Dame Jilly Cooper has died after suffering a fall, aged 88.
The author, who wrote books including Rivals and The Rutshire Chronicles series, sold more than 11 million copies of her books in the UK,
News of Cooper’s death was announce by her agent. Felicity Blunt said: “The privilege of my career has been working with a woman who has defined culture, writing and conversation since she was first published over fifty years ago.
“Jilly will undoubtedly be best remembered for her chart-topping series The Rutshire Chronicles and its havoc-making and handsome show-jumping hero Rupert Campbell-Black.
“You wouldn’t expect books categorised as bonkbusters to have so emphatically stood the test of time but Jilly wrote with acuity and insight about all things – class, sex, marriage, rivalry, grief and fertility.
“Her plots were both intricate and gutsy, spiked with sharp observations and wicked humour. She regularly mined her own life for inspiration and there was something Austenesque about her dissections of society, its many prejudices and norms.
“But if you tried to pay her this compliment, or any compliment, she would brush it aside. She wrote, she said, simply ‘to add to the sum of human happiness’. In this regard as a writer she was and remains unbeatable.”
Her children Felix and Emily said: “Mum was the shining light in all of our lives.
“Her love for all of her family and friends knew no bounds. Her unexpected death has come as a complete shock.
“We are so proud of everything she achieved in her life and can’t begin to imagine life without her infectious smile and laughter all around us.”
Key Points
- Rivals author, Jilly Cooper, dies aged 88
Kay Burley says Cooper's character had 'quite an influence' on her
11:11 , Greg EvansFormer Sky News presenter Kay Burley said the author’s Rivals character had ‘quite the influence on my early 20s’.
RIP the fabulous Jilly Cooper. She was 88
— Kay Burley (@KayBurley) October 6, 2025
Rupert Campbell Black had quite the influence on my early 20s pic.twitter.com/9ZRXal8n4n
Family say Cooper was a 'shining light in all of our lives'
11:05 , Greg EvansHer children Felix and Emily said: “Mum was the shining light in all of our lives.“Her love for all of her family and friends knew no bounds. Her unexpected death has come as a complete shock.
“We are so proud of everything she achieved in her life and can’t begin to imagine life without her infectious smile and laughter all around us.”
Working with Cooper was the 'privilege of my career' says agent
11:03 , Greg EvansIn a statement on Cooper’s passing, her agent Felicity Blunt, said that it had been the privilege of her career to work with the author.
“Jilly will undoubtedly be best remembered for her chart-topping series The Rutshire Chronicles and its havoc-making and handsome show-jumping hero Rupert Campbell-Black.
“You wouldn’t expect books categorised as bonkbusters to have so emphatically stood the test of time but Jilly wrote with acuity and insight about all things – class, sex, marriage, rivalry, grief and fertility.
“Her plots were both intricate and gutsy, spiked with sharp observations and wicked humour. She regularly mined her own life for inspiration and there was something Austenesque about her dissections of society, its many prejudices and norms.
“But if you tried to pay her this compliment, or any compliment, she would brush it aside. She wrote, she said, simply ‘to add to the sum of human happiness’. In this regard as a writer she was and remains unbeatable.”
She added: “Emotionally intelligent, fantastically generous, sharply observant and utter fun Jilly Cooper will be deeply missed by all at Curtis Brown and on the set of Rivals.
“I have lost a friend, an ally, a confidante and a mentor. But I know she will live forever in the words she put on the page and on the screen.”
Cooper called one of 'world’s greatest storytellers'
10:59 , Greg EvansTributes have already started for Cooper. Happy Prince TV, the drama label run by award-winning producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins, that produced Rivals for Disney+ said that they were “heartbroken” about the news.
“Jilly was is and always will be one of the world’s greatest storytellers and it has been the most incredible honour to have been able to work with her to adapt her incredible novels for television.
“Crawling around on her sitting room floor with storylines on pieces of paper, sitting up late at her kitchen table holding hands with love and our tummies with laughter, receiving scoldings and heaps of wisdom in equal measure, watching her eyes sparkling as she sat behind the monitor on set watching Rutshire brought to life - every moment spent with Jilly Cooper was bloody marvellous. We have been so lucky to be able to call her our friend - and know that her legacy will endure in her writing, her television and the encouragement to have fun that she gave us all.”
Rivals author, Jilly Cooper, dies aged 88
10:54 , Greg EvansSad news to bring you this afternoon, Jilly Cooper, the author best known for her novels Rivals and The Rutshire Chronicles series, has died aged 88, after suffering a fall.
Rivals author Jilly Cooper dies unexpectedly after fall, aged 88
