The author's son, in a statement from the author's literary representative, says Salinger died of natural causes. He had lived for decades in self-imposed isolation in the small, remote house in Cornish, New Hampshire.
Salinger is best known for his coming-of-age novel 'The Catcher in the Rye' about rebellious teenager Holden Caulfield, which came out in 1951 during the time of anxious, Cold War conformity.
Salinger also famously invented the fictional Glass family who have been featured in a number of J.D. Salinger's short stories and also in the novel 'Franny and Zooey', first published in The New Yorker. Salinger wrote for adults, but teenagers all over the world identified with the novel's themes of alienation, innocence and fantasy.
In later years, Salinger become famous for not wanting to be famous, refusing interviews.