Jilly Cooper and Her Raunchy Reign

Galloping On: The Enduring, Raunchy Reign of Dame Jilly Cooper

Dame Jilly Cooper holds a cherished place in the United Kingdom's cultural heart. Her captivating tales, detailing the romantic lives and mischievous exploits within England's affluent countryside circles, have enthralled readers for decades. These stories showcase charismatic rogues, determined heroines, and a rich atmosphere of animals and grand estates. Since their emergence in the 1980s, her books have been consistent bestsellers, prompting the question of what makes her work so lastingly charming and quintessentially British.

The Undisputed Queen of the Bonkbuster

Great Britain is often perceived as sexually reserved, yet its public demonstrates a considerable appetite for literature on the subject. The sustained success of Dame Jilly Cooper, one of the nation's most accomplished authors, perfectly illustrates this paradox. Known widely as the "Queen of the bonkbuster", she essentially defined a literary category. This term, a blend of "bonk" and "blockbuster," was formally added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2002. It refers to a bestselling book filled with risqué plots and numerous amorous scenes, a style Cooper perfected.

A National Treasure with Powerful Fans

Cooper’s status as a beloved national figure is undisputed. Her influence is so profound that she even counts the former prime minister, Rishi Sunak, among her dedicated admirers. Sunak openly named several of her novels, including Riders and Rivals, as personal favourites. He remarked that immersing himself in her fictional world offers a necessary escape from the demands of daily life. The author herself conveyed her delight upon discovering her fan in Number 10, saying she was "absolutely thrilled to bits".

Iconic Covers and Public Memory

For many who grew up in Britain during the eighties and nineties, the jackets of Cooper's novels remain a potent memory. Their constant presence on home bookshelves, beside swimming pools, and passed between students like contraband made them unforgettable. The cover of Riders, her first major Rutshire Chronicle, shows a woman in form-fitting white riding trousers with a man's hand placed familiarly on her backside. When the publisher released a new version of the book for its 30th anniversary in 2015, the hand was repositioned several inches upward, sparking outrage among loyal readers. The author herself was reportedly furious about the alteration.

A World of Rural Grandeur

While the covers are memorable, the content within sealed Cooper's legacy as one of Britain's premier authors for four decades. She crafted compelling narratives of romantic trysts and chaotic events among England's landed gentry. Her fictional county of Rutshire, a lightly disguised version of the Cotswolds where she resided, became a treasured literary destination. The conduct is outrageous, the social gatherings are boisterous, and the general atmosphere is quite cheerful. Her figures navigate intense drama without ever becoming overly self-important, a blend readers found irresistible.

The Rutshire Chronicles' Debut

Her international success was ignited by the 1985 book Riders, the inaugural entry in the celebrated Rutshire Chronicles. This novel introduced audiences to the competitive showjumping circuit, replete with rivalries, romances, and passionate affairs. The story of its creation is well-known; Cooper completed a draft in the 1970s but lost the only copy on a bus. She felt so crushed by the incident that more than a decade passed before she started rewriting it. The eventual publication was a triumph, creating a formula that would delight millions.

From Sacked Secretary to Star Writer

The settings Cooper described were not entirely foreign to her own life. Born Jill Sallitt in Essex during 1937, she was raised in Yorkshire as part of an upper-middle-class family. Her professional life had a rocky beginning; she was famously dismissed from twenty-two different positions in publishing and public relations. Her major break occurred after a chance meeting at a dinner party with an editor from The Sunday Times Magazine. This resulted in a widely read column where she wrote with unusual candour about marriage, sex, and home life, which was published from 1969 to 1982.

The Real-Life Rupert Campbell-Black

The protagonist of Riders, the charming and dastardly womaniser Rupert Campbell-Black, became her most famous creation. This character drew partial inspiration from actual figures within the upper levels of British society. Cooper confirmed that influences included Andrew Parker-Bowles, Queen Camilla’s former husband, along with the 11th Duke of Beaufort. The character's combination of arrogance, magnetism, and dreadful behaviour toward women made him a fascinating and debated centrepiece for the series, returning in later books to the joy of fans.

Adored by Authors and Academics

Cooper's writing has encountered remarkably little snobbery, despite its focus on the privileged. Her audience is broad, including men and women, literary figures, and academics. Fellow authors like Marian Keyes, Ian Rankin, and Helen Fielding have all voiced their admiration for her novels. Amy Burge, who teaches popular fiction at the University of Birmingham, has studied Cooper's fan base extensively. Burge observes that for these readers, the experience is far more about enjoyment than guilt, and people are very open in their affection for the books.

A Final Foray into Football

In 2023, Cooper released her 18th book, Tackle!, which was the tenth installment in the spicy Rutshire Chronicles. This time, the narrative was situated within the professional soccer universe. The story features the return of a changed Rupert Campbell-Black, who acquires a struggling local football team, Searston Rovers, and tries to guide them to the Champions League. The cover cheekily displays a woman sliding a red penalty card into the waistband of a man’s athletic shorts, indicating the classic Cooper formula was still firmly in place.

Inspired by Ferguson and Eco-Warriors

Cooper’s fascination with football was reportedly ignited by a lunch meeting with the legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson. Her research for the book was characteristically thorough. She modeled the fictional Searston Rovers on her own local club, Forest Green Rovers, which is famously run by the eco-entrepreneur Dale Vince. The storyline, which some likened to popular series such as Ted Lasso and Welcome to Wrexham, was commended for its infectiously upbeat and amusing style, even as it explored a world far removed from the typical showjumping arenas of Rutshire.

Pioneering Joyful Female Pleasure

A significant element of Cooper's legacy is her depiction of sex. Daisy Buchanan, a writer and devoted fan, credits Cooper's novels with shaping her understanding of intimacy and relationships. Buchanan observes that Cooper was among the first authors she encountered who addressed female desire so directly. In Cooper's stories, physical intimacy is frequently portrayed as affectionate, happy, and caring. She promoted the idea that one does not have to be flawless to pursue and enjoy these connections, a message that resonated powerfully with countless individuals.

Confronting Difficult Content

However, the representation of sex in her books was not always positive or consensual. Critics have noted scenes of rape where the attackers seldom face any repercussions. Amy Burge points to a particularly troubling moment in Riders where Rupert forces his wife Helen to perform a sexual act, calling it a "truly awful scene". These parts of her work have been labeled as dated and challenging for a contemporary audience, reflecting the social norms of a different time. The series has drawn criticism for its sometimes problematic handling of gender roles and consent.

Image  credit - by Allan warren, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

An Old-Fashioned View on Modern Mores

Cooper herself was a product of another time and continued to be vocal about contemporary sexual politics. In interviews, she voiced the opinion that the #MeToo movement had caused people to become overly stressed and worried regarding intimacy, which she felt diminished men and discouraged flirting. She fretted that in the current social environment, her protagonist Rupert Campbell-Black would be "locked up in prison". Her remarks showed a nostalgia for a less "politically correct" period, a perspective that positioned her as an observer from a bygone age.

The Last of a Literary Generation?

The expectation for Cooper’s later novels to be racy might stem from her position as the last great figure of the classic bonkbuster genre. Her peers in the field, Jackie Collins and Judith Krantz, died in 2015 and 2019 respectively, with Shirley Conran following in 2024. Their passing signaled the close of an era for the grand, sexually-explicit blockbuster novel. Cooper's enduring success into her eighties made her a singular and final connection to a particular period in publishing history.

Shifting Tastes in Popular Culture

The cultural environment has altered dramatically since the bonkbuster's peak. Recent analyses indicate that younger generations seem less captivated by sexual content in mainstream entertainment. A study from UCLA's Center for Scholars and Storytellers discovered that more than 50% of Gen Z respondents would like to see fewer intimate scenes and more depictions of platonic bonds in media. This demographic seems to be more sexually conservative, with fewer young adults reporting sexual activity compared to their predecessors. This pattern points to a departure from the very subjects that made Cooper's writing so groundbreaking.

From Bookshelves to TikTok Feeds

While the traditional bonkbuster may have faded, the desire for romance and eroticism has been revitalised online. Amy Burge highlights the influence of TikTok, where the #spicybooks tag has accumulated a massive following. This platform was instrumental in the phenomenal rise of authors such as Colleen Hoover. Her books, while leaning more toward conventional romance than Cooper’s sprawling narratives, also feature abundant sexual content and have attracted a huge global readership, demonstrating that the demand for escapist, heartfelt stories is still strong, just in a new format.

Rivals Reimagined for the Screen

Cooper's legacy got a considerable lift from the recent Disney+ television series based on Rivals. The celebrity-filled production included actors such as Danny Dyer, David Tennant, and Aidan Turner, and was greeted with excitement by viewers and reviewers. The show fully committed to the novel's provocative material, hiring a pair of specialists to manage the many love scenes. The program’s success has attracted a fresh wave of admirers to the scandalous world of Rutshire, ensuring Cooper's tales continue to reach new people.

Securing a Lasting Legacy

Over a career that lasted more than 50 years, Dame Jilly Cooper sold in excess of 11 million books in Britain alone. She was made an OBE in 2004, a CBE in 2018, and was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2024 New Year Honours for her contributions to literature and charity. Her work not only created a genre but also portrayed a specific segment of English life with wit, warmth, and a total absence of shame.

An Enduring Dose of Escapism

Ultimately, the lasting charm of Jilly Cooper’s novels is their capacity to deliver pure, unfiltered pleasure. As Rishi Sunak remarked, we all need escapism, and for many years, Cooper has been a master provider of it. Her created universes, filled with glamour, drama, and passion, present a joyful getaway from reality. Aidan Turner, a star of the Rivals show, has said that working on the project was the most enjoyable experience of his professional life. That feeling of absolute joy is exactly what Jilly Cooper expertly shared, cementing her status as a true icon of British popular culture.