Rivals and the joy of Jilly Cooper: 'No other author writes about sex as freely or courageously'

Great literature is filled with imaginary harbours for lonely souls. Some of us seek refuge in Middle Earth, some head to Hogwarts, some take themselves to Pemberley. Since I was about 13-years-old, I’ve been returning to Rutshire on the regular, seeking sex, drugs and broadcasting scandals. Rivals by Jilly Cooper isn’t just a book to me, it’s home. I’m very excited that Disney+ is taking on my favourite novel and bringing it to new viewers and potential readers.

Jilly Cooper and her novels are iconic; and by that I mean that even if you’re not on intimate terms with them, you could recognise them, and sketch an outline from memory. There will definitely be sex. And there will probably be a horse or two. The boozing will be lavish, the hyperbole more so. (I’m a proud member of a Jilly Cooper Book Club and we all squeal when we spot her signature phrases. Happiness, especially that inspired by rapturous love making leaves characters ‘joyous as otters’. If you need a perfect party dress, you’ll nip into Cheltenham or Gloucester and ‘blue your wages’ on something clinging or backless or both.)

If you’re new to Jilly’s world, this is what I’d like to tell you. Firstly, relax – you’re going to be relentlessly entertained. Secondly, you’ll come for the escapism, but you’ll stay for the deeper themes. Rivals was first published in 1988 and it’s never been out of print. We keep reading it for a reason.

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The novel has a dedicated fan base. And when the Disney+ series was announced, we held our breath, wondering and worrying about casting. After watching the first two episodes, I’m happy to report that Alex Hassell is more than up to the challenge of playing Rupert Campbell-Black, ‘the handsomest man in England’, and Bella Maclean is a luminous, vulnerable Taggie. But for me the standout stars are Katherine Parkinson, a warm, curious and sexy Lizzie Vereker, and Danny Dyer as salt-of-the-earth businessman Freddie Jones. The sexual chemistry between the characters leaps off the pages, and it smoulders on screen. This is a story that’s about the emotional side of sex, and every performance is a masterclass in longing and yearning. 

I don’t think there has ever been another author who writes about sex as freely or courageously as Cooper. And I don’t want to think about who I’d be if I hadn’t fallen in love with her novels when I did. Cooper gave me the best possible sex education. She was the very first person to show me that sex is supposed to be about pleasure, tenderness and connection – and the first to centre female desire. She understands what it is to want, and why we long to feel wanted.

The novel was revelatory for me because it was the first story I read in which women weren’t punished for their desires. They don’t always get what they want, and they’re not always treated well, but Cooper never turns sex into a moral issue – it’s always a human one.

Not all of the sex in Rivals is ‘joyous’. Cooper also writes about sexism and misogyny. I suspect that’s another reason why the book feels so current. It describes a world in which workplace harassment is rife. Cooper understands the complexity of the grey areas when work is mixed with pleasure. The exploration of consent in Rivals feels ahead of its time; it is made very clear that men and women are held to different standards, and that this is unfair. Sometimes, the characters are in violent and abusive situations, but Cooper gives them room to be vulnerable and courageous.

Rivals has two female leads. There’s Cameron Cook, the hotshot TV executive who exudes eighties ambition from head to toe to her Saint Laurent shoulder pads. She’s the diametric opposite of Taggie O’Hara, the tall, awkward daughter of famous TV presenter and journalist Declan. Taggie is dyslexic, and she feels like the odd one out in her fiercely academic family. I think this book is so beloved because there’s a bit of Cameron and Taggie in all of us. To me, Cameron’s enormous ambition is exciting and inspiring. When she enters a room, people react with terror and awe. Cooper makes it clear that Cameron’s fierce work ethic is a disguise – she’s vulnerable, and she’s trying to forget where she’s come from by telling the world where she’s going. But I still want to be Cameron when I grow up, a missile in ‘Fracas and Mantan.’

However, Taggie’s vulnerability is impossible to hide. Her heart is huge – she’s an animal lover, a cook and the family caretaker – but Cooper makes it clear that Taggie’s empathy sometimes gets in the way of her best interests. In Rivals, she learns how to stand up for herself, how to become braver and how to speak out about what really matters to her. This is a recurring theme in Cooper’s novels. Many of her heroines find that they can shake off their doormat tendencies and screw their courage to the sticking place when it really matters.

Rivals is a comedy. Cooper is an excellent social and political satirist. And even though the dates and references have aged, there are parts of the novel that feel alarmingly prescient. She’s not afraid to judge people for being greedy or venal, and she’s uncompromising when it comes to skewering the pretentious, the self-obsessed and the cruel. Ultimately, kindness and wit win out.

Like Helen Fielding, Cooper could be criticised for her attitude towards women’s bodies. However, like Fielding, Cooper is much more interested in exploring the way women feel about themselves, and the impact that has on their behaviour. Rivals is not an instructional manual, it’s a story about flawed people doing their best and worst.

When I describe Cooper’s novels, the word I keep landing on is ‘human’. She’s a psychologist, a philosopher and a gossip, and that’s why I love her so much. She wants to know why we come together, and what tears us apart. She isn’t interested in perfect people – she’s populated a universe with people who are obsessed with the big and the little. People who drink, and kiss, and laugh, and shout, and go to bed in the middle of the day.

Jilly Cooper is generous, she’s forgiving, and she celebrates courage, kindness and desire. And she’ll make you want to celebrate too. I hope you come with me, to Rutshire. Bring champagne and cake.

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Rivals is available from October 18th on Disney+. Daisy Buchanan is a novelist and host of literary podcast You’re Booked.