‘She was a sort of fairy godmother to Country Life’: Mark Hedges, Tom Parker Bowles, Sophia Money-Coutts and more on the genius of Jilly Cooper

Kate Green, Country Life’s deputy editor

I interviewed Jilly Cooper in the summer of 2016 and it remains not only one of the best afternoons of my life, but one of the easiest interviews to write; every sentence she uttered was perfectly formulated. We got gently tiddly in the sunshine and afterwards she wrote me a joyous thank-you letter, randomly enclosing a gold tiepin with a fox's mask on it.

For a teenager, her romances — Harriet, Bella, et al — were a revolutionary departure from Barbara Cartland and Georgette Heyer: they were so self-deprecating (as was the author) and so funny (ditto). Riders and Rivals were cult novels that many have tried unsuccessfully to imitate and encapsulated the optimism of the 1980s.

Dubbing her the 'queen of the bonkbuster' does not do her credit; she was a serious, journalistic researcher who taught in a girls' school for Wicked, was told she had a big bum by Harvey Smith for Riders and followed an orchestra on tour for Appassionata. Best of all in an age of people taking themselves terribly seriously, that gurgling laugh resonates in every line.

Tom Parker Bowles, author and Country Life contributor

Jilly was my first ever interview, aged about 17, for The Eton College Arts Review. It was quite the coup, as she was at peak bonkbuster fame, but she was coming to dinner with my parents, and said yes immediately. She always went out of her way to help hacks, however young there were.

We sat in the nursery, her holding a glass of Champagne, and we seemed to talk a lot about Sex, Madonna's rather racy photograph book that had just been released, and sex in general. I would’ve have been mortified with any other grown-up, but Jilly was different. She always treated you like an adult, however young one was.

And she could not have been more brilliant — every sentence pure copy gold. All I had to do was write it all down. She was funny and warm and lovely and wonderful. She was also a brilliant writer, obviously, and someone who radiated pure joy. She was always happy to do an interview, and always unbelievably generous with her time.

The last time I saw her was on a perfect August evening, a couple of months back, at a party for Rivals at her beautiful and beloved house. My daughter, Lola, and niece Eliza, were so excited to meet the cast — who were charming, but Jilly was the star. 'God, she's amazing,' they both babbled the whole way home. 'We're in love'. We all were. Jilly was quite simply the best.

Sophia Money-Coutts, author and Country Life columnist

I’d never asked if I could take my dog along to an interview before but, with Jilly, I felt I was on safe territory. Dennis would indeed be welcome, was the response, and when I arrived at her very beautiful old house near Stroud on a sunny April day, there Jilly was, standing in her drive, wearing a terrier jersey specially.

Unfortunately, Dennis slightly let the side down by farting on the sofa halfway through the interview, which might have put off other interviewees. Not so Jilly, who declared that it didn’t matter a bit and that Dennis could do whatever he liked, before she clutched him closer to her.

After that, every card she sent me began, ‘Darling Sophia and Dennis.’ Darling Jilly, how we’ll miss you.

Mark Hedges, Country Life’s editor-in-chief

I first met Jilly when she helped choose Country Life’s first ‘Gentleman of the Year’. Her main advice for aspiring gentlemen was to ‘always drive her home in the morning’ and ‘make love on your elbows’.

We became friends and she wrote to me regularly, always on fun, cut-out cards. Her messages were short, in tiny writing, and lovely, such as: ‘Well done on the latest issue’, or ‘More dogs needed in next’. Most of the space was taken up by kisses.

She was a sort of fairy godmother to Country Life.

Imogen Macdonald, head of marketing at Birley Clubs

Growing up with Jilly Cooper’s Rutshire Chronicles was akin to having a naughty, wild and brilliantly kind older sister who you could turn to for all life advice. As well as the (many) raunchy scenes and affairs, at the heart of all her books is a thread of friendship, generosity and the wonderful, slightly old-fashioned idea that love conquers all.

She created unforgettable characters: impossibly handsome men, devilishly beautiful women and a roster of horses and dogs who were personalities in their own right — many of the ‘Character Lists’ at the start of her books run onto pages because of all the animals mentioned. Yes, Jilly shaped my teenage years, but now married and in my 30s, her books continue to be the ones I reach for time and time again.

The best bit: my best friends surprised me with a letter and signed books from Jilly on my hen do. She wrote to me exactly in the voice of so many of her characters: 'I hope you have a magical and riotous evening and utterly joyous wedding', signing off, 'I hope we meet one day. Tons of love Jilly Cooper'. I will treasure the letter forever.

We must all stop referring to her as ‘Queen of the Bonkbuster’ because her books were so much more. Long live Jilly-land, and may we always remember May 1 as Jilly Cooper day [she once said: ‘1st of May, 1st May, outdoor f**cking starts today. But if as usual it do rain, we f**ks off indoors again.']

Dame Jilly Cooper, novelist and journalist, was born February 21, 1937 and died October 5, 2025.