Sophie Kinsella, the author of the bestselling “Confessions of a Shopaholic,” has died, according to her family. She was 55.
Kinsella, whose real name is Madeleine Wickham, was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, in 2022.
“We are heartbroken to announce the passing this morning of our beloved Sophie (aka Maddy, aka Mummy),” Kinsella’s family said in a statement posted to her Instagram account on Wednesday . “She died peacefully, with her final days filled with her true loves: family and music and warmth and Christmas and joy.”
“We can’t imagine what life will be like without her radiance and love of life,” the statement continued. “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.”
She is survived by her husband, Henry Wickham, and their five children.
The journey from journalist to novelist
Kinsella did not set out to be a novelist. She initially studied music at Oxford before switching to politics, philosophy and economics. After graduation, she became a financial journalist but began to write fiction on the train during her commute to central London.
In 1995, Kinsella published her first novel, ”The Tennis Party,” under her given name, Madeleine Wickham. She quit journalism to focus on writing.
In 2000, she published the first of 10 “Shopaholic” novels, “The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic” (titled “ Confessions of a Shopaholic ” in the United States), under her pen name Sophie Kinsella, a combination of her middle name (Sophie) and her mother’s maiden name (Kinsella).
