Goldsmith's First Wives Club was made into a successful film

Goldsmith had been in a coma for more than a week after complications resulting from anaesthesia during plastic surgery, said her lawyer.

She died at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan on Thursday, he said.

Goldsmith's 1992 debut novel became a hit film starring Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler and Diane Keaton as friends avenging their cheating husbands.

Among her other books were The Bestseller, Flavour of the Month, Young Wives and Switcheroo.

'Satires'

Her literary agent, Nicholas Ellison, told the New York Times: "She wrote these wonderful, celebratory satires, which seamlessly wove her moral convictions and instruction into these popular entertainments."

Goldsmith's UK editor, Lynne Drew of publisher HarperCollins, said staff were devastated by her death.

"Olivia was part of the HarperCollins family, and was friends with everyone from reps to top management," she said.

"She was a terrific, funny, sharp writer who was a delight to work with and to publish."

A posthumous novel, Wish Upon a Star, was expected to be published on 7 June this year when she was due to visit the UK.

She was also working on two new novels, Dumping Billy and Casting Off, which she was set to promote. Dumping Billy will be released in May.

A graduate of New York University, Goldsmith was a management consultant before she began writing her distinctive humorous fiction.

Born Randy Goldfield in New York City, she changed her legal name to Justine Rendal. Goldsmith was her pen name.

She is survived by her mother, and two sisters, Kate Goldfield and Barbara Turner.