Rutshire Chronicles

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The Rutshire Chronicles is a series of romantic novels by Jilly Cooper. The stories tell tales of mainly British upper-class families, as well as the show-jumping and polo crowd, in numerous different sexually charged scenarios, often laced with adultery, illegitimate children, scandal, and sometimes, even death. They are linked by several recurring characters, chiefly Rupert Campbell-Black, and are set in the fictional English county of Rutshire.

Contents

Some of these characters, namely Campbell-Black and numerous characters associated with him, also occur in Cooper's novel Pandora, although it is not part of the series[ citation needed ]. The Campbell-Blacks, Lloyd-Foxes, France-Lynches, and other families from the Rutshire Chronicles also appear in Wicked! (2006). The tales are set in chronological order; however, they are readable as stand-alone novels.

In more recent years, her Rutshire Chronicles have come under fire for dated and problematic portrayals of race, homosexuality, gender roles and sexual consent. [1] [2] [3]

Cooper's recent works received a variety of responses from critics, with The Guardian praising "her near-magical ability to conjure up a world and populate it with people for whom you feel a deep affection" [4] and Express calling Jump "one of her most captivating novels yet." [5]

The Rutshire Chronicles

  1. Riders (1986)
  2. Rivals (1988; also known as Players[ citation needed ])
  3. Polo (1991)
  4. The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous (1993)
  5. Appassionata (1996)
  6. Score! (1999)
  7. Pandora (2002)
  8. Wicked! (2006)
  9. Jump! (2010)
  10. Mount! (2016)
  11. Tackle! (2023)

Main/recurring characters

Related Research Articles

This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1985.

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Riders is a 1985 novel written by the English author Jilly Cooper. It is the first of a series of romance novels known as the Rutshire Chronicles, which are set in the fictional English county of Rutshire. The story focuses on the lives of a group of top show jumping stars and follows the ups and downs of both their personal and professional lives. It was turned into a television film, Riders (1993), directed by Gabrielle Beaumont for Anglia Television and broadcast on the ITV Network.

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<i>Riders</i> (1993 film) 1993 British film

Riders, also called Jilly Cooper's Riders, is a 1993 British television film based on Jilly Cooper's 1985 book of the same name in the Rutshire Chronicles series.

<i>The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous</i> (film) 1997 British film

The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous is a 1997 British television film based on Jilly Cooper's 1993 book of the same name in the Rutshire Chronicles series, directed by Robert Knights and produced by Sarah Lawson. The title role of Lysander Hawkley is played by Stephen Billington.

Rivals is an upcoming television series made for Disney+. It is an adaptation of the 1988 Jilly Cooper novel of the same name. It is set to star an ensemble cast including David Tennant, Aidan Turner, Katherine Parkinson, Lisa McGrillis, Alex Hassell, Emily Atack and Danny Dyer.

References

  1. Radloff, Lili. "Book review: Mount by Jilly Cooper". Life. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  2. Morey, Kelly Ana (18 November 2016). "Jilly Cooper's ninth 'bonkbuster' falls short". Stuff. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  3. "21 things that always happen in Jilly Cooper novels". Red Online. 6 September 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  4. Laing, Olivia (11 September 2010). "Jump! by Jilly Cooper". The Observer. ISSN   0029-7712 . Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  5. Lee-Potter, Emma (17 September 2010). "Review: Jump! by Jilly Cooper". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 15 July 2023.