Businessman-turned-writer Paul Torday, whose novel Salmon Fishing in the Yemen was made into a hit film, has died.
He was 67 and had been diagnosed with cancer in 2007. His publishers said the writer, who spent 20 years running an engineering business in his native North East, died earlier in the week.
Mr Torday was 61 when he published the book that made his name. The book gave hope to every aspiring author that they can produce a bestseller late in life.
It sold more than half-a-million copies and was made into a film in 2011 starring Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt.
Kirsty Dunseath, publishing director at Weidenfeld and Nicolson Fiction, said: “In many ways Paul Torday invented his own genre his extraordinary fiction was filled with warmth and a wry, humane wit.
“He was a gentle observer of the foibles of human nature and our social behaviour.
“He wanted to entertain but his novels were also infused with a deep social awareness, exploring issues such as political expediency, alcoholism, mental illness, class and our national heritage.
“He was a very gentleman, thoughtful and considered in everything he did and it was a privilege and a joy to have worked with him.”
Mr Torday died at his home in Northumberland and leaves his wife Penelope, former wife Jane, sons Piers and Nicholas and stepsons Jonathan and Charles.