The world was in for a rude shock when the death of celebrated British-American author Jackie Collins was announced on September 19th, 2015. She was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer six years before her death. She died two weeks before her birthday.
Jacqueline Jill Collins was a revolutionary name in British-American literature. She was the fabulously remarkable author who wrote about the scandalous side of Hollywood for almost 40 years. With books like Hollywood Wives and The World Is Full of Married Men, she always made it to the New York Times Bestseller List. Her novels were woven with cold, hard facts, under the façade that Hollywood sported and a touch of ditzy Hollywood drama. Also, other books like The Santangelos were savoured, earning a 4.5/5 rating from Barnes and Nobles. Besides, nine of her novels were adapted into mega successful Hollywood movies.
A statement released by her family on all the social networking sites she operated was: “It is with tremendous sadness that we announce the death of our beautiful, dynamic and one-of-a-kind mother, Jackie Collins, who died of breast cancer today. She lived a wonderfully full life and was adored by her family, friends and the millions of readers who she has been entertaining for over four decades. She was a true inspiration, a trailblazer for women in fiction and a creative force. She will live on through her characters but we already miss her beyond words.”
A confident, glamorous and controversial author, Jackie Collins was a rather petulant child. She was expelled from school at the age of 15, after which her parents sent her to live with her sister Joan Collins in LA. She did a brief stint in movies and a couple television shows but she eventually gave up her acting career. She started as a novelist later on and published her first novel The World Is Full of Married Men.
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I have personally never read a lot of her books except The Santangelos. A friend recommended it to me and I rather enjoyed it. Her writing has that different kind of edge to it and it almost always keeps you on your toes. Based mainly on love, lust, betrayal and passion; she writes those romance novels that have young teenage girls swooning about the lead character. She once spoke about her books and the characters in them, “There are so many bad boys out there, especially in Hollywood. And yes, I know so many of them. I loved writing about them, and you love reading about them. Unfortunately, that type attracts many young, naïve girls who don’t know better, but I do. With age comes experience.”
Jackie Collins was a spectacular woman whose books let you have these adventures you never thought were possible. Her books have a certain kind of enigma, a certain kind of spell that conquer your soul and take you with them on a spell-bound trip along the main plot. She battled breast cancer for as long as seven years, confiding in her sister, her children and all her loved ones. She was quoted saying in various magazines and newsletters, “Looking back, I’m not sorry about anything I did,” she said. “I did it my way, as Frank Sinatra would say. I’ve written five books since the diagnosis, I’ve lived my life, I’ve travelled all over the world, I have not turned down book tours and no one has ever known until now when I feel as though I should come out with it. Now I want to save other people’s lives.”
Jackie Collins was an inspiring author who wrote intense and consuming novels that have found in recognition in almost all parts of the world, making her immortal among her readers. May she rest in peace.
Tags: author Bestselling author British-American author Hollywood Hollywood Wives Jackie Collins Jacqueline Collins Jacqueline Jill Collins The Santangelos The World is full of married men Weekend Special
