Judith Krantz dies, aged 91

Tributes have been paid to romance novelist 91-year-old Judith Krantz, who has died, from natural causes, with her long-time UK publisher Transworld saying she "was the writer who defined a genre". 

The American writer published her first novel Scruples in 1978, aged 50. It went on to become a New York Times bestseller. She followed the tale up with nine other books, which sold more than 85 million copies and have been translated into more than 50 languages.  Her memoir Sex and Shopping: The Confessions of a Nice Jewish Girl (St Martin's Press) was published in 2000.

Krantz's long-time UK publisher Transworld paid tribute to the writer. Transworld m.d. Larry Finlay said: “Judith Krantz was an absolute powerhouse of a novelist– delivering blockbuster after blockbuster in the 1970s and ‘80s, from Scruples and Princess Daisy to Mistral’s Daughter and I’ll Take Manhattan. She had many mimics, but she was the writer who defined the genre.”

India Knight, who wrote an introduction for the 35th anniversary edition of Scruples (Sphere), described the steamy romance as “the bonkiest of the 80s bonkbusters – and the one that everyone remembers”.

Krantz, who is survived by her two sons, began her career as a magazine journalist and worked as fashion editor of "Good Housekeeping" and was also a contributing editor for "Cosmopolitan". She married television producer Stephen Krantz in 1954. He adapted many of her novels for screen. 

A family statement said Krantz died at her Bel-Air home on Saturday 22nd June.