Rosamunde Pilcher, whose family saga The Shell Seekers sold millions of copies around the world, has died at the age of 94.
Pilcher's literary agency, Felicity Bryan Associates, said Thursday that the British writer died overnight at a hospital in Dundee, Scotland after a short illness.
Raised along England's wild southwest coast in the county of Cornwall, Pilcher wrote more than a dozen novels.
She scored an international best-seller in 1987 with The Shell Seekers, which told the story of a bohemian family across three generations.
It was adapted into a 2006 television series starring Vanessa Redgrave.
Her other novels included September, Coming Home and Winter Solstice, which was published when she was 80.
Pilcher was especially popular in Germany, where her work spawned numerous TV series.
Additional reporting by agencies.
