Bel Kaufman, who wrote Up the Down Staircase, passed away at her Manhattan home on Friday at the age of 103.
Thea Goldstine, Kaufman's daughter, confirmed her mother's passing, The Associated Press reports.
Kaufman's autobiographical novel Up the Down Staircase examined the crazy world at an American high school and was released in 1965. The novel was written through memos, notes and letters and followed a new teacher, Sylvia Barrett. She comes to Calvin Coolidge High School with idealistic naiveté as she grows weary of dealing with both students and administrative hoops she has to jump through.
According to The New York Times, Up the Down Staircase would go on the essentially live on the best-seller list for a year, before eventually being translated into 16 languages and selling more than 6 million copies.
The book, which featured memos like "Dear Sir or Madam, In reply to your request for resignation, please be advised yours was filled out improperly," was also adapted into a film. The 1967 movie was directed by Robert Mulligan, with Sandy Dennis in the starring role.
Despite the success of the first book, she only ever released one other, Love, Etc, which was published in 1979 and got middling reviews.