'Jilly Cooper's manners were impeccable. Every time I wrote anything about her over the years, a handwritten card arrived days later, thanking me warmly'

"The 'bonkbuster' queen Jilly Cooper was a cultured author whose modesty and humour lit up her novels"

"It was Joanna Trollope who pointed out just how hard Jilly Cooper worked to stop the world seeing how clever and cultured she was. Certainly her levels of self-deprecation were off the charts. I once commented on how hard-working she was (she wrote 18 works of fiction and 27 of non-fiction). She explained, in all seriousness: "I'm very hard-working because I'm very stupid. I'm very slow.""

"Have you tried Focail and Conundrum? Daily word puzzles designed to test your vocabulary and lateral thinking skills."

Jilly Cooper combined a 'bonkbuster' reputation with cultivated sensibility, modesty and sharp humour that enlivened her novels. Joanna Trollope observed that Cooper worked hard to stop the world seeing how clever and cultured she was. Cooper displayed extreme self-deprecation, describing her industriousness as a product of slowness: "I'm very hard-working because I'm very stupid. I'm very slow." She produced eighteen works of fiction and twenty-seven of non-fiction. Modesty and humour functioned as defining traits alongside prolific output and popular appeal. A separate note mentions daily word puzzles called Focail and Conundrum, designed to test vocabulary and lateral thinking.

Read at Independent