Bestselling British author Andrea Levy has died from cancer at the age of 62.
Levy, known as a chronicler of the Windrush generation, the wave of Caribbean migrants that came to Britain after World War II, was born in London in 1956.
Her books include “Small Island” and “The Long Song.”
“Small Island,” her fourth novel, which told the story of Jamaican migrants in Britain, made Levy a famous name.
The novel won the Whitbread prize, the Orange Prize for Fiction and the Commonwealth Writers’ prize.
It was also adapted into a BBC drama and will be performed on stage at the National Theatre from April.
Levy’s father traveled from Jamaica to Britain on the Empire Windrush, the ship that gave its name to the Windrush generation, according to the UK’s Press Association news agency.
“She had been ill for some time,” publisher Headline told PA.
“Her legacy is unique, and her voice will be heard for generations to come. I miss her,” Levy’s long-time editor, Jane Morpeth, told PA.
Levy did not start writing until her mid-30s, according to PA, after she attended a creative writing course.
Headline told PA that her “novels have perhaps never been more relevant or important in their questioning of identity and belonging.”
She was “widely regarded as the first black British author to achieve both critical and mainstream commercial success,” the publisher said.
Levy’s last novel, “The Long Song,” was published in 2010 and was shortlisted for the Man Booker prize.
It was also adapted for a three-part BBC drama that aired recently in the UK.
Her other works include “Never Far From Nowhere,” “Fruit Of The Lemon” and “Every Light In The House Burnin.”
