"Jilly Cooper was a genuinely merry soul, with a gimlet eye and a determination to see the best in absolutely everything; even when her life was difficult, she brightened every room with her spaniel hair. What fun she had and shared with us, and what a wonderful legacy she left. It would be easier to count the novelists of my generation who didn't read her. Not just the world-conquering Riders"
"The Jilly generation learned so much from her: that the correct amount of perfume to wear is roughly half a bottle, so that you trail it like a ship's wake. To never underestimate the power of clean hair. That it is perfectly fine and normal to get a bit sweaty and red in the face while throwing a dinner party, have casual sex with stable hands or get paralytically drunk at any given opportunity. It is not at all fine to"
Jilly Cooper was a genuinely merry soul with a gimlet eye and spaniel hair who brightened every room and left a wonderful legacy. Her novels—from Riders and Rivals to early Emilys and Olivias—were widely read across a generation. Visitors sat at her feet in hero worship, and she won The Weakest Link, using the prize to build a statue to brave animals. She taught affectations like half-bottle perfume and clean hair, accepted sweaty dinner parties, casual liaisons, and heavy drinking, but condemned greed, hypocritical pity, and boasting about children. She demanded vengeance for those who snubbed animals and delighted in honours and charity.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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