I’d done the usual school run, got home, made coffee and was just writing a resource on playing with your dog when my husband called. It started with “I’ve got some sad news for you”, and he told me Jilly Cooper had died. I can imagine how JC (how she’s known in our house) would describe my husband – blue eyes, freckles, the kindness in how he operates – and she would be right. That is why I fell in love with her all those decades ago.
Jilly Cooper painted a picture. She made observations that allowed her readers to visualise every single element of any storyline, character, home or dog. I can smell the horse stables in LA visited in Riders, I can picture the rooms Helen redecorated at Penscombe and Badger, the beloved labrador that greets Rupert Campbell
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