British ‘Aga saga’ author Joanna Trollope dies aged 82

Author Joanna Trollope after she was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace on December 19, 2019 in London, England. Photo / Getty Images

Bestselling author Joanna Trollope – renowned for her so-called “Aga sagas” set in rural England – has died at the age of 82, her family have said.

Trollope, a fifth-generation niece of 19th-century English novelist Anthony Trollope, wrote over 40 books, some under the pseudonym Caroline Harvey.

She disliked the “Aga saga” label inspired by the upmarket Aga cookers often found in the country houses where her stories unfolded, but her fans did not care.

Her work, including the novels Other People’s Children, Daughters-in-Law and A Village Affair, centred on middle-class family life and relationships, tackling issues such as adoption, marital breakdown and blended families.

The TV adaptation of her 1991 novel The Rector’s Wife starred Scottish actor Lindsay Duncan.

Her most recent work Mum & Dad, published in 2020, chronicled three siblings and their families who gather after their father suffers a stroke.

Trollope died peacefully at her home in central Oxfordshire, her daughters Antonia and Louise 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,” her literary agent James Gill said.

Jeremy Trevathan, Trollope’s publisher at Pan Macmillan, paid tribute to a “witty, wise and empathetic” author who was also “just lots of fun to be with”.

“She leaves us all a wonderful legacy of compelling, insightful social commentary, portraying family dynamics with warmth, intelligence, and a keen eye for human foibles,” he was quoted as saying by The Bookseller magazine.

Trollope was honoured in 2019 by the late Queen Elizabeth II, who made her a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to literature.

– Agence France-Presse