English novelist Nicholas Evans, best known for his novel The Horse Whisperer, died suddenly last week of a heart attack. He was 72.
Evans’ bestselling novel The Horse Whisperer was published in 1995. It sold more than 15 million copies throughout the world. In it, a trainer is hired to help an injured teen and her horse back to health following an accident.
The Horse Whisperer was adapted into a film starring Robert Redford and Scarlett Johansson in 1998. It was a young Johansson’s breakout role as an actress. The movie has a 74% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It grossed $186 million worldwide.
While best remembered for The Horse Whisperer, his other novels – The Loop, The Smoke Jumper, The Divide and The Brave – were all bestsellers too.
Nicholas had one major public health issue occur years ago, which is not to say it is in any way related to his passing. In 2008, he and members of his family picked mistakenly poisonous mushrooms that they later consumed while on vacation in Scotland. They each had to undergo kidney dialysis, and Evans had to receive a kidney donation from his daughter in 2011.
Nicholas was born in Worcestershire and studied law at Oxford University. After doing some charity work in Africa, he studied journalism. Before becoming a novelist, he worked as a newspaper reporter and television writer.
He was married to singer/songwriter Charlotte Gordon Cumming, and had three children – Max, Lauren, and Harry.