Sophie Kinsella, the celebrated author of the “Shopaholic” series, is being remembered as a “wonderful, warm woman” following her passing at the age of 55.
The writer, whose legal name was Madeleine Sophie Wickham, had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer in 2022.
Jojo Moyes, author of “Me Before You” and a friend of Kinsella’s for two decades, told BBC News that she had “never met anybody who carried more grace.”
“She was incredibly kind, incredibly smart, and she wore her success and her brilliance so lightly,” Moyes stated.
“There was not a person who met her who didn’t light up in her presence, because she was just good and kind, and people felt that through her characters,” Moyes shared with the BBC’s David Sillito.
“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 literary works have sold over 50 million copies across more than 60 countries, with translations into over 40 languages.
Author Jodi Picoult expressed that Kinsella “will be missed greatly,” while novelist Adele Parks characterized 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 added.
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.”
Kinsella publicly announced her diagnosis of glioblastoma, which she had received two years prior, in 2024.
In a statement released on Wednesday, her family conveyed their “heartbreak” at the passing of “our beloved Sophie.”
“She died peacefully, with her final days filled with her true loves: family and music and warmth and 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 took nothing for granted and was forever grateful for the love she received. She will be missed so much our hearts are breaking.”
A statement from Kinsella’s publisher noted that she “defined and elevated romantic comedy by populating her stories with real-life issues that combined wit, emotional depth and societal insight.”
Bill Scott-Kerr, her longtime publisher at Transworld, described Kinsella as “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.”
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 wherever they were in the world and whatever challenges they faced.”
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.”
Moyes concurred, telling the BBC: “The big mistake people make with Sophie’s books is they assume they were easy [to write] because they’re easy to read.”
“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.”
Kinsella was born in London in 1969, and pursued music at New College, Oxford, before transitioning to philosophy, politics, and economics.
She penned her debut novel, “The Tennis Party,” at the age of 24 under her married name, Madeleine Wickham, while employed 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 garnered critical acclaim and achieved top 10 bestseller status. Subsequently, she released six more novels under the name Madeleine Wickham.
Five years later, writing as Sophie Kinsella, she published “The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic,” also known as “Confessions of a Shopaholic.”
The novel introduced readers to Becky Bloomwood, a financial journalist with a shopping addiction and a penchant for impulsive purchases, often relying on her credit card rather than saving.
“I thought, wait a minute, shopping has become the national pastime, and nobody has written about it,” Kinsella remarked about her bestselling series.
The initial two novels of the series were adapted into the 2009 film “Confessions of a Shopaholic,” starring Isla Fisher.
Following its resounding success, Kinsella proceeded to write eight additional “Shopaholic” novels and a short story, along with 18 other books, including a young adult novel and four children’s books.
Kinsella’s other notable works encompass “Can You Keep A Secret?” and “The Undomestic Goddess.”
Her books were sometimes categorized as “chick lit,” a label she did not fully embrace.
“When I hear the term ‘chick lit’, I feel a pinprick of, not annoyance but of slight resignation,” she shared with the Daily Mail in 2018. “‘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. Read them on the beach!'”
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 undergoing surgery.
In the introduction to the book, Kinsella disclosed that 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.”
Kinsella is survived by her husband, Henry, and their five children.
Glioblastomas represent the most lethal and aggressive form of brain cancer.
Approximately 3,200 individuals are diagnosed with glioblastoma annually in the UK, with only 160 surviving for five years or longer.
This type of cancer exhibits rapid growth, and glioblastomas are prone to spreading within the brain and recurring even after surgical removal.
Symptoms can vary but may include headaches resulting from increased pressure, personality alterations, and memory impairments. Individuals may also experience difficulties with speech, extreme fatigue, depression, seizures, and vision problems.
Common treatments encompass chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and if the patient’s condition permits, surgical intervention is performed to remove as much of the cancerous tissue as possible.