Jilly Cooper | |
---|---|
Born | Jill Sallitt [1] 21 February 1937 Hornchurch, Essex, England |
Occupation | Author |
Period | Modern-day |
Genre | Erotic, romance |
Notable works | Rutshire Chronicles |
Spouse | [2] |
Children | 2 |
Website | |
www |
Dame Jilly Cooper DBE (born Jill Sallitt; 21 February 1937), [1] is an English author. She began her career as a journalist and wrote numerous works of non-fiction before writing several romance novels, the first of which appeared in 1975. She is most famous for writing the Rutshire Chronicles .
Jill Sallitt [1] was born in Hornchurch, Essex, England, to Mary Elaine (née Whincup) and Brigadier W. B. Sallitt, OBE. [3] She grew up in Ilkley and Surrey, and was educated at the Moorfield School in Ilkley and the Godolphin School in Salisbury. [3]
This section of a biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification .(January 2024) |
After unsuccessfully trying to begin a career in the British national press, Cooper became a junior reporter for The Middlesex Independent, based in Brentford. She worked for the paper from 1957 to 1959. Subsequently, she worked as an account executive, copywriter, publisher's reader and receptionist. Her break came with a chance meeting at a dinner party. The editor of The Sunday Times Magazine , Godfrey Smith, asked her to write a feature about her experiences. [4] This led to a column in which Cooper wrote about marriage, sex and housework. That column ran from 1969 to 1982, when she moved to The Mail on Sunday , where she worked for another five years.
Cooper's first column led to the publication of her first book, How to Stay Married, in 1969, and which was quickly followed by a guide to working life, How to Survive from Nine to Five, in 1970. Some of her journalism was collected into a single volume, Jolly Super, in 1971. The theme of class dominates much of her writing and her non-fiction (including Class itself), which is written from an explicitly upper-middle-class British perspective, with emphasis on the relationships between men and women, and matters of social class in contemporary Britain. Jilly also had a supreme fondness towards tabby cats, whom she referred to as 'moggies'.
As with her non-fiction works, Cooper draws heavily on her own point of view and experiences. For example, her own house is the model for Rupert Campbell-Black's. Both houses are very old, although his is larger; [6] her house overlooks a valley called Toadsmoor, while his overlooks a valley called the Frogsmore. She also draws on her love of animals: [7] dogs and horses feature heavily in her books. Woods, hills, fields, pastures and rivers feature frequently.
In 1975, Cooper published her first work of romantic fiction, Emily. It was based on a short story she wrote for a teenage magazine, as were the subsequent romances, all titled with female names: Bella, Imogen, Prudence, Harriet and Octavia. In October 1993, seven years after Private Eye had pointed out the similarities, Cooper admitted that sections of Emily and Bella were plagiarised from The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy, but said that it was not deliberate. [8]
Octavia is one of Cooper's "name" books, which each bear a female character's name, and has been made into a television adaptation. It is set in Britain during the 1970s. [9] The broadcast ITV adaptation was produced with a screenplay which was written by Jonathan Harvey. [10]
One character was modelled on George Humphreys, a Welshman with whom Cooper had an affair in the late 1950s. [11]
The Times noted that Cooper avoids the traditional romantic convention in which the heroine remains a virgin until the last page. Elizabeth Grey found the jokes annoying but still funny, and confessed to falling in love with the character of Octavia. [12]
An excerpt was included in The Dirty Bits For Girls (ed. India Knight, Virago, 2008), a collection of favourite "dirty bits" from novels Knight read as a teenager. [13]
Octavia Brennan is a beautiful yet flawed young woman, living the high life in 1970s London. Though she is deeply flirtatious and has – by her own admission – slept with many men, she has never found happiness with any of them.
After bumping into an old school friend, Gussie, and falling for her fiancé, Jeremy, Octavia is invited to spend the weekend with them on their canal boat. Characteristically, she convinces herself that Jeremy cannot possibly have real affection for the overweight and clumsy Gussie, and she is determined to win Jeremy by the end of the weekend. But when Jeremy invites Welsh firebrand Gareth Llewellyn along for the ride, Octavia finds her plans disrupted in more ways than one.
Production began on 17 September 2007, in London. [14] Cooper was invited to make a cameo appearance as a guest at a party. [15] Its broadcast was delayed according to a Broadcast Now article in early 2009 as a consequence of the recession – ITV put many of their dramas 'on ice'; postponing single dramas until later that year. [16] The Guardian reported early in 2009 Octavia had no transmission slots for the forthcoming year and said, for accountancy purposes, its cost would not be counted until the show was broadcast. [17] Octavia had its first UK screening in 2009 with Tamsin Egerton taking the title role.
The cast was:
However, Cooper's best-known works are her long novels. The first of these was Riders (1985), an international bestseller, and the first volume of Rutshire Chronicles . The first version of Riders was written by 1970, but shortly after Cooper had finished it, she took it with her into the West End of London and left the manuscript on a bus. The London Evening Standard put out an appeal, but it was never found. She was, she says, "devastated", and it took her more than a decade to start it again. [18]
Riders and the following books are characterised by intricate plots, featuring multiple story lines and a large number of characters. (To help the reader keep track, each book begins with a list and brief description of the characters.) Although the books do not always follow each other sequentially – Rivals and Polo chronologically overlap, for example – they are linked by recurring characters (chiefly Rupert Campbell-Black, Roberto Rannaldini, and their families) and later books make reference to events of previous books.
The stories heavily feature sexual infidelity and general betrayal, melodramatic misunderstandings and emotions, money worries and domestic upheavals. [19]
Each book of the Rutshire Chronicles is set in a glamorous and wealthy milieu, such as show jumping [20] or classical music. These aspects are contrasted with details of the characters' domestic lives, which are often far from glamorous.
Her novel Pandora is not one of the Rutshire Chronicles, but does feature a few characters from the series, and is very similar in style and content. Wicked! follows the same approach, including characters from previous novels and introducing new characters who are relatives, friends or rivals of existing characters. It is set in the fictional county of Larkshire, which borders her other fictional county, Rutshire.
Her novel Jump! was released in 2010. [21] It features characters from the Rutshire Chronicles in the world of National Hunt steeplechase racing, and tells the transformation of a mutilated horse (Mrs Wilkinson) into a successful racehorse. [21] After publication, it was revealed that Cooper had named a goat in the book (Chisolm) in order to hit back at the critic Anne Chisholm. [22]
Cooper also wrote a series of children's books featuring the heroine Little Mabel. [23]
In 1961, she married Leo Cooper, a publisher of military history books. [2] The couple had known each other since 1945 (when Jilly Sallitt was about eight), although they did not marry until she was 24 and he was 27. The couple was unable to have children naturally, so adopted two children. [24] They have five grandchildren. [25] The Coopers' marriage was greatly disrupted in 1990 when publisher Sarah Johnson revealed she and Leo had had an affair for several years, though Jilly and Leo eventually reunited. [26] [27] In the 1980s the couple left Putney, southwest London, for The Chantry, an old manor house in Gloucestershire. [2]
Jilly Cooper was a passenger in one of the derailed carriages in the Ladbroke Grove rail crash of 1999, in which 31 people died, [24] and crawled through a window to escape. She later spoke of feeling that her "number was up" and of being absurdly concerned, due to shock, about a manuscript she had been carrying.
Leo Cooper was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2002. He died on 29 November 2013, at the age of 79. [2] In 2010, Cooper suffered a minor stroke. [28]
Cooper has stated that she is a football fan, and supported Leeds United when she lived in Yorkshire. [29] She is also a supporter of the Conservative Party. [30]
Cooper is an animal lover and has owned many dogs, in particular, retired greyhounds including Feather and Bluebell.
Cooper was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2004 Birthday Honours for services to literature, Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2018 New Year Honours for services to literature and charity, and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2024 New Year Honours for services to literature and charity. [31]
On 13 November 2009 she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters by the University of Gloucestershire at a ceremony in Gloucester Cathedral. [32] She is Honorary Doctor of Letters at Anglia Ruskin University. [33]
In 1971, Cooper created the comedy series It's Awfully Bad for Your Eyes, Darling , which featured Joanna Lumley, and ran for one series. [34]
Television adaptations of Cooper's novels are relatively few but have been accepted by national network ITV.
Apart from Octavia, other productions include the TV mini-series The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous , starring Hugh Bonneville, produced by Sarah Lawson, and Riders . [35]
'Little Mabel' series:
The Rutshire Chronicles:
Sir Henry Rider Haggard was an English writer of adventure fiction romances set in exotic locations, predominantly Africa, and a pioneer of the lost world literary genre. He was also involved in land reform throughout the British Empire. His stories, situated at the lighter end of Victorian literature and including the eighteen Allan Quatermain stories, continue to be popular and influential.
Amanda Craig is a British novelist, critic and journalist. She was a recipient of the Catherine Pakenham Award.
Octavia may refer to:
Octavia Estelle Butler was an American science fiction author and a multiple recipient of the Hugo and Nebula awards. In 1995, Butler became the first science-fiction writer to receive a MacArthur Fellowship.
She, subtitled A History of Adventure, is a novel by the English writer Sir H. Rider Haggard, published in book form in 1887 following serialisation in The Graphic magazine between October 1886 and January 1887. She was extraordinarily popular upon its release and has never been out of print.
Rebecca Louise Front is an English actress, writer and comedian. She won the 2010 BAFTA TV Award for Best Female Comedy Performance for The Thick of It (2009–2012). She is also known for her work in numerous other British comedies, including the radio show On The Hour (1992), The Day Today (1994), Knowing Me, Knowing You… with Alan Partridge (1994), Time Gentlemen Please (2000–2002), sketch show Big Train (2002), and Nighty Night (2004–2005).
Joanna Trollope is an English writer. She has also written under the pseudonym of Caroline Harvey. Her novel Parson Harding's Daughter won in 1980 the Romantic Novel of the Year Award by the Romantic Novelists' Association.
Anthony John Horowitz is an English novelist and screenwriter specialising in mystery and suspense. His works for children and young adult readers include the Alex Rider series featuring a 14-year-old British boy who spies for MI6, The Power of Five series, and The Diamond Brothers series.
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.
Bridget Rose Jones is a fictional character created by British writer Helen Fielding. Jones first appeared in Fielding's Bridget Jones's Diary column in The Independent in 1995, which did not carry any byline. Thus, it seemed to be an actual personal diary chronicling the life of Jones as a thirtysomething single woman in London as she tries to make sense of life, love, and relationships with the help of a surrogate "urban family" of friends in the 1990s. The column was, in fact, a lampoon of women's obsession with love, marriage and romance as well as women's magazines such as Cosmopolitan and wider social trends in Britain at the time. Fielding published the novelisation of the column in 1996, followed by a sequel in 1999 called The Edge of Reason.
Dame Jacqueline Wilson is an English novelist known for her popular children's literature. Her novels have been notable for featuring realistic topics such as adoption and divorce without alienating her large readership. Since her debut novel in 1969, Wilson has written over 100 books.
Michelle Magorian is an English author of children's books. She is best known for her first novel, Goodnight Mister Tom, which won the 1982 Guardian Prize for British children's books and has been adapted several times for screen or stage. Two other well-known works are Back Home and A Little Love Song. She resides in Petersfield, Hampshire.
Ordeal by Innocence is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 3 November 1958 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company the following year. The UK edition retailed at twelve shillings and sixpence (12/6) and the US edition at $2.95.
The Pale Horse is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 6 November 1961, and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company the following year. The UK edition retailed at fifteen shillings and the US edition at $3.75. The novel features her novelist detective Ariadne Oliver as a minor character, and reflects in tone the supernatural novels of Dennis Wheatley who was then at the height of his popularity. The Pale Horse is mentioned in Revelation 6:8, where it is ridden by Death.
Lynda Page is a saga author based in the Lincolnshire village of Epworth, England, where she lives on a daughter's holiday park. She has written over 20 critically praised saga novels, which reached the bestseller charts of WH Smiths and The Sunday Times.
Rupert Edward Algernon Campbell-Black is a fictional character in the Rutshire Chronicles series of romance novels written by Jilly Cooper. He is the eighth-generation descendant of Rupert Black. Campbell-Black's first appearance is in the novel Riders, which follows the lives and loves of a group of horse riders and show-jumpers. Although initially portrayed as a brutish, womanizing, adulterous cad, Campbell-Black's character is later somewhat redeemed through his triumphant winning of an Olympic gold medal for Great Britain. His loyalty is also highlighted through his friendships with Billy Lloyd-Foxe, Ricky France-Lynch and Declan O'Hara, as well as his gentle courtship of his second wife Agatha 'Taggie' O'Hara. He has five children: Marcus and Tabitha from his marriage with Helen Macaulay, adopted children Xavier and Bianca with Taggie, and the illegitimate Perdita.
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.
Leonard Cooper worked for numerous publishing houses before setting up his own independent publishing house, Leo Cooper Ltd, in 1968.
Make Lemonade is a verse novel for young adults, written by Virginia Euwer Wolff and originally published in 1993 by Henry Holt and Company. It is the first book in a trilogy series consisting of Make Lemonade, True Believer, and This Full House. These novels are characterized by their free verse style. The trilogy is unified by its protagonist LaVaughn, a fourteen-year-old girl who recounts her experiences and perspective from first-person point of view. All three books have been published as audiobooks read by Heather Alicia Simms.
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.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)