Novelist Dame Muriel Spark, who wrote the classic The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, has died in Tuscany where she had made her home.
The Scottish-born writer, who was 88, wrote more than 20 books, winning numerous literary awards.
As well as writing fiction, Dame Muriel also wrote critical studies of Emily Bronte and Mary Shelley.
The mayor of the Tuscan village of Civitella della Chiana confirmed the author died in hospital on Thursday.
Her funeral is set for later on Saturday.
Dame Muriel was considered one of the liveliest literary talents in her more than 50 years of publishing.
Her first novel The Comforters was published in 1957, but it was The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie in 1962 that brought her to the attention of critics and fans.
Set in an Edinburgh girls' school, it centred on Miss Brodie and a group of adoring pupils to whom she taught her liberal views on sex and politics.
Honorary citizen
The book was turned into a much performed play and later a film starring Dame Maggie Smith, for which she won a best actress Oscar in 1969.
Dame Muriel moved to the US in the late 1960s for a brief period before moving to Italy where she continued to write poetry and novels.
Her last book, The Finishing School, became a best-seller when it was published in 2004.
In 2005 she was made an honorary citizen of the Tuscan village of Civitella della Chiana where she had lived for 30 years.
"She was a simple person, affectionate and considerate," Civitella mayor Massimliano Dindalini said.
Among her literary achievements was the TS Eliot prize in 1992 and the British Literature Prize in 1997.
The Scottish Arts Council created the Muriel Spark International Fellowship in 2004, with Canadian Margaret Atwood winning the inaugural prize.
The author was made a Dame in 1993 in recognition of her services to literature. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4911878.stm
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