Susan Morgan (

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

s: Zoe Barnes and Sue Dyson) (20 July 1957 – 31 October 2009) of

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

was a best-selling

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

author 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 ...

genre. She published 45 novels and also translated books into French.

Biography

Susan Morgan was born near

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

to a Manx mother and

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

father. Her chick lit novels, written under the pen name of Zoe Barnes, include, ''Bouncing Back'', ''Bumps'', ''Hitched'', ''Hot Property'', ''Ex-Appeal'', ''Love Bug'' and ''Just Married'' and she is classed as an originator of this written genre. She also wrote erotic fantasy and

vampire novel Vampire literature covers the spectrum of literary work concerned principally with the subject of vampires. The literary vampire first appeared in 18th-century poetry, before becoming one of the stock figures of gothic fiction with the publicat ...

s under the names Sophie Danson, Valentina Cilescu and Anastasia Dubois. She also translated French novels (including those of Christian Jacq) under the pen name of Sue Dyson. Sue was also one of a small number of translators who, following a worldwide search, were given the task of translating

Van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artwork ...

's French language letters for the prestigious Van Gogh Letters Project for the

Van Gogh Museum The Van Gogh Museum () is a Dutch art museum dedicated to the works of Vincent van Gogh and his contemporaries in the Museum Square in Amsterdam South, close to the Stedelijk Museum, the Rijksmuseum, and the Concertgebouw. The museum opened o ...

in Amsterdam. Morgan was a singer (

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

) and had been a member of Equity. She suffered from

Tolosa–Hunt syndrome Tolosa–Hunt syndrome is a rare disease, rare disorder characterized by severe and unilateral headaches with orbital pain, along with weakness and paralysis (ophthalmoplegia) of certain eye muscles (extraocular muscle paresis, extraocular palsies) ...

and

Marinesco–Sjögren syndrome Marinesco–Sjögren syndrome (MSS), sometimes spelled Marinescu–Sjögren syndrome, is a rare autosomal recessive disorder. Presentation The syndrome causes cerebellar ataxia (balance and coordination problems), intellectual disability, congeni ...

. She faced many surgeries following a motorcycling accident in her youth, and combined with her autoimmune diseases she experienced constant pain. Suffering from depression due to a marital breakup, Morgan died by suicide while on holiday on the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

in 2009 at the age of 52. She was survived by her husband Simon Morgan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Susan 1957 births 2009 suicides Writers from Cheltenham English romantic fiction writers British chick lit writers Suicides in the Isle of Man English women novelists 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English women writers British women romantic fiction writers 2009 deaths