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Sophie Kinsella, bestselling author of the Confessions of a Shopaholic book series, has died after a battle with brain cancer. She was 55.
The British author, whose real name was Madeleine Sophie Wickham, has sold more than 50 million books worldwide, including a popular series about the life of a fictional woman addicted to shopping in London. Some books about shopaholics were later filmed.
Wickham's family shared news of her death on social networksstating that the author died peacefully, “and her last days were filled with her true love: family, music, warmth, Christmas and joy.”
Wickham's literary agent also confirmed her passing to CBC News in an email.
The writer first announced that she had glioblastoma – an aggressive form of brain cancer – in April 2024, after first being diagnosed in 2022.
Then Wickham said that she didn'tundergoing radiation therapy after surgery. She told her fans that she initially delayed telling them about the diagnosis to give her family time to process the news and adjust to their “new normal.”
According to scientists, glioblastomas are the most common high-grade brain tumors among adults. Brain Tumor Charity. The charity says only 25 per cent of patients live longer than a year after diagnosis, and only five per cent of patients survive more than five years.
“Despite the illness, which she endured with unimaginable courage, Sophie considered herself truly blessed to have such wonderful family and friends and to have achieved extraordinary success in her writing career,” Wickham’s family wrote in the announcement. “She took nothing for granted and was always grateful for the love she received.”
Journalist turned writer
Wickham first worked as a financial journalist before turning to fiction.
In her podcast Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books, she told writer-publisher Zibby Owens that the thought of writing never crossed her mind when she was young.
“This was not my childhood ambition. I wasn't a kid who walked around saying, “One day I'll write a novel.”
Wickham entered Oxford University to study music, but after a year switched to the Politics, Philosophy and Economics program.
Working as a journalist, Wickham read to pass the time on the road, and the idea of writing fiction began to take shape on the train.
Over the course of her career, Wickham has written more than 30 books—several novels and several children's books—that have sold more than 45 million copies worldwide and been translated into dozens of languages.
She published her debut novel Tennis party in 1995 under his real name. But the series “Shopaholic” and her work under a pseudonym brought her the greatest fame. The 10 books feature Rebecca Bloomwood, a financial journalist who overcomes obstacles in life and shopping. This story was adapted into a 2009 film. Confessions of a shopaholic starring Isla Fisher.
For a generation of women, Wickham wrote novels that fans found funny and interesting. But she also sought to use shopping as a way to gain a deeper understanding of life, as she told the Toronto Star in a 2014 interview.
“There’s so much humor in shopping because it embodies so many of our flaws,” she told the Star. “Using shopping as a lens is a great way to examine our delusions and denials, and how we justify all kinds of behavior to ourselves.”
Her 2003 book. Can you keep a secret? was adapted into a 2019 rom-com of the same name starring Alexandra Daddario and Tyler Hoechlin.
Wickham's last novel. What does it look like?, It's a story that accurately mirrors her own life – about a writer learning to walk, talk and write again after major surgery to remove a brain tumor, while rediscovering what parts of life are truly important to her.
“What does it look like? is fiction, but to date it is my most autobiographical work. Eve's story is my story,” Wickham said of the book, which will be published in October 2024.
