Cooper, Jilly

(British, 1937– )

Jilly Cooper was born in Essex and brought up in Yorkshire. She established herself as a popular humorous columnist before turning to fiction. Her first novels were bawdy romances, such as Emily (1975). She achieved best-seller status with her first substantial novel, Riders (1985), a comic tale of sexual skulduggery set in the world of show-jumping. This has been followed by a number of other similar novels, all characterized by high comedy, sexual frankness, and blockbuster-style readability. Try The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous (1993) about the gorgeous Lysander Hawkley, let loose among the neglected wives of Rutshire, and Appassionata (1996) which examines the lives and, more particularly, the loves of the members of the Rutminster Symphony Orchestra.

Erica Jong, Katie Fforde.

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