LONDON — British author Jilly Cooper, known for her bestselling risqué novels including “Rivals” and “Riders,” has died at age 88, her agent and family said Monday.
A statement from her family said that the author’s “unexpected death has come as a complete shock.”
Cooper was best known for her books in “The Rutshire Chronicles," which portrayed the sex lives and excesses of the well-off, horse-riding set in 1980s England. The books sold millions of copies in the U.K. alone.
One of the books, “Rivals,” was turned into a hit Disney TV series last year starring David Tennant and Alex Hassell.
“The privilege of my career has been working with a woman who has defined culture, writing and conversation since she was first published over fifty years ago,” her agent, Felicity Blunt, said in a statement.
“Jilly will undoubtedly be best remembered for her chart-topping series ‘The Rutshire Chronicles’ and its havoc-making and handsome show-jumping hero Rupert Campbell-Black.”
Born in 1937, Cooper cut her teeth in journalism at a local newspaper in Brentford, covering everything from parties to soccer.
Her big break occurred in 1969 when The Sunday Times published a story on being an ‘’undomesticated’’ homemaker. It resulted in a column that lasted over 13 years. She went on to another column in the The Mail On Sunday for five years.
{{/usCountry}}Her big break occurred in 1969 when The Sunday Times published a story on being an ‘’undomesticated’’ homemaker. It resulted in a column that lasted over 13 years. She went on to another column in the The Mail On Sunday for five years.
{{/usCountry}}Her first book “How to Stay Married’’ was published in 1969.
Cooper’s many fans included former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who said the books offered “escapism.”
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