Sophie Kinsella

Madeleine Sophie Wickham (née Townley; 12 December 1969 – 10 December 2025), known by her pen name Sophie Kinsella, was an English author. She is especially known for her best-selling Shopaholic series of novels. The first two novels in the series, The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic (2000) and Shopaholic Abroad (2001), were adapted into the film Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009).

Sophie Kinsella
Kinsella in 2009
Born	Madeleine Sophie Townley (1969-12-12)12 December 1969 Roehampton, London, England
Died	10 December 2025(2025-12-10) (aged 55) Dorset, England
Occupation	Novelist
Period	1991–2025
Genre	Romantic comedy
Notable works	The Shopaholic series
Spouse	Henry Wickham ​ (m. 1991)​
Children	5
Website
sophiekinsella.co.uk

Early life and education

Madeleine Sophie Townley was born on 12 December 1969^[1] in Roehampton, South West London to parents David Townley and Patricia (née Kinsella), a teacher and a lecturer respectively.^[2] She had maternal Irish heritage.^[3] She was the eldest of three daughters.^[4]

She was educated at Putney High School, St Mary's School, Shaftesbury, Sherborne School for Girls, and New College, Oxford, where she initially studied Music, but after a year switched to Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE), graduating with a BA.^[4]

She worked as a financial journalist (including for Pensions World) before turning to writing fiction.^[5]

Career

At the age of 24, Kinsella wrote her first novel, which was published in 1995 when she was 26. The Tennis Party (later republished as 40 Love in 2011) was immediately hailed as a success by critics and the public alike^{[citation needed]} and became a top-ten bestseller.^{[clarification needed]} She went on to publish six more novels as Madeleine Wickham: A Desirable Residence (1996), Swimming Pool Sunday (1997), The Gatecrasher (1998), The Wedding Girl (1999), Cocktails for Three (2000), and Sleeping Arrangements (2001). These were all published before she adopted a pseudonym.^[6]

Wickham's first novel under the pseudonym Sophie Kinsella (taken from her middle name and her mother's maiden name)^[7] was submitted to her publishers anonymously and was enthusiastically received. She revealed her real identity for the first time when her fourth pseudonymous novel Can You Keep a Secret? (her seventh novel overall) was published in December 2003.^[8]

Kinsella is best known for having written the Shopaholic series of chick lit novels, which concern the misadventures of Becky Bloomwood, a financial journalist who cannot manage her own finances. Becky is also known for her relationship with Luke. A theme of the series is her obsession with shopping and its resulting complications for her life. The first two Shopaholic books were adapted into the film Confessions of a Shopaholic, released in February 2009.^[9][10]

Shopaholic to the Rescue was released on 22 October 2015; "Christmas Shopaholic" was released in October 2019. Her most recent standalone novels are My Not So Perfect Life (2017), Surprise Me (2018), I Owe You One (Feb 2019), Love Your Life (2020), The Party Crasher (2021), The Burnout (2023), and What Does It Feel Like? (2024).^[11] In 2015, she branched into Young Adult writing with her first YA book, Finding Audrey, published in June 2015.^[12]

A musical adaptation of Kinsella's novel Sleeping Arrangements by Chris Burgess was premiered on 17 April 2013 in London at the Landor Theatre.^[13]

By the time of her death, her books had sold over 50 million copies in more than 60 countries and had been translated into over 40 languages.^[14]

Personal life and death

In 1991, Kinsella married Henry Wickham, whom she had met at Oxford. A schoolmaster, he became head of Lockers Park School and managed her business affairs. They lived in Dorset and London, with their four sons and one daughter.^[15][16]

In 2024, Kinsella revealed she had glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, with which she was diagnosed in late 2022. She underwent neurosurgery.^[17][9] Kinsella died at her home in Dorset on 10 December 2025, two days before her 56th birthday.^[1][18]

Accolades

In 2024, Kinsella's novel What Does It Feel Like? was selected as one of The New York Times' 100 Notable Books of the Year.^[19] The book was also listed among "five of the best romance books" of the year by The Guardian.^[20]

In 2025, Kinsella was shortlisted for "Author of the Year" in the British Book Awards.^[21]

Bibliography

As Madeleine Wickham

• The Tennis Party (1995) (re-released as 40 Love in 2011)
• A Desirable Residence (1996)
• Swimming Pool Sunday (1997)
• The Gatecrasher (1998)
• The Wedding Girl (1999)
• Cocktails for Three (2000)
• Sleeping Arrangements (2001)

As Sophie Kinsella

The Shopaholic series

1. The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic (also titled Confessions of a Shopaholic) (2000)
2. Shopaholic Abroad (also titled Shopaholic Takes Manhattan) (2001)
3. Shopaholic Ties The Knot (2001)
4. Shopaholic & Sister (2004)
5. Shopaholic & Baby (2007)
6. Mini Shopaholic (2010)
7. Shopaholic to the Stars (2014)
8. Shopaholic on Honeymoon (2014) — short story
9. Shopaholic to the Rescue (2015)
10. Christmas Shopaholic (2019)

Other novels

• Can You Keep a Secret? (2003)
• The Undomestic Goddess (2005)
• Remember Me? (2008)
• Twenties Girl (2009)
• I've Got Your Number (2011)
• Wedding Night (2013)
• My Not So Perfect Life (2017)
• Surprise Me (2018)
• I Owe You One (2019)
• Love Your Life (2020)
• The Party Crasher (2021)
• The Burnout (2023)
• What Does It Feel Like? (2024)

Other

• Girls Night In (2004) (an omnibus of novels, along with many authors including Meg Cabot and Jennifer Weiner)
• Finding Audrey (2015) (a young adult novel)
• Mummy Fairy and Me (2018) (an illustrated series for young readers)