London (AP) – Jilly Cooper, the successful British author known for his class and sex chronicles in risky novels, including “Rivals” and “Riders”, died unexpectedly, his agent and family said on Monday. She was 88 years old.
The author died Sunday after a fall, according to a declaration by the literary agency Curtis Brown, which represented it.
“Mom was the brilliant light in our lives,” wrote her children, Felix and Emily. “His unexpected death came as a complete shock.”
Cooper collected dozens of fans with its “Chronicles Rutshire”, starting with “Riders” in 1985, a humorous and racy series which depicts the sexual lives, scandals and excesses of the upper and medium classes extinguished and rolled in England in the 1980s. The 11 pounds in the series have sold millions of copies in the United Kingdom alone.
One of the books, “Rivals”, was transformed into a successful Disney + television series last year, with David Tennant and Alex Hassell.
The British Prime Minister and the Royals were one of those who paid tribute to the author on Monday.
Queen CamillaThe wife of King Charles IIIcalled Cooper “a legend” and recalled that he saw the author recently during a book festival.
“I join my husband the king to send our thoughts and sympathies to all his family. And may she be filled with incredibly beautiful men and dedicated dogs,” wrote Camilla.
Cooper said that the fictitious Rupert Campbell-Black, the dashing hero and the rake in the heart of many of his stories, was partly inspired by the former Camilla, Andrew Parker Bowles.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer Called Cooper “a literary force whose spirit, warmth and wisdom have shaped British culture for more than half a century and brought joy to millions,” according to his office.
Cooper received an OBE, or an officer of the Order of the British Empire, for literature services in 2004. She received a lady more recently and received the honor of King Charles at the castle of Windsor. His many fans understood the former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who said that the books offered an “escape”.
Bill Scott-Terr, his publisher, congratulated Cooper for his “bad social commentary and his skillful, lacerant characterization”.
“She dissected the behavior, above all, above all, of the English middle classes with the most net of the scalpels,” he said.
His agent, Felicity Blunt, said that Cooper “has defined culture, writing and conversation since it was published for the first time over 50 years ago”. In person, the author was “emotionally intelligent, fantastically generous, strongly attentive and fun,” she added.
The executive producers of the adaptation of Disney + said that they were “at the heart broken” to the news of his death.
Born in 1937 in Essex, near London, Cooper cut his teeth in journalism in a local newspaper in Brentford, covering everything, from games to football.
She said that she then moved to public relations and had been dismissed by more than 20 jobs before finding herself in the books of books. The author married the publisher Leo Cooper in 1961.
Her big break occurred in 1969 when the Sunday Times published an entertaining play which she wrote on the difficulties of being a young wife who works. She has become a columnist for the newspaper for over 13 years.
His first book, “How to Stay Married”, was published in 1969, followed by some 18 novels and other works, from romance to children’s books and non-fiction. His most recent – “Tackle!” – was published in 2023.
Cooper’s funeral will be deprived of his wishes, with a public service organized in the coming months in London to celebrate his life, according to his agent.
The author is survived by his two adopted children, Felix and Emily. Her husband over 40, Leo, died in 2013.
