LONDON – Writer Sophie Kinsella, whose effervescent rom-com “Confessions of a Shopaholic” sparked a millions-selling series, died Wednesday, her family said. She was 55 and had been diagnosed with brain cancer.
The family said in a statement on Kinsella's Instagram account that "she died peacefully, with her final days filled with her true loves: family and music and warmth and Christmas and joy.
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“We can’t imagine what life will be like without her radiance and love of life,” the family said.
Kinsella, who also published under her real name, Madeleine Wickham, announced in April 2024 that she had been diagnosed more than a year earlier with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer.
“I did not share this before because I wanted to make sure that my children were able to hear and process the news in privacy and adapt to our ’new normal,'" she said at the time.
Kinsella published 10 “Shopaholic” novels starting in 2000 with “The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic,” titled “Confessions of a Shopaholic” in the United States, as well as other fiction. Her books have sold more than 45 million copies worldwide and have been translated into dozens of languages.
From journalism to fiction
Kinsella did not grow up intending to be a writer. One of three girls born to teachers in London, she played piano and violin as a child and also composed music.
She told author-publisher Zibby Owens on her podcast, “Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books,” that the idea of writing never crossed her mind. “It wasn’t my childhood ambition. I wasn’t the child walking around saying, ‘I’m going to write a novel one day.’”
Kinsella enrolled at Oxford University to study music but switched to the politics, philosophy and economics program after one year.
While at college, she met musician Henry Wickham and fell in love. The couple had four sons and a daughter.
After graduating, Kinsella began working as a financial journalist and spent her commute reading. The idea to write fiction herself began to take shape on the train, and she worked on her first novel during her lunch hours.
She published her first novel, ”The Tennis Party,” in 1995, as Madeleine Wickham. Soon after, she left her journalism job to focus on writing. Six other books, including “The Gatecrasher” and “Sleeping Arrangements,” followed.
‘Shopaholic’ success
An otherwise normal shopping excursion sparked the idea for writing her first “Shopaholic” novel
“I remember looking around me and thinking... “We all shop... We talk about it. We do it. We rejoice in it. We make bad decisions. Why hasn’t anybody written about this?” Kinsella said in 2019 on “The Sunday Salon with Alice-Azania Jarvis” podcast.
Kinsella created a story about Becky Bloomwood, a 20-something financial journalist in debt from a shopping habit she can’t (or won’t) kick. The novel contained hilarious back-and-forth correspondence with bill collectors and banks, where she would make excuses for late payments. Kinsella said those letters were one of the most fun bits to write.
There was also a love story with a handsome businessman whom Becky met while on assignment. She went on to marry and have a mini-shopaholic daughter in future books.
The humorous tone of “Confessions of a Shopaholic” was a change from her earlier books, so she decided to submit it to her publishers under a pen name. Her middle name was Sophie and Kinsella was her mother’s maiden name.
The publishers said yes, and “Shopaholic” was published in 2000 under her pseudonym. The novel, blending humor with a cautionary tale about getting in over your head with debt, was an immediate success.
Kinsella said Becky was a modern everywoman whose behavior was "what you wouldn’t do yourself, but maybe you would if you were in absolute extreme circumstances. And that’s what she finds herself in all the time.”
Bloomwood's further adventures followed in books including “Shopaholic Takes Manhattan,” “Shopaholic Ties the Knot” and “Shopaholic & Sister.”
Along with “Bridget Jones” author Helen Fielding and others, Kinsella’s work was often branded “chick lit” by the media. She told the AP in 2004 she didn’t mind the label, interpreting it as signaling a book that is "fun, entertaining and might just have a happy ending.”
“Just because you are interested in frivolous things doesn’t mean that you can’t be bright and have great ideas and the rest of it," she said.
The first two “Shopaholic” books were adapted into the 2009 film “Confessions of a Shopaholic,” starring Isla Fisher and Hugh Dancy.
Kinsella also wrote “The Undomestic Goddess”, “Remember Me?” and “Twenties Girl.” A young adult novel, “Finding Audrey,” was released in 2015, followed by the children’s book series “My Mummy Fairy and Me.”
Her novel “Can You Keep a Secret?” was adapted into a 2019 film starring Alexandra Daddario and Tyler Hoechlin. Her last novel was “The Burnout,” released in 2023.
Illness and hope
In November 2022, after experiencing symptoms including memory loss, headaches and balance troubles, Kinsella was diagnosed with glioblastoma, for which there is no cure. She kept the news private until April 2024. In an interview with TV personality Robin Roberts aired a few months later, Kinsella said she was focused on living in the moment.
“I’ve already lasted more than the average. That’s how we get through. We hope,” she said.
After her diagnosis, she wrote a novella, “What Does It Feel Like,” about a woman with five children who has brain cancer.
“I thought people might be curious to know what it’s like to go through this,” Kinsella told Roberts. “I hope it’s full of optimism and love most of all.”
Araminta Whitley and Marina de Pass, Kinsella’s agents at The Soho Agency, said the writer “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.”
Bill Scott-Kerr, her publisher at Transworld, said Kinsella leaves behind “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.”
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Rancilio reported from Detroit.