Known for her bestselling Rutshire Chronicles series, including Riders and Rivals, Cooper was a giant of British romantic fiction, loved for her wit, warmth, and unforgettable characters.
Her children, Felix and Emily, said: “Mum was the shining light in all of our lives… Her unexpected death has come as a complete shock.”
Jilly’s agent, Felicity Blunt described representing the author as “the privilege of my career”, adding: “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.
“In her last few years Jilly added to her curriculum vitae by serving as an executive producer on the Happy Prince adaptation of her novel Rivals for Disney+.
“Her suggestions for story and dialogue inevitably layered and enhanced scripts and her presence on set was a joy for cast and crew alike.
“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.”
Broadcaster Kirstie Allsopp tweeted: “She always seemed so young and vibrant, I know 88 is a good age but this is very sad news. A British institution, funny, enthusiastic and self deprecating, we don’t see enough of it these days. Bless you Dame Jilly, Rest in Peace.”
And now Jilly Cooper has died, she always seemed so young and vibrant, I know 88 is a good age but this is very sad news. A British institution, funny, enthusiastic and self deprecating, we don’t see enough of it these days. Bless you Dame Jilly, Rest in Peace ❤️
— Kirstie Allsopp (@KirstieMAllsopp) October 6, 2025
Happy Prince TV, the drama label that produced Rivals for Disney+ said that they were “heartbroken” about the news: “Jilly was is and always will be one of the world’s greatest storytellers and it has been the most incredible honour to have been able to work with her to adapt her incredible novels for television.
RIP the fabulous Jilly Cooper. She was 88
Rupert Campbell Black had quite the influence on my early 20s pic.twitter.com/9ZRXal8n4n
— Kay Burley (@KayBurley) October 6, 2025
“Crawling around on her sitting room floor with storylines on pieces of paper, sitting up late at her kitchen table holding hands with love and our tummies with laughter, receiving scoldings and heaps of wisdom in equal measure, watching her eyes sparkling as she sat behind the monitor on set watching Rutshire brought to life – every moment spent with Jilly Cooper was bloody marvellous.
“We have been so lucky to be able to call her our friend – and know that her legacy will endure in her writing, her television and the encouragement to have fun that she gave us all.”
Bestselling autor Stig Abell tweeted: “Jilly Cooper novels were passed around my school with the rude bits marked. Such an exciting, unignorable writer. Needless to say I can still remember the ‘breasts like poached eggs’. RIP”
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Writer Simon Sebag Montefiore described her as: “A treasure of national exuberance.
“The rumbunctious brilliance of Rivals the TV series of last year caught her irrepressible mischief, irreverent humour and wicked gaiety of storytelling. In an era of moronic and malignant sanctimony, we never so needed her sense of comedy… And she was so kind to me as a young writer.”
Fellow author Freya North added: “When I was a teenager Jilly Cooper novels were immeasurably important to me. I truly discovered how joyous and transportive reading could be at a time when I needed it most.
“30 years ago I submitted my first novel to (literary agent) Curtis Brown with a page of completely fabricated ‘reviews’ I had made up – the fake endorsement of which I was most proud was the one ‘from’ Jilly Cooper saying how much she enjoyed my writing… Jonathan Lloyd took me on and the rest is history.”
