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.
- Danny Dyer on Rivals, fame and working-class people in politics: ‘We need a f**king leader’
- The UK’s best independent bookshops
- Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley: ‘Why the hell are we still judging someone on how they look?’
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.