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

Shopaholic 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 ...

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 financ ...

'' and ''

Shopaholic Abroad ''Shopaholic Abroad'' (also known as ''Shopaholic Takes Manhattan'') (2001) is the second in the '' Shopaholic'' series. It is an adventure novel by Sophie Kinsella, a pseudonym of Madeleine Wickham. It follows the story of Becky Bloomwood and ...

'', were adapted into the film '' Confessions of a Shopaholic'' (2009). Her books have sold over 40 million copies in more than 60 countries, and 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 is an independent all-girls 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 schools ...

, St Mary's School near Shaftesbury,

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 over 90 per cent of them livin ...

, and

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

, 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 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 best-seller. 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 younger women. Widely used in the 1990s and 2000s, the term has fallen out of fashion with publishers while writers and critics have rejected its inherent sexism. Novels id ...

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 fashionist ...

, a financial journalist who cannot manage her own finances. She 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 called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

and released in February 2009. The most recent addition to the ''Shopaholic'' series, "Shopaholic to the Rescue" was released on 22 October 2015; "Christmas Shopaholic" was released in October 2019. Her most recent standalone novels are "Love Your Life", "I Owe You One" (Feb 2019), ''My Not So Perfect Life'' and ''Surprise Me''. 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

Personal life

Kinsella lives in Dorset and London with her husband, Henry Wickham (whom she met in Oxford), who was previously headmaster of Lockers Park boys preparatory school and now manages her business affairs. They were married in 1991.

Bibliography

As Sophie Kinsella

The ''Shopaholic'' series # ''

'' (also titled ''Confessions of a Shopaholic'') (2000) # ''

'' (also titled ''Shopaholic Takes Manhattan'') (2001) # '' Shopaholic Ties The Knot'' (2001) # '' Shopaholic on Honeymoon'' (2014) # ''

Shopaholic & Sister ''Shopaholic and Sister'' (2004) is a chick-lit novel by Sophie Kinsella, a pseudonym of Madeline Wickham. It is the fourth book in the Shopaholic series. It follows the story of Becky Brandon (née Bloomwood) and her husband Luke as they retur ...

'' (2004) # ''

Shopaholic & Baby ''Shopaholic and Baby'' (2007) is the fifth novel in the popular 'Shopaholic' series. It is a chick-lit novel by Sophie Kinsella, a pseudonym of Madeline Wickham. It follows the story of Becky Brandon (née Bloomwood) and her husband Luke as t ...

'' (2007) # ''

Mini Shopaholic ''Mini Shopaholic'' (2010) is the sixth book of 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 daug ...

'' (2010) # ''Shopaholic to the Stars'' (2014) # ''Shopaholic to the Rescue'' (2015) # ''Christmas Shopaholic'' (2019)

Standalone novels

* '' Can You Keep a Secret?'' (2003) * '' The Undomestic Goddess'' (2005) * ''

Remember Me? Remember may refer to: Film and television * ''Remember?'', a 1939 film starring Robert Taylor and Greer Garson * ''Remember'' (1926 film), an American silent drama film * ''Remember'' (2015 film), a Canadian film by Atom Egoyan, starring Chris ...

'' (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)

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 ''Princess Diaries'', which was later adapted by W ...

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) *''Fairy Mom 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 London People educated at St Mary's School, Shaftesbury 1969 births 20th-century pseudonymous writers 21st-century pseudonymous writers Pseudonymous women writers