Sophie Kinsella, the best-selling English author of the “Shopaholic” book series, revealed on social media on Wednesday that she had been undergoing treatment for an aggressive and often fatal form of brain cancer. Kinsella said that she had been diagnosed with glioblastoma in 2022, but waited to make the diagnosis public so her children could “ hear and process the news privately and adapt to our ‘new normal.’” She added that her condition was stable after a successful operation and ongoing chemotherapy and radiation at University College Hospital in London. Kinsella, whose real name is Madeleine Wickham, has written a string of hit novels, starting with “Confessions of a Shopaholic” in 2000, about a financial journalist in New York City with a serious shopping addiction. About a decade later, a movie starring Isla Fisher based on the original novel and a sequel was released. Since the smashing success of the first novel, nine sequels following the life of the protagonist Rebecca Bloomwood have been released, earning Kinsella, 54, a loyal following and a reigning position among authors of romantic comedy books.

---

Persons: Sophie Kinsella, Kinsella, glioblastoma, Madeleine Wickham, Isla Fisher, Rebecca Bloomwood Organizations: University College Hospital Locations: London, New York City