Madeleine Sophie Wickham, known by her pen name Sophie Kinsella, is an English author. The first two novels in her best-selling ''Shopaholic'' series, ''

The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic ''The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic'' (2000) (released in the United States and India as ''Confessions of a Shopaholic'') is a chick-lit novel by Sophie Kinsella, the first in the Shopaholic series. It focuses on Becky Bloomwood, a finan ...

'' and '' Shopaholic Abroad'', were adapted into the film '' Confessions of a Shopaholic'' (2009). Her books have sold over 40 million copies in more than 60 countries and have been translated into over 40 languages.

Early life

Madeleine Sophie Wickham is the eldest sister of fellow writers, Gemma and Abigail Townley. She was educated at

Putney High School Putney High School, GDST is an independent girls' day school in Putney, London. Often referred to as simply Putney, the school admits students from the ages 4–18. Founded in 1893 it is a member of the Girls' Day School Trust, a union of 26 ...

St Mary's School, Shaftesbury St Mary's School was a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private Roman Catholic day and boarding school for girls, founded in 1945 in a rural setting near Shaftesbury, England. The school had a sixth form and was a member of the Girls' Scho ...

and

Sherborne School for Girls Sherborne Girls, formally known as Sherborne School for Girls, is an independent day and boarding school for girls, located in Sherborne, North Dorset, England. There were 485 pupils attending in 2019–2020, with more than 90 per cent of them ...

. She graduated from

New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...

, where she initially studied Music, but after a year switched to Politics, Philosophy and Economics ( PPE). She worked as a financial journalist (including for ''Pensions World'') before turning to writing fiction.

Life and career

At the age of 24, Kinsella wrote her first novel, which was published when she was 26. ''The Tennis Party'' was immediately hailed as a success by critics and the public alike and became a top ten bestseller. She went on to publish six more novels as Madeleine Wickham: ''A Desirable Residence'', ''Swimming Pool Sunday'', ''The Gatecrasher'', ''The Wedding Girl'', ''Cocktails for Three,'' and ''Sleeping Arrangements''. Wickham's first novel under the pseudonym Sophie Kinsella (taken from her middle name and her mother's maiden name)Profile
notablebiographies.com; accessed 12 December 2015. was submitted to her publishers anonymously and was enthusiastically received. She revealed her real identity for the first time when ''Can You Keep a Secret?'' was published in December 2003. Kinsella is best known for writing the ''Shopaholic'' novels series of

chick lit "Chick lit" is a term used to describe a type of popular fiction targeted at women. Widely used in the 1990s and 2000s, the term has fallen out of fashion with publishers, with numerous writers and critics rejecting it as inherently sexist. Nove ...

novels, which focus on the misadventures of

Becky Bloomwood Rebecca Jane "Becky" Brandon (née Bloomwood) is a fictional character and the main protagonist from the ''Shopaholic'' series of novels by British author Sophie Kinsella. She has been described by ''Bustle'' as "fiction's most famous fashionista ...

, a financial journalist who cannot manage her own finances. Becky is also known for her relationship with Luke. The series focuses on her obsession with

shopping Shopping is an activity in which a customer browses the available goods or services presented by one or more retailers with the potential intent to purchase a suitable selection of them. A Retail#Shopper profiles, typology of shopper types ha ...

and its resulting complications for her life. The first two ''Shopaholic'' books were adapted into a

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

and released in February 2009. "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). In 2015, she branched into Young Adult writing with her first YA book, ''Finding Audrey'', published in June 2015. A musical adaptation of Kinsella's novel ''Sleeping Arrangements'' by Chris Burgess was premiered on 17 April 2013 in London a
the Landor Theatre

Accolades

Kinsella was shortlisted as "Author of the Year" in 2025, by

British Book Awards The British Book Awards or Nibbies are literary awards for the best UK writers and their works, administered by ''The Bookseller''. The awards have had several previous names, owners and sponsors since being launched in 1990, including the Na ...

. In 2024, her novel ''What Does It Feel Like?'' was selected as one of

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

' 100 Notable Books of the Year. The novel was also listed as one of the five best of the year by

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

Personal life

In 1991, Kinsella married Henry Wickham, whom she had met at Oxford. A schoolmaster, he became head of Lockers Park Preparatory School and now manages her business affairs. They live in

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and have four sons and a daughter. In 2024, Kinsella revealed she had

glioblastoma Glioblastoma, previously known as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), is the most aggressive and most common type of cancer that originates in the brain, and has a very poor prognosis for survival. Initial signs and symptoms of glioblastoma are nons ...

, an aggressive form of brain cancer which she was diagnosed with in late 2022.

Bibliography

As Sophie Kinsella

The ''Shopaholic'' series # ''

'' (also titled ''Confessions of a Shopaholic'') (2000) # '' Shopaholic Abroad'' (also titled ''Shopaholic Takes Manhattan'') (2001) # '' Shopaholic Ties The Knot'' (2001) # '' Shopaholic & Sister'' (2004) # ''

Shopaholic & Baby A shopaholic is someone with a shopping addiction. Shopaholic can also refer to: *An informal term for someone with a compulsive buying disorder * ''Shopaholic'' (novels), a series of books written by Sophie Kinsella ** ''Confessions of a Shopaho ...

'' (2007) # ''

Mini Shopaholic ''Mini Shopaholic'' (2010) is the sixth book of the Shopaholic series. It is a chick-lit novel by Sophie Kinsella, a pen-name of Madeline Wickham. It focuses on the main character Rebecca (Becky) Bloomwood, her husband Luke Brandon and their ...

'' (2010) # ''Shopaholic to the Stars'' (2014) # '' Shopaholic on Honeymoon'' (2014) — short story # ''Shopaholic to the Rescue'' (2015) # ''Christmas Shopaholic'' (2019)

Standalone 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 Meggin Patricia Cabot (born February 1, 1967) is an American novelist. She has written and published over 50 novels of young adult and adult fiction and is best known for her young adult series ''The Princess Diaries'', which was later adapted b ...

and

Jennifer Weiner Jennifer Weiner (born March 28, 1970) is an American writer, television producer, and journalist. She is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her debut novel, published in 2001, was '' Good in Bed''. Her novel '' In Her Shoes'' (2002) was made i ...

) * ''Finding Audrey'' (2015) (a young adult novel) *''Mummy Fairy and Me'' (2018) (an illustrated series for young readers)

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)

References

External links

*
Sophie Kinsella at Random House Australia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kinsella, Sophie Alumni of New College, Oxford English women novelists British chick lit writers Living people People educated at Putney High School Writers from the London Borough of Wandsworth People educated at St Mary's School, Shaftesbury 1969 births 20th-century pseudonymous writers 21st-century pseudonymous writers Pseudonymous women writers