Her own rags-to-riches story mirrored those of many of her resilient heroines, and her dozens of novels helped her amass a fortune of $300 million.

The British author’s books were published in 40 languages and sold more than 90 million copies around the world.

We bonded over socks, of all things. Somehow, over the course of our 11-year friendship, they became a recurring theme, an unlikely leitmotif, even prompting a media furore we forever more referred to,