Author of Shopaholic series of novels dies aged 55

Sophie Kinsella, author of the bestselling Shopaholic series of novels, has died at the age of 55, her family have announced.

The writer, whose real name is Madeleine Sophie Wickham, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer in 2022.

A statement posted to her social media accounts read: “We are heartbroken to announce the pblocking this morning of our beloved Sophie (aka Maddy, aka Mummy).

“She died peacefully, with her final days filled with her true loves: family and music and warmth and Christmas and joy.”

Kinsella’s books have sold more than 50 million copies in more than 60 countries, and have been translated into more than 40 languages.

Kinsella announced in 2024 that she had been diagnosed with a glioblastoma two years earlier.

The family statement 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 was born in London in 1969, and studied music at New College, Oxford, before switching to philosophy, politics and economics.

She wrote her first novel, The Tennis Party, under her real name aged 24, while working as a financial journalist.

“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 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.”

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, which introduced readers to Becky Bloomwood, a financial journalist who is a serial shopper and hopeless when it comes to her own finances.

The first two novels in Kinsella’s eight-book Shopaholic series were adapted for the 2009 film Confessions of a Shopaholic, starring Isla Fisher.

“I thought, wait a minute, shopping has become the national pastime, and nobody has written about it,” Kinsella said of her best-selling series.

After its huge success, Kinsella went on to write eight further Shopaholic novels and a short story, and another 18 books in total, including one young adult novel and four children’s books.

Kinsella’s other works include Can You Keep A Secret? and The Undomestic Goddess.

Her 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”.

“Hiding behind my fictional characters, I have always turned my own life into a narrative. It is my version of therapy, maybe.”

Her publisher said Kinsella “defined and elevated romantic comedy by populating her stories with real-life issues that combined wit, emotional depth and societal insight”.

“Her distinctive voice and style brought her readers from a wide demographic across the world.”

Glioblastomas are the deadliest and most aggressive type of brain cancer.

About 3,200 people are diagnosed with a glioblastoma every year in the UK. Of these, just 160 survive for five years or more.

It’s a type of cancer that grows quickly – glioblastomas are likely to spread within the brain and come back even after being removed.

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.