Jilly Cooper, whose gleefully sexy romance novels set in the Cotswolds made her a cultural icon in the U.K. and a bestselling author on both sides of the Atlantic, has died at 88, the Guardian reports.

Cooper, a native of Essex, England, worked as a reporter, copywriter, and newspaper columnist before making her literary debut in 1969 with the advice book How To Stay Married. Her first novel, Emily, was published in 1975; it was the first in a series that also included Octavia (1977) and Imogen (1978).

Cooper took the publishing world by storm in 1985 with Riders, which followed a group of sex- and party-loving British equestrians. The book became an iconic “bonkbuster”—a bestselling novel with plenty of sexual content—and was the first in Cooper’s Rutshire Chronicles series, which continued for 10 more books, including Rivals (originally published as Players in the U.S.), which was recently adapted for a Hulu series. Cooper’s most recent novel, a Rutshire Chronicles installment titled Tackle!, was published in 2023.

Cooper’s fans paid tribute to her on social media. On the platform X, journalist Rebecca English posted, “So sad to hear of the death of the incomparable Dame Jilly Cooper who was on such great form a few weeks ago when she met Queen Camilla. Her support to me personally over the years—all those gloriously funny little notes she often sent—were more inspiring than I can say.”

And novelist Philip Hensher wrote, “Blessings upon the head of Jilly Cooper. In my view, her novels—funny, panoramic, vividly written and beautifully observed—will still be read decades from now.” 

Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.