I was terribly sad to hear about the death at the age of just 55 of the wonderfully talented and very lovely Madeleine Wickham, who also wrote under the name of Sophie Kinsella, going on to considerable success with her Shopaholic series.

Not just because it’s a terribly young age to go and brain cancer such a cruel vehicle but because for a short time we were journalistic colleagues.

I hesitate to call her a friend, tempting though it is to claim kinship with an international best-selling author who has so far sold over 50 million books: acquaintance or colleague would be more apt although we were always friendly.

Our contact was fleeting, one or two meetings and a flurry of phone calls over a few years around the turn of the millennium as she morphed from journalist to globally-read best-selling author.

As Madeleine, she wrote a column for What House?, one of the magazines in the Blendon Communications stable.

This was in the 1990s when she was making her way as a financial journalist. My old friend Rupert Bates, who was the magazine’s Editor, forgets who contacted whom but suspects it was over lunch that the deal was done. Rupert was good at lunches. He would later use lunch, at Elena’s L’Etoile in Charlotte Street no less, to sign up the actress Fiona Fullerton who was also turning herself into a property guru. He also tapped into the gardening expertise of pop star Kim Wilde, by the way, although he claims no lunch was required for his teenage pin-up.

“I remember Madeleine as a lovely, caring person, so observant and interested in other people, and with a deliciously light and generous sense of humour,” he remembers.

“She agreed to write a regular piece on home finance for What House? Sensible, practical stuff which didn’t really hint at the Shopaholic.

“I remember judging What House? Award entries with her and discussing over lunch how both of us would love to write books if only time allowed.

“I guess one of us got on with it.”

I was peripherally involved in What House? and the trade title Show House from 1996 but would find myself checking copy with contributors over the phone or meeting them if they popped into the office.

Blendon had a reputation as a ‘welcoming’ publishing house, for which you can also read ‘thirsty’. In the late 1990s we were based in Hanway Street, a gnat’s spit from Oxford Street. Contributors enjoyed dropping by as it inevitably meant a good lunch at best or, if we were going to press, a sly pint in the pub opposite, the celebrated Bradley’s Spanish Bar. A touch rough but always ready.

Madeleine continued writing under her own name and as her novels gained more of an audience, she began to write less frequently for our magazines.

During a phone call in 2000, she let slip that her new novel was going out under a pseudonym: Sophie Kinsella.

“It’s quite exciting as Disney have already bought the rights,” she said.

At this point I was still working for Blendon but was editing Skylines, an in-flight magazine we were publishing for British Regional Airlines.

“How would Sophie feel about giving me an interview for Skylines?” I asked.

“Well we aren’t doing any press because we are keeping my identity a secret.”

“Perfect. You’ve nothing to lose with us. We all know you and I’m more than happy to keep your secret. In fact I will interview you under my own alter ego: Bettina von Schlitz.”

“You’re Bettina?”

“Shhh. Don’t tell anyone.”

And that’s how the notorious ‘It Girl’ Bettina von Schlitz landed one of the first ever interviews, if not the first, with the remarkable Sophie Kinsella.

It ran at the back of the December 2000/January 2001 edition of Skylines which was, sadly, closed down just over a year later when British Regional was folded into British Airways.

I like to think, though, that we helped her on her way: in The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic, the first in the series which was published in the US as Confessions of a Shopaholic, her heroine Becky Bloomwood goes to a press conference at Brandon Communications – a suspicious blend of Bradley’s and Blendon. There is also a Derek Smeath, Becky’s bank manager, although it may just have been coincidence that the Blendon CEO was Derek Smith, another man who enjoyed a good lunch and a bottle of Chablis.

There were nine Shopaholic novels and that Disney movie eventually came out in 2009 with Isla Fisher in the lead. I read nothing into the fact that Big Spender is used on the soundtrack.

And so, at the bottom of the page, here is that interview as it appeared a quarter of a century ago Just click on it to increase the size of the image. The photo is deliberately Madeleine’s back view to reduce the chance of recognition.

Cheers to you Madeleine. I didn’t know you well but thank you for letting me briefly into your life. And many condolences to Henry and their five children.

For those whose eyesight is as poor as mine, here is the transcript

Bettina von Schlitz: So Sophie, congratulations. Your first book and it’s really taken off.

Sophie Kinsella: Absolutely. I’ve been thrilled to see it reach number three in the British bestsellers list recently, and now it’s being translated into 13 other languages – from French to Finnish to Japanese. I guess shopping is a pretty universal pursuit. Plus the film rights have been sold to Disney, which is extremely exciting.

BVS: Wow, Disney. I guess that means we’ll be seeing you at the Oscars next year.

SK: That would be nice. I think we might have to wait a tad longer – filmmaking is one of the slowest processes in the world. But obviously I have bought a sparkly dress just in case.

BVS: Talking of celeb bashes, didn’t I see you hobnobbing with that Jayne Middlemiss recently?

SK: That’s right, at the launch of the Oasis flagship store in Argyle Street, London. Oasis have been great in promoting the book, and we had a fab time with the style challenge makeovers and, of course, lots of shopping. Basically, your perfect day.

BVS: Gosh, you’re not wrong. But seriously, Sophie, a book about shopping? It’s every girl’s dream. The research must have been great.

SK: Well, it’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it. The great thing now is that I’m allowed to shop all I like and call it work.

BVS: Your heroine, Becky Bloomwood, attempts to give up shopping altogether. Have you ever tried?

SK: Are you serious? Actually, I’m a bit of a Becky. I’ll get one Visa bill too many, panic, and announce: “That’s it, I’m not spending ever again. Ever.” And my resolve usually lasts about… five minutes.

BVS: Five minutes?

SK: Well, the trouble is, there’s always something you need, isn’t there? There’s always a present to buy or a special offer to be snapped up, or a really fab pair of boots, which will be an utter investment.

BVS: So you’re a shopaholic?

SK: Well…

BVS: Can you walk down a high street and not go into a shop?

SK: Erm… no.

BVS: You can’t help feeling sorry for Becky, can you? She gets herself more and more in debt, although she should know better, I suppose, as a financial journalist.

SK: She should know a lot better. With one bit of her brain, she’s writing articles on how to invest wisely, and with the other, she’s thinking about new shoes. No wonder she gets into trouble.

BVS: How does she cope?

SK: She lies. She throws a million excuses at her bank manager. She’s broken her leg, she’s got glandular fever, her non-existent dog has died.

BVS: But you would never do anything like that, would you?

SK: Absolutely not. No. Never. Not at all.

BVS: Blank cheque book and all the shops in the world. Where’s it going be?

SK: Ooh, is this for real? When do we leave? In the UK, I would probably plump for Harvey Nichols. I know it’s a cliche, but it’s a beautiful shop, which has the advantage of not being too huge, like Harrods, and also has that great restaurant on the fifth floor. As for the rest of the world, well, having recently come back from New York, it would just have to be Barney’s, which is one of the coolest shops in the world.

BVS: Okay, now give me a tip. Where should I go for the best bargains in the January sales?

SK: I adore the Fenwicks sale on Bond Street. It always seems to have really good discounts on designer jeans.

BVS: Are you working on anything else at the moment?

SK: At the moment, I’m working on the sequel to Shopaholic, which is proving a lot of fun. And yes, I’ve been forced to do some more vital research.

BVS: Where was your last overseas trip?

SK: I’ve just returned from a wonderful information-gathering trip to New York, where I pretty much shopped till I dropped. What an amazing city. What a level of energy. It was exhilarating for a few days, but I’m not sure I could keep it up permanently.

BVS: Can you remember your very first flight?

SK: Oh yes, I was about 14, quite elderly by today’s standards, and I absolutely couldn’t believe we were actually going to rise into the air. I stared out of the window the whole flight, mesmerised by being in the sky.

BVS: Do you ever buy anything from the inboard shopping?

SK: Is the Pope Catholic? As soon as I sit down, I grab for the catalogue and convince myself I just need a new luxury gold pen and pencil set with matching compass.

BVS: What is the best airport you’ve ever visited for its shopping?

SK: Has to be Dubai. It’s more like a shopping mall than an airport. And there’s a raffle to win a car. Completely mad.

BVS: Do you have anything else to declare?

SK: Always remember, a shoe in the hand is worth two in the rack.

†

@Barney Spender 2025