World
'Sex and shopping' novelist Judith Krantz dies aged 91
New York-born writer's tales of the super-rich sold in their millions worldwide
June 25, 2019 10:56
New York-born writer's tales of the super-rich sold in their millions worldwide
June 25, 2019 10:56The best-selling novelist Judith Krantz has died at the age of 91.
Her ten “sex and shopping” tales of the super rich, including Princess Daisy and Scruples, sold 85,000,000 copies in more than 50 languages.
Born in New York in 1928, Krantz attended Wellesley College with three goals: to date, to read every novel in the library, and to graduate. She became a journalist, only turning to fiction when she was 50.
“Just in time for my 50th birthday, I discovered that I could write fiction. My husband had urged me to try fiction for 15 years before I did,” she said in 2001. “I believed that if I couldn’t write ‘literature,’ I shouldn’t write at all.”
“Now, I would say to young women, do something you have a true feeling for, no matter how little talent you may believe you have,” she added. “Let no masterwork be your goal — a modest goal may lead you further than you dream.”
Some of her books touched on Jewish themes, but they were mainly prized for their escapist materialism and sex scenes.
“If you’re going to write a good erotic scene, you have to go into details,” Krantz said in 1990. “I don’t believe in thunder and lightning and fireworks exploding. I think people want to know what’s happening.”