Beloved British author Dame Jilly Cooper has died aged 88.
Cooper, best known for her risque novels about the lives and scandals of England’s wealthy and glamorous, passed away unexpectedly, her family confirmed in a statement on Monday (British time).
“Mum was the shining light in all of our lives. Her love for all of her family and friends knew no bounds,” they said.
“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.”
Queen Camilla, a longtime friend and fan of Cooper, led the tributes.
“I was so saddened to hear of the death of my friend Dame Jilly Cooper,” the Queen said.
“Very few writers get to be a legend in their own lifetime but Jilly was one, creating a whole new genre of literature and making it her own through a career that spanned over five decades.
“In person she was a wonderfully witty and compassionate friend to me and so many — and it was a particular pleasure to see her just a few weeks ago at my Queen’s Reading Room Festival where she was, as ever, a star of the show.
“I join my husband the King in sending our thoughts and sympathies to all her family.
“May her hereafter be filled with impossibly handsome men and devoted dogs.”
Cooper earned the nickname “queen of the bonkbuster” for her best-selling novels like Riders and Rivals, which portrayed the sex lives, dramas and excesses of Britain’s upper class – often with a strong dose of humour.
Her books have sold millions of copies and continue to entertain readers decades after publication. Rivals was even adapted into a hit Disney+ series in 2024, starring David Tennant and Alex Hassell.
Beyond books, Cooper’s love of animals was widely known, with them featuring in her stories and personal life. The charity Dogs Trust paid tribute, saying: “Jilly championed our four-legged friends with the same passion she poured into her writing.”
Cooper’s agent, Felicity Blunt, praised her work as timeless and deeply human.
“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,” she said.
“She regularly mined her own life for inspiration and there was something Austen-esque 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.”
Born in 1937, Cooper began her career in journalism at a local newspaper in Brentford before becoming a celebrated columnist at The Sunday Times and later The Mail on Sunday.
Her first book, How to Stay Married, was published in 1969, beginning a long and successful writing career.
Former British prime minister Rishi Sunak was also among the many public figures who admired her work, saying her novels offered much-needed escapism.
Cooper is survived by her children, Felix and Emily, and five grandchildren.
Images: Jilly Cooper Website
