Confessions of a Shopaholic novelist Sophie Kinsella dies aged 55

"Madeleine Wickham, known for writing the bestselling novel Confessions of a Shopaholic under her pen name Sophie Kinsella, has died aged 55. Wickham, dubbed the queen of romantic comedy by novelist Jojo Moyes, wrote more than 30 books for adults, children and teenagers, which have sold more than 45m copies. In April 2024, Wickham announced that she was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive type of brain cancer, at the end of 2022, and had undergone radiotherapy and chemotherapy after surgery."

"Wickham was born in London in 1969. She studied music at New College, Oxford, before switching to Philosophy, Politics and Economics. After graduation, she became a financial journalist, but she said she found the job dull. During the long commute to central London, she would read paperbacks by the likes of Mary Wesley and Joanna Trollope, and began wanting to write a book."

"At 24, she wrote her first novel, The Tennis Party, about a group of friends who take part in a weekend tournament. My overriding concern was that I didn't write the autobiographical first novel, Wickham told the Guardian in 2012. I was so, so determined not to write about a 24-year-old journalist. 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."

Madeleine Wickham, who wrote as Sophie Kinsella, sold more than 45 million copies of over 30 books across adult, children and teen markets, including Confessions of a Shopaholic. Born in London in 1969, she studied music then switched to Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford and worked as a financial journalist before turning to fiction. She wrote her first novel, The Tennis Party, at 24 and published seven novels under her real name between 1995 and 2001; Sleeping Arrangements was adapted as a musical. Her Madeleine Wickham novels were more serious, darker ensemble pieces compared with her later Sophie Kinsella romcoms. She was diagnosed with glioblastoma at the end of 2022, underwent surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and died aged 55.

Read at www.theguardian.com