Dame Jilly Cooper, famed for her bestselling Rutshire Chronicles novels, has died aged 88. The author, best known for her "bonkbuster" hits Riders and – the latter recently adapted into a Disney+ TV series – passed away after a fall on Sunday 5 October. Her sad death was confirmed by her family on Monday. Jilly's two children, Felix and Emily, issued a statement that read: "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."
While Jilly's impressive career spanned more than 50 years and saw her sell over 11 million books, how much do you know about her life behind the steamy romance novels she wrote? While tributes pour in for the beloved author, find out all we know about her private life…
Jilly's private home life
Born Jill Sallitt in Hornchurch, Essex, in 1937 to Mary Elaine and Brigadier W. B. Sallitt OBE, she grew up in Surrey. After struggling to break into the British national press, she began her career as a junior reporter for The Middlesex Independent. Her big break came at a dinner party in 1968, when she met Sunday Times Magazine editor Godfrey Smith. He invited her to write about the difficulties of being a young working wife, which became a hugely popular column about marriage, sex, and housework – making her something of a 1970s precursor to Carrie Bradshaw. In 1982 she moved her column to The Mail on Sunday, where she wrote a bi-monthly column until 1987.
© GettyWhen did Jilly write her most famous romance novels?
It wasn’t until 1985 that Jilly published her breakthrough novel Riders, followed by Rivals in 1988. Through the 1980s, she became firmly established as the queen of the "bonkbuster" genre with her Rutshire Chronicles series. Riders, inspired by the glamorous world of showjumping, introduced readers to Rupert Campbell-Black and Jake Lovell – characters who became household names. She then followed it with Rivals, set in the cut-throat world of television.
© DisneyWho was Jilly Cooper's husband?
Jilly married Leo Cooper, a distinguished publisher best known for creating Leo Cooper Ltd, which specialised in military history books. The couple married in 1961 and shared a marriage of more than 50 years, living much of their life together in Gloucestershire. Unable to conceive on their own, they also adopted two children, Felix and Emily. Jilly and Leo's relationship was not without its trials – Leo had a long-running affair with Jilly's close friend in the 1970s – but the pair reconciled, and Jilly often spoke of their deep love and companionship. Leo was diagnosed with dementia in his later years and died in 2013, a loss that Jilly described as utterly devastating, though she continued to write and draw strength from her work, friends and beloved dogs.
© WireImageTributes for Dame Jilly Cooper
Felicity Blunt, her agent, released a heartfelt statement that read: "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. 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.
© Getty"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. 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 wrote, she said, simply 'to add to the sum of human happiness'. In this regard as a writer she was and remains unbeatable."
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."
