What is everyone talking about this week: 'Tis the summer of the rural romp-fest. Meet the new Jilly Coopers responsible

Dame Jilly Cooper would have loved the summer of 2026. Regime change, record temperatures and a lust for national heartthrobs (I’m talking about Jude Bellingham, not the one with long eyelashes) are enough to make you wonder whether she engineered the whole thing from heaven. After all, she may wish to say thank you: the hot summer has been good to the country romp, the genre which she helped to create, with saucy beach reads migrating to the garden as we enjoy its simulation of the tropics.

Last month saw a spate of rural romances hit the shelves. Among them were Playing The Field, the second novel by fashion designer Tabitha Webb (a favourite of The Princess of Wales), and Tangled Webs, the debut novel by equestrian Callie Coles, famous for allowing her horse into the kitchen of her home in Devon. Both have caused a ruckus, in rural circles and beyond. The names emblazoned on the spine of each novel are identified by their publishers (Harper Collins and Penguin) as Dame Jilly’s rightful successors.

Male authors are typically immune to such comparisons. No one is being slated as the next Martin Amis lest such an accolade set expectations too high. Are female novelists unburdened by the anxiety of influence, or do publishers simply believe they are only marketable if likened to their predecessors? ('The next Donna Tartt' does have a nice ring to it, mind.)

For Tabitha, Dame Jilly was not merely a torchbearer but a mentor. ‘Not until she told me that I had what it takes did I start to believe that I could actually become a novelist,’ she says. ‘Jilly gave me the most important advice I have ever received as a writer: that you have to research and understand the world you are writing about.’ Although Playing The Field will mostly appeal to those who fancy steamy scenes on the riverbank, it also considers the difficulty of building a rural business or inheriting a farm. Callie's novel, meanwhile, goes big on her love of horses.

There are two clear reasons why the rural romp is enjoying a moment. The first is a general trend towards steamy romances (authors Rachel Reid and Sarah J. Mass have dominated this year’s sales). The second is a vogue for the countryside, more specifically — driven, Tabitha believes, ‘by a yearning for lives that are simpler and rooted in the natural world’. The real question remains, however: how raunchy are the romps? ‘No one can out-Jilly Jilly,’ Tabitha laughs. ‘She was Sex Ed for all of us.’

This feature originally appeared in the August 5, 2026, issue of Country Life. Click here for more information on how to subscribe.