Telegraph: John Updike, the prolific writer and revered chronicler of small-town American life, has died of lung cancer, aged 76.

Widely considered one of America's greatest post-war authors, over a literary career spanning half a century he wrote more than 60 books.

They included 28 novels, of which the best known were the Rabbit series and The Witches of Eastwick.

Updike died at a hospice near his home in Beverly Farms, Massachusetts, where he lived with his second wife, Martha.

Read more hot stories Moms Are Talking About.