Sally Beauman has died. She (pictured, via) was 71 years old.
BBC News reports that throughout her lifetime, Beauman wrote two nonfiction books and eight novels. In 1985, she received a £1 million advance for her novel, Destiny. This accomplishment marked the first time a non-established author was given such a sum for a debut novel.
Here’s more from The New York Times: “At a time when advances for a first novel were, on average, less than $10,000, Bantam Books broke the $1 million barrier in 1985 for the rights to Ms. Beauman’s story, outbidding several prominent publishers and declaring her in the same league as genre heavyweights like Judith Krantz and Sidney Sheldon. Despite skepticism from some in the industry, Destiny more than recouped the publisher’s investment, spending several months on The New York Times’s best-seller list, as well as lists in Britain, Canada, Australia and South Africa. It was eventually translated into 20 languages.” (via The Telegraph)