A final chapter filled with love and support for author Sophie Kinsella

The writer’s husband, Henry Wickham, shares how Weldmar Hospicecare provided comfort, expertise, and friendship.

Maddy Wickham was a much loved and celebrated author. Writing as Sophie Kinsella, she sold more than 50 million copies of her books, including the hugely popular Shopaholic series. Two of those books were adapted into successful Hollywood movies.

As 2022 drew to a close, Maddy was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a form of aggressive brain cancer. There was treatment, including radiotherapy and chemotherapy, at University College Hospital in London. In the spring of 2025, it was discovered that the tumour had returned and there was no further treatment that could prolong Maddy’s life; she decided that she wanted to be at home, in Dorset, with her loving family.

Having been in the care of a specialist unit at a big hospital in the city, there was a concern about what support would be available for Maddy somewhere much more remote and rural. A local doctor assured Maddy and her husband Henry that they would be ‘very, very well looked after’ in the hands of Weldmar Hospicecare.

“I can’t even quantify how much their care meant to us,” says Henry. “It was hard at first, because it required us to acknowledge where this was going for Maddy. But we never felt as though engaging with a hospice was giving up.”

In late summer, with signs of Maddy’s illness progressing, there was a visit from Sarah, from Weldmar’s Specialist Hospice at Home North Dorset hub. She explained to Maddy and Henry about the help and support available to them, both at home and at the hospice in Dorchester, where Maddy stayed for six days that September.

“It is a very caring and warm place, and the days she spent there she really loved. It happened to be when the Summer Fete was on, and there was a lovely feeling of community. I could see why that was the right environment for her— they could monitor Maddy and get the right balance of medication. She even had a massage there, which she loved. She was really well looked after.”

Following the stay at the hospice, Maddy returned home, and the Specialist Hospice at Home team began to visit. Once every couple of weeks at first, alongside district nurses, and over time more regularly until it was every day. As movement and mobility became more difficult, a hospital bed for downstairs was arranged.

Henry says that Weldmar’s expertise enabled the family to make some special memories: “We had spoken about renewing our vows, and it was something that we really wanted to do. They encouraged us not to hang about, and three or four days later Maddy wouldn’t have been able to do it. We also asked Dr Paul if we should bring Christmas forward, which he said would be a good idea. We had all the family round, and Maddy was able to sit with us, sing carols, and be part of the experience. That was massive; such a huge thing for us. We couldn’t have known what would happen. Their knowledge and instinct made all the difference to us.”

Maddy died peacefully at home on 10th December, 2025.

“Weldmar’s care contributed to Maddy having a very good death, which is what she would have wanted. She was at home, and wanted to be at home, but she would have been very happy to have been at the hospice. Maddy felt very calm, and a lot of that was down to the love that she felt from her caring team, and I think that is unquantifiable.”

Thank you to Henry and the family for their generous donation to Weldmar Hospicecare in Maddy’s memory.

Henry says, “The difference Weldmar make is massive, and I just wanted to recognise that. Maddy was generous and would want to acknowledge the help that she got, and do what she could to give that help onwards to other people.”

Maddy alongside actors Isla Fisher and Hugh Dancy at the 2009 premiere of Confessions of a Shopaholic, adapted from her book.