Doris Lessing: British Nobel Author Dies At 94

Doris Lessing, a winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature and the author of The Golden Notebook, has died aged 94.

The British author died peacefully at her London home in the early hours, a spokesman said.

Born in Persia - modern day Iran - in 1919, Ms Lessing grew up in Southern Rhodesia before emigrating to London after the Second World War with the manuscript of her first novel, The Grass Is Singing, in her suitcase.

It was published in 1950, and across the course of her life she produced 54 further works, including poetry, two operas, short stories, plays and non-fiction.

In 2007, she became the oldest recipient of the Nobel Prize, aged 88, and only the 11th woman to win the award.

Jonathan Clowes, her long-time friend and agent, said he was greatly saddened by the news of her death.

He said: "She was a wonderful writer with a fascinating and original mind; it was a privilege to work for her and we shall miss her immensely."

The writer is survived by her daughter Jean, and granddaughters Anna and Susannah. Her family has asked for privacy at this time.

Nicholas Pearson, her editor at HarperCollins, said: "Doris's long life and career was a great gift to world literature."

The publishing house's UK chief executive, Charlie Redmayne, added: "Doris Lessing was one of the great writers of our age.

"She was a compelling storyteller with a fierce intellect and a warm heart who was not afraid to fight for what she believed in. It was an honour for HarperCollins to publish her."

Justifying her Nobel Prize six years ago, the Academy described the author as an "epicist of the female experience, who with scepticism, fire and visionary power has subjected a divided civilisation to scrutiny".

In response, Lessing famously famously poked fun at the judges for snubbing her work 40 years earlier. She joked: "So now they've decided they're going to give it to me. So why? I mean, why do they like me any better now than they did then?"