Jilly Cooper, British Novelist Behind ‘Rivals’ and ‘Riders,’ Dies at 88

British author Jilly Cooper, whose popular Rutshire Chronicles novels were the basis for the hit Disney+ series Rivals, has died. She was 88.

The novelist’s longtime agent, Felicity Blunt, confirmed the news on Monday morning (October 6), revealing that Cooper passed away on Sunday (October 5) after suffering a fall.

“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,” Blunt said in a statement, per The Hollywood Reporter. “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.”

Her children, Felix and Emily, added, “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.”

Beginning her career in journalism, Cooper published several nonfiction titles that focused on class, animals, and marriage. In the 1970s, she turned her attention to fiction, with her first romance novel, Emily, released in 1975. She would publish several more romance novels throughout the 70s before releasing the first of her Rutshire Chronicles in 1985, Riders, which was adapted into a television film in 1993.

Cooper wrote 11 novels in the Rutshire Chronicles, but her second, Rivals (1988), proved her most popular. The novel serves as the basis for the 2024 Disney+ comedy-drama Rivals, starring David Tennant, Alex Hassell, Oliver Chris, Danny Dyer, Katherine Parkinson, and Nafessa Williams. It centers on scoundrel MP Rupert Campbell-Black and his rivalry with television executive Tony Baddingham.

Rivals, in which Cooper served as an executive producer (she also made a cameo in Episode 5), has been a big hit for Disney+, with the streamer renewing the show for a second season back in December 2024.

Tributes have been pouring in for Cooper, including from Rivals star Victoria Smurfit, who wrote on Instagram, “Our divine Queen has gone to the sky. Her words will live forever but the way she made you feel, when in her company was human sunshine. Jilly was everything that was good about being a person.”

 

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Fellow Rivals star Rufus Jones added, “We are almost exactly halfway through filming Series 2 of Rivals, and have just heard that Dame Jilly has left us. What an extraordinary woman. Just last month we were all together at her famous summer garden party, still giddy at being in the realm of this fantastic person. Hilarious, twinkingly outrageous and kind, we loved being in her company.”

Gary Lamont, who played Corinium TV controller Charles Fairburn in the Disney+adaptation, said, “There is nothing like a Dame. A privilege to have been in her orbit.”

Gary Lamont Instagram

Broadcaster Piers Morgan wrote, “RIP Jilly Cooper, 88. Such a fabulously fun, mischievous, warm-heated lady. If she was in a room, everyone would feel instantly cheerier. Very sad news.”

RIP Jilly Cooper, 88.
Such a fabulously fun, mischievous, warm-heated lady. If she was in a room, everyone would feel instantly cheerier. Very sad news. 😢 pic.twitter.com/IcRIhVOQdR

— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) October 6, 2025

According to Cooper’s agent, the funeral will be a private, family occasion. However, a public service of thanksgiving will be held at Southwark Cathedral in London at some point in the coming months.