Bridges of Madison County author Robert James Waller dies, 77
Image copyright Getty ImagesRobert James Waller, the author of best-selling book The Bridges of Madison County, has died in Texas at the age of 77, his agency said.
Waller published seven books, but Bridges was his most famous, selling 12 million copies in 35 languages.
The romantic novel was adapted into a 1995 film starring Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep, who was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar in the role.
The bittersweet 1992 love story was also adapted into a Broadway musical.
Bridges, which Waller said he wrote in only 11 days, tells the story of a National Geographic photographer who woos an Italian war-bride married to an Iowa farmer, after she agrees to help him to photograph the region's famous covered bridges.
The Eastwood-directed movie grossed $182m (£150m) worldwide, and the book remained on the New York Times bestseller list for more than three years.
