EL Doctorow, critically acclaimed author of the novels Ragtime and Billy Bathgate, has died aged 84 in a New York hospital, according to his son.
Richard Doctorow said his father died of complications from lung cancer.
He was known for works which re-imagine the American experience, placing fictional characters in recognisable historical contexts.
US President Barack Obama paid tribute to him as "one of America's greatest novelists".
The president tweeted: "his books taught me much, and he will be missed.''In a 50-year career, Doctorow published 10 novels, a stage drama, two books of short fiction and numerous essays.
Doctorow received critical praise throughout his career. He won the National Book Award for fiction in 1986 for World's Fair, the National Book Critics Circle award in 1989 for Billy Bathgate and again in 2005 for The March.
He published his first novel, Welcome to Hard Times, in 1960 following a stint as a script reader for movie studio Columbia Pictures.
Several of Doctorow's novels including Ragtime and Billy Bathgate were turned into movies. Ragtime was also made into a Broadway musical in 1998.
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