The author is well-known for her romance novels, including the “best-selling” Rutshire Chronicles, which features Rivals.
Some of Dame Jilly’s books have even been turned into TV movies and series over the years, with Rivals the most recent adaptation on Disney+.
Dame Jilly Cooper books
Dame Jilly has written a range of romance novels, including:
- Emily (1975)
- Harriet (1976)
- Bella (1976)
- Octavia (1977)
- Prudence (1978)
- Imogen (1978)
- Lisa and Co (1981)
However, she is arguably best known for the Rutshire Chronicles.
The “best-selling” book series features Rivals, which has recently been turned into a hit TV series on Disney+, starring the likes of David Tennant, Aidan Turner, Danny Dyer, Emily Atack, and Alex Hassell.
Rivals has recently been turned into a hit TV series on Disney+.(Image: Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire)
How to read the Rutshire Chronicles books in order
There are 11 books in the Rutshire Chronicles.
If you are looking to read them in order, here is how to do it:
- Riders
- Rivals
- Polo
- The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous
- Appassionata
- Score!
- Pandora
- Wicked!
- Jump!
- Mount!
- Tackle!
Dame Jilly also wrote several journalism and non-fiction novels throughout her career.
The full list of her books can be found on the Jilly Cooper website.
Dame Jilly Cooper TV shows and movies
Several of Dame Jilly’s novels have been turned into TV movies and series over the years, according to IMDb:
- Rivals (2024) – TV series
- Octavia (2009) – TV movies
- The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous (1997) – TV mini series
- Riders (1993) – TV movie
- Jackonary (1984 – 1987) – TV series
She also wrote/created a range of other TV shows, including It’s Awefully Bad for Your Eyes, Darling (1971) and Comedy Playhouse (1971).
Dame Jilly Cooper – “a woman who has defined culture, writing and conversation”
Dame Jilly died on Sunday (October 5) at the age of 88, following a fall.
Following the news of her death, Dame Jilly’s children said: “Mum, was the shining light in all of our lives. Her love for all of her family and friends knew no bounds.
“Her unexpected death has come as a complete shock.
“We are so proud of everything she achieved in her life and can’t begin to imagine life without her infectious smile and laughter all around us.”
Dame Jilly’s agent, Felicity Blunt, went on to add that it had been a privilege working with “a woman who has defined culture, writing and conversation since she was first published over fifty years ago”.
Blut continued: “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.
“You wouldn’t expect books categorised as bonkbusters to have so emphatically stood the test of time but Jilly wrote with acuity and insight about all things – class, sex, marriage, rivalry, grief and fertility.
“Her plots were both intricate and gutsy, spiked with sharp observations and wicked humour.
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“She regularly mined her own life for inspiration and there was something Austenesque about her dissections of society, its many prejudices and norms.
“But if you tried to pay her this compliment, or any compliment, she would brush it aside.”
She added: “Emotionally intelligent, fantastically generous, sharply observant and utter fun Jilly Cooper will be deeply missed by all at Curtis Brown and on the set of Rivals.
“I have lost a friend, an ally, a confidante and a mentor. But I know she will live forever in the words she put on the page and on the screen.”
