Robert James Waller, the author of the best-selling romance The Bridges of Madison County, has died. He was 77 and had been battling cancer.
Waller's close friend, Scott Cawelti, told the Associated Press that the writer passed away at his home in Fredericksburg, Texas on Friday. He had been suffering from multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cells in the bone marrow.
Written by Waller in 11 days and first published in 1992, The Bridges of Madison County told the story of a brief romance between a travelling photographer and a lonely housewife.
Despite being panned by the critics, the book sold 12m copies and made it to the big screen as a 1995 film starring Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep.
The romantic drama, which was also directed by Eastwood, was made for $24m and took $182m at the global box office. Streep was Golden Globe and Oscar-nominated for her performance opposite Eastwood, with Madison County, Iowa also enjoying a huge increase in its tourist numbers thanks to the film and book.
Born in Rockford, Iowa, Waller studied business and education at college and became a Professor of Management and Economics and later Dean of the Business College at the University of Northern Iowa.
After a number of non-fiction books, he hit the big time with The Bridges of Madison County in 1992. Following its success he left his home state for a ranch in Texas and later divorced his wife of 36 years, Georgia Wiedemeier. Waller had embarked on a new relationship with Linda Bow, a worker on the ranch who he later married.
Waller wrote a sequel to The Bridges of Madison County, A Thousand County Roads, which was published in 2004. In 2014 his most famous work was turned into a Broadway musical, which closed after less than 40 performances. His other books included Slow Waltz in Cedar Bend, Border Music and Puerto Vallarta Squeeze.
He is survived by his wife, Linda Bow Waller, and his daughter from his first marriage, Rachael Waller.
