” who "consistently delivered above and beyond what she promised,” but said she was also "intensely, authentically herself, intelligent, creative, intuitively understanding and curious about the world, and the people who lived in it.”
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.
"On a personal level Maddy was the embodiment of joy, an extraordinarily clever, funny, sassy, impish, kind and generous collaborator who brought light into our lives. She was as part of this company as anyone, and we will all truly miss her.”
The 2003 novel Can You Keep A Secret? was also adapted for a film of the same name starring Alexandra Daddario and Tyler Hoechlin.
Kinsella described her last novel, What Does It Feel Like?, which was published in 2024, as her "most autobiographical to date” and said she "always processed (her) life through writing.”
The semi-fictional novella’s main character Eve is directly inspired by Kinsella’s cancer diagnosis.
According to Brain Tumour Research, glioblastoma is the most commonly diagnosed high-grade brain tumour in adults, with a short average survival rate of between 12 and 18 months, and limited treatment available. - dpa
