Sophie Kinsella showed that ‘light’ fiction can speak to women’s real lives

By Charlotte Ireland, Associate Researcher, Department of English, University of Birmingham

The bestselling British author Sophie Kinsella “peacefully” died two days before her 56th birthday on December 10, 2025. Across more than 30 books published between 1995 and 2024, Kinsella became one of the most commercially successful writers of popular women’s fiction. Her novels were the books readers packed for holidays, lent to friends and read on commutes – stories that created a sense of connection through shared experience.

Born Madeleine Wickham, she was one of Britain’s most successful novelist.…

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