JOANNA Trollope, the bestselling author of the “Aga Sagas” has died at the age of 82.
Trollope made a name for herself writing bestselling romance and intrigue novels including The Rector’s Wife, Marrying the Mistress and Daughters in Law.
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Joanna Trollope after she was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)Credit: PA
Joanna Trollope was best known for her contemporary fiction workCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Joanna Trollope is survived by her two daughtersCredit: Handout
She passed away peacefully in her Oxfordshire home, a statement from her daughters said.
Trollope was born on December 9 , 1943, in her grandfather’s rectory in Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire, England.
She is survived by her two daughters, Louise and Antonia, her two step sons and her grandchildren.
In a statement, Joanna Trollope’s daughters Antonia and Louise said: “Our beloved and inspirational mother Joanna Trollope has died peacefully at her Oxfordshire home, on December 11 aged 82.”
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Her literary agent James Gill said: “It is with great sadness that we learn of the passing of Joanna Trollope, one of our most cherished, acclaimed and widely enjoyed novelists.
“Joanna will be mourned by her children, grandchildren, family, her countless friends and – of course – her readers.”
From 1965 to 1967, Joanna worked as a civil servant at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
And, from 1967 to 1979, she was employed as a teacher before becoming a writer full-time in 1980.
Trollope began writing historical romances under the pseudonym of Caroline Harvey.
She switched genres to contemporary fiction which she became well known for.
Published in 1987, The Choir was her first contemporary novel; then The Rector’s Wife, published in 1991, beat out Jeffrey Archer on the top of the hardback bestseller lists.
Trollope famously explained her books’ popularity, saying: “I think my books are just the dear old traditional novel making a quiet comeback.”
She would go on to write the first novel in Harper Collins updating of the Jane Austen canon, The Austen Project.
Trollope’s version of “Sense and Sensibility” was published in October 2013 with limited success.
She married a city banker, David Roger William Potter, in 1966 and the couple had two daughters.
In 1985 she married the television dramatist Ian Curteis and became a stepmother of his two sons.
Trollope and Curteis then divorced in 2001 and she moved to West London.
Trollope appeared on a 1994 edition of Desert Island Discs and would remark that men often suggested her books were trivial.
She said she liked to respond to the statement with: “It is a grave mistake to think there is more significance in great things than in little things.”
She was awarded an OBE in 1996 – later elevated to CBE for services to literature.
From 1967 to 1979, the bestselling author was employed as a teacher before becoming a writer full-time in 1980Credit: Rex
Trollope penned The Rector’s Wife, Marrying the Mistress and Daughters in LawCredit: Getty – Contributor
