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Reading lists

Best romance books for ultimate escapism

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11 of the best books set in France

Best books set in Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England

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14 books set in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland

A photograph of Lord Anthony Bridgerton and Kate Sharma from Bridgerton.

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What to read if you love Bridgerton

An illustration of a woman sitting on a pile of copies of Mrs Dalloway, reading Mrs Dalloway, next to a shelf of other copies of Mrs Dalloway

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Features

On the particular pleasures of re-reading

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What to read if you’re loving Bridgerton

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Life according to Jilly Cooper

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Where to start with Jilly Cooper

Master the inhabitants of Rutshire with our Jilly Cooper

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Jilly Cooper glossary

Prudence

The charming romcom from the bestselling author of Rivals 
 
'Absolutely brilliant' 5 STAR reader review 
'Such good fun!' 5 STAR reader review 
'I couldn't put it down . . . one of the best books I've read!' 5 STAR reader review 
 
The trouble with the Mulholland family, Prudence decided, was that they were all in love with the wrong people. She'd been overjoyed when Pendle, her super-cool barrister boyfriend, invited her home for the weekend to meet his family. 
 
But home turned out to be a decaying mansion in the Lake District, and family were his glamorous, scatty mother who forgot the mounting bills by throwing wild parties, and brothers, Ace, dark and forbidding, and Jack, handsome, married and only too ready to take over with Pru if Pendle didn't get a move on. 
 
It was only when she noticed the way Pendle looked at Jack's wife Maggie that it began to dawn on Pru that there was more to this weekend than met the eye. 
 
It looked like a non-stop game of changing partners . . . 
 
'There is no one else like Cooper' Guardian 
'The Jane Austen of our time' HARPERS & QUEEN 
'The funniest and sharpest writer there is' Jenny Colgan 
'Flawlessly entertaining' Helen Fielding 
 
[cover may vary]

Jilly Cooper is a journalist, author and media superstar. The author of many number one bestselling books, she lives in Gloucestershire. 
 
She has been awarded honorary doctorates by the Universities of Gloucestershire and Anglia Ruskin, and won the inaugural Comedy Women in Print lifetime achievement award in 2019. She was also appointed DBE in 2024 for services to literature and charity.

The trouble with the Mulholland family, Prudence decided, was that they were all in love with the wrong people. She'd been overjoyed when Pendle, her super-cool barrister boyfriend, invited her home for the weekend to meet his family. 
 
But home turned out to be a decaying mansion in the Lake District, and family were his glamorous, scatty mother who forgot the mounting bills by throwing wild parties, and brothers, Ace, dark and forbidding, and Jack, handsome, married and only too ready to take over with Pru if Pendle didn't get a move on. 
 
It was only when she noticed the way Pendle looked at Jack's wife Maggie that it began to dawn on Pru that there was more to this weekend than met the eye. 
 
It looked like a non-stop game of changing partners . . .

the light-hearted, hilarious and gorgeous novel from the inimitable multimillion-copy bestselling Jilly Cooper

Emily

The feel-good romcom from the bestselling author of Rivals 
 
'Absolutely brilliant' 5 STAR reader review 
'Such good fun!' 5 STAR reader review 
'I couldn't put it down . . . one of the best books I've read!' 5 STAR reader review 
 
If Emily hadn't gone to Annie Richmond's party, she would never have met the impossibly irresistible Rory Balniel; would never have married him and been carried off to the wild Scottish island of Irasa to live in his ancestral home along with his eccentric mother, Coco, and the dog, Walter Scott. 
 
She'd never have met the wild and mysterious Marina, a wraith from Rory's past, nor her brother, the disagreeable Finn Maclean; never have spent a night in a haunted highland castle, or been caught stealing roses in a see-through nightie... 
 
'There is no one else like Cooper' Guardian 
'The Jane Austen of our time' HARPERS & QUEEN 
'The funniest and sharpest writer there is' Jenny Colgan 
'Flawlessly entertaining' Helen Fielding 
 
[cover may vary]

If Emily hadn't gone to Annie Richmond's party, she would never have met the impossibly irresistible Rory Balniel; would never have married him and been carried off to the wild Scottish island of Irasa to live in his ancestral home along with his eccentric mother, Coco, and the dog, Walter Scott. 
 
She'd never have met the wild and mysterious Marina, a wraith from Rory's past, nor her brother, the disagreeable Finn Maclean; never have spent a night in a haunted highland castle, or been caught stealing roses in a see-through nightie... 
 
Yes, it all started at Annie Richmond's party.

Bella

A charming romance from the bestselling author of Rivals 
 
'Absolutely brilliant' 5 STAR reader review 
'Such good fun!' 5 STAR reader review 
'I couldn't put it down . . . one of the best books I've read!' 5 STAR reader review 
 
There was no doubt Bella Parkinson was a success: the most promising actress in London, bright, sexy - and hopelessly scatterbrained - she was taking the town by storm. 
 
Rupert Henriques, dashingly handsome and wealthy enough to buy her every theatre in London if she wanted it, couldn't wait to marry her . . . 
 
But Bella had a secret in her past - and the one man who knew it was about to come into her life again. Worse, Rupert's sinister cousin Lazlo, for some reason of his own, was trying to prevent her marriage. 
 
Before she knew where she was, Bella found herself in real danger . . . 
 
'There is no one else like Cooper' Guardian 
'The Jane Austen of our time' HARPERS & QUEEN 
'The funniest and sharpest writer there is' Jenny Colgan 
'Flawlessly entertaining' Helen Fielding 
 
[Cover may vary]

The classic romance from the bestselling author of Rivals, now a major series on Disney+ 
 
There was no doubt Bella Parkinson was a success: the most promising actress in London, bright, sexy - and hopelessly scatterbrained - she was taking the town by storm. 
 
Rupert Henriques, dashingly handsome and wealthy enough to buy her every theatre in London if she wanted it, couldn't wait to marry her . . . 
 
But Bella had a secret in her past - and the one man who knew it was about to come into her life again. Worse, Rupert's sinister cousin Lazlo, for some reason of his own, was trying to prevent her marriage. 
 
Before she knew where she was, Bella found herself in real danger . . . 
 
'There is no one else like Cooper' Guardian 
'The Jane Austen of our time' HARPERS & QUEEN 
'The funniest and sharpest writer there is' Jenny Colgan 
'Flawlessly entertaining' Helen Fielding

Harriet

The charming romance from the bestselling author of Rivals 
 
'Absolutely brilliant' 5 STAR reader review 
'Such good fun!' 5 STAR reader review 
'I couldn't put it down . . . one of the best books I've read!' 5 STAR reader review 
 
Shy, dreamy, and incurably romantic, Harriet Poole was shattered when her brief affair with Simon Villiers, Oxford's leading playboy undergraduate, ended abruptly, leaving her penniless, alone and pregnant. Still hopelessly in love with Simon, she took baby William and buried herself in deepest Yorkshire as nanny to the children of Cory Erskine, a somewhat eccentric scriptwriter. 
 
Local tongues were just beginning to wag when a whole host of visitors began to arrive to disrupt Harriet's peaceful routine: first Cory's estranged wife Noel, hellbent on winning Cory back, then Cory's glamorous brother Kit, whose old affair with Noel didn't stop him making passes at Harriet, and finally, of all people, Simon... 
 
'There is no one else like Cooper' Guardian 
'The Jane Austen of our time' HARPERS & QUEEN 
'The funniest and sharpest writer there is' Jenny Colgan 
'Flawlessly entertaining' Helen Fielding 
 
[cover may vary]

The light-hearted, hilarious and gorgeous novel from the much-loved classic author. 
 
Shy, dreamy, and incurably romantic, Harriet Poole was shattered when her brief affair with Simon Villiers, Oxford's leading playboy undergraduate, ended abruptly, leaving her penniless, alone and pregnant. Still hopelessly in love with Simon, she took baby William and buried herself in deepest Yorkshire as nanny to the children of Cory Erskine, a somewhat eccentric scriptwriter. 
 
Local tongues were just beginning to wag when a whole host of visitors began to arrive to disrupt Harriet's peaceful routine: first Cory's estranged wife Noel, hellbent on winning Cory back, then Cory's glamorous brother Kit, whose old affair with Noel didn't stop him making passes at Harriet, and finally, of all people, Simon... 
 
'The Jane Austen of our time' Harpers 
'The funniest and sharpest writer there is' Jenny Colgan

Octavia

The unmissable romcom from the bestselling author of Rivals 
 
'Absolutely brilliant' 5 STAR reader review 
'Such good fun!' 5 STAR reader review 
'I couldn't put it down . . . one of the best books I've read!' 5 STAR reader review 
 
As soon as Octavia catches a glimpse of Jeremy in the nightclub, she knows she just has to have him. It doesn't matter that he's just got engaged to an old school friend of hers: good-natured Gussie. His look suggested bed rather than breakfast, and made her weak at the knees... 
 
Rich and stunning, Octavia is used to men falling in love with her at a moment's notice and an invitation to join Gussie and Jeremy for a cozy weekend on a canal barge comes like a gift from the gods. How can she fail to hook Jeremy? 
 
But the other part of the foursome is whizz-kid business tycoon Gareth Llewellyn, a swarthy Welshman with all the tenderness of a scrum-half...definitely not Octavia's type! 
 
And one way and another, he certainly manages to thwart her plans... 
'There is no one else like Cooper' Guardian 
'The Jane Austen of our time' HARPERS & QUEEN 
'The funniest and sharpest writer there is' Jenny Colgan 
'Flawlessly entertaining' Helen Fielding 
 
[cover may vary]

As soon as Octavia catches a glimpse of Jeremy in the nightclub, she knows she just has to have him. It doesn't matter that he's just got engaged to an old school friend of hers: good-natured Gussie. His look suggested bed rather than breakfast, and made her weak at the knees... 
 
Rich and stunning, Octavia is used to men falling in love with her at a moment's notice and an invitation to join Gussie and Jeremy for a cozy weekend on a canal barge comes like a gift from the gods. How can she fail to hook Jeremy? 
 
But the other part of the foursome is whizz-kid business tycoon Gareth Llewellyn, a swarthy Welshman with all the tenderness of a scrum-half...definitely not Octavia's type! 
 
And one way and another, he certainly manages to thwart her plans...

the deliciously funny and upbeat novel from the inimitable multimillion-copy bestselling Jilly Cooper

Imogen

The delightful romcom from the bestselling author of Rivals 
 
'Absolutely brilliant' 5 STAR reader review 
'Such good fun!' 5 STAR reader review 
'I couldn't put it down . . . one of the best books I've read!' 5 STAR reader review 
 
As a librarian, Imogen read a lot of books, but none of them covered what she was to experience on the Riviera. 
 
Her holiday with tennis ace, Nicky, and the whole glamorous coterie surrounding Nicky, was a revelation - and so, ultimately, was she. A wild Yorkshire rose among the thorny model girls, Cable and Yvonne, with a rare asset that they'd mislaid years ago... 
 
But the path of a jet-set virgin in that lovely, wicked world was a hard one. 
 
Imogen began to wonder if virtue really was its own reward... 
 
'There is no one else like Cooper' Guardian 
'The Jane Austen of our time' HARPERS & QUEEN 
'The funniest and sharpest writer there is' Jenny Colgan 
'Flawlessly entertaining' Helen Fielding 
 
[cover may vary]

As a librarian, Imogen read a lot of books, but none of them covered what she was to experience on the Riviera. 
 
Her holiday with tennis ace, Nicky, and the whole glamorous coterie surrounding Nicky, was a revelation - and so, ultimately, was she. A wild Yorkshire rose among the thorny model girls, Cable and Yvonne, with a rare asset that they'd mislaid years ago... 
 
But the path of a jet-set virgin in that lovely, wicked world was a hard one. 
 
Imogen began to wonder if virtue really was its own reward...

Jilly Cooper

‘Fun, sexy and unputdownable – a classic’

Joyful and mischievous. I know of no woman my age who won't admit that Rupert Campbell-Black nearly ruined them for other men for life . . .

Jilly Cooper is the funniest and the sharpest writer there is. A heroine, an influence and a legend to half my generation of female authors (the fun half)

Jilly Cooper’s writing is hilarious, witty, wise, astute, flawlessly entertaining and a celebration of all that is the most fun about being British

Helen Fielding, author of BRIDGET JONES DIARY

Exhilarating, irresistible and one of our nation’s most beloved novels. If you’re about to read Riders for the first time, you’re in for a joyous experience!

It's all here: swooning romance, skulduggery in the stables and, yes, bonking; all set in the Cotswold countryside. Tally ho!

I defy anyone not to enjoy her book. It is a delight from start to finish

Has any book of the past 70 years given as much pleasure as Cooper's rumpy-pumpy, show-jumping classis?

Brooding hero Jake Lovell, under whose magic hands even the most difficult horse or woman is charmed, is driven by his loathing of the dashing darling of the show ring, Rupert Campbell-Black. Having pinched each other’s horses and drunk their way around the capitals of Europe, the feud between the two men finally erupts with devastating consequences at the Los Angeles Olympics . . . 
 
A classic bestseller, Riders takes the lid off international show jumping, a sport where the brave horses are almost human, but the humans behave like animals. 
 
‘Sex and horses: who could ask for more?’ Sunday Telegraph

Jilly Cooper

Praise for Riders

Sex and horses: who could ask for more?

‘Fun, sexy and unputdownable – a classic’

Joyful and mischievous. I know of no woman my age who won't admit that Rupert Campbell-Black nearly ruined them for other men for life . . .

Sex and horses: who could ask for more?

‘Fun, sexy and unputdownable – a classic’

Joyful and mischievous. I know of no woman my age who won't admit that Rupert Campbell-Black nearly ruined them for other men for life . . .

Sex and horses: who could ask for more?

‘Fun, sexy and unputdownable – a classic’

Joyful and mischievous. I know of no woman my age who won't admit that Rupert Campbell-Black nearly ruined them for other men for life . . .

Books by Jilly Cooper

Series by Jilly Cooper

Rutshire Chronicles

Articles featuring Jilly Cooper

Best romance books for ultimate escapism

11 of the best books set in France

14 books set in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland

What to read if you love Bridgerton

On the particular pleasures of re-reading

What to read if you’re loving Bridgerton

Life according to Jilly Cooper

Where to start with Jilly Cooper

Jilly Cooper glossary

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