Daughters pay tribute to British novelist Penny Vincenzi

The daughters of British novelist Penny Vincenzi have paid tribute to their “endlessly positive and resilient” mother, who has died aged 78.

Vincenzi, whose career as an author spanned nearly three decades, died on Sunday.

Her daughters, Polly Harding, Sophie Cornish, Emily Gunnis and Claudia Vincenzi, said she was “still galloping through her new novel” until as recently as last week, and that she “fulfilled her ambitions” to die at her typewriter.

They said they were “touched” at the many tributes to their mother, adding: “To us she was a mother first. We knew her kindness, care and constancy.

“She often said that the most important thing a mother can do for her children is to be in their corner, and she was, every day, every time.

“She encouraged us in everything we did and sincerely believed that we were the most talented girls in the world.”

They praised her marriage and her “deep love, admiration and loyalty” to their late father Paul, and said their mother “was as beautiful as she was stylish, with an insatiable appetite for every imaginable aspect of life”.

“A true trailblazer, her ambition matched her talent, enabling her to break down barriers and show others behind her – especially her daughters – what it was possible to achieve, professionally and personally,” they added.

Vincenzi’s agent, Clare Alexander, said: “She had such a generous gift of friendship, quite blind to whether someone was the boss or just making her a cup of tea. And that is why so many people in publishing will be devastated by her loss. “For myself, I will miss her every day.” Vincenzi’s first job was as a librarian at Harrods. She then worked at the Daily Mirror as a secretary before going into journalism, writing for publications including The Times, the Daily Mail, Vogue and Cosmopolitan.

Her first novel was Old Sins, published in 1989, and she went on to write a further 16 novels, including best-sellers Sheer Abandon, The Best of Times, The Decision and An Absolute Scandal.

Penny Vincenzi has died aged 78.