‘An absolute delight’

I was the manager of Books Etc in Oxford Street, where Jilly Cooper’s novel Polo was launched in 1991, with polo-dressed senior publishers posing in the window. Jilly visited our shop several times for signings and she was our favourite author visitor. She always spoke to all the staff, brought a gift for staff with her and always wrote us a note of thanks afterwards. Lovely with customers and just an absolute delight. Judith Denwood, retired bookseller, Hastings

‘A week later, a gorgeous wooden postcard arrived’

I read Riders in the summer of lockdown after graduating in English from university and having moved to Putney. It reignited my love of reading for pleasure, and entirely changed my experience of living in London. Jilly Cooper’s writing is so vivid, the characters filled the lockdown drought of gossip, and her writing always brought me so much joy. I emailed her publisher’s office to say how much her writing meant to me, and how it had transformed my view of life and London to always find the fun, and they emailed back to ask for my home address as she wanted to write back (and didn’t like to use the computer).

A week later, a gorgeous wooden postcard with woodland animals on the front arrived from Jilly. It meant so much to me that she’d taken the time to write back, and that a reader’s experience had meant so much to her. I’ve since read nearly all of her works, feeling lost without a Rutshire Chronicle on the go, and discovered her perceptiveness and clarity of expression in her columns in Turn Right at the Spotted Dog. Her depiction of her jury service experience is a particular favourite. Her writing always has the reader’s best intentions at heart, and reading one of her books brings a sparkle that extends beyond fiction into the reader’s real world. Kitty, Wiltshire

‘She showed me one of her prized possessions’

Jilly Cooper’s husband Leo was my godfather so I would meet her off and on over the years. The last visit was a long weekend in Gloucestershire in 2007 when the four of us chatted around the kitchen table until the early hours. She showed me one of her prized possessions – a signed shirt from England and Liverpool footballer Emile Heskey! Sebastian, Edinburgh

‘No better quick fix for boredom, loneliness, anxiety or heartbreak’

At a very low point in my then young life (1985/86), unhappy in love, broke, bereft and desperately job hunting, I bought a paperback copy of Riders on a whim, knowing very little about Jilly. I was enchanted, and spent the next few afternoons lying on the flea-ridden sofa in my shared flat reading; and when I got to the last page, I went right back to the beginning and read it all over again. Jilly Cooper’s ability to create a wholly believable fictional world, and draw readers in, has never been surpassed, and probably never will be. There’s no better quick fix for boredom, loneliness, anxiety or heartbreak than a few hours of escapism with one of Jilly Cooper’s satisfyingly weighty novels. RIP Jilly, you were one of a kind. Gill Holcombe, London

‘Happily disorganised’

I first read Jilly’s stories in Petticoat, a wonderful magazine from the 60s. For a boarding school girl they provided a romantic escape and an expectation of the joy and excitement of love affairs that I hoped lay ahead. I met Jilly at a book signing in Oxford, in 1976. She was late and arrived flustered and on opening her handbag the chaos within was on display for all to see. I loved her for being like me, happily disorganised and untidy without a shred of embarrassment. She was confident enough to speak in that wonderful upper class voice with no wish to appear anything other than herself. Morag Coles, 72, retired secretary, Broadstone, Dorset

‘My mother’s hero’

Just yesterday I was going through a file of my late mother’s correspondence and found a series of letters between her and Jilly Cooper. My mother died in 2000, and the letters date from a few months before that when she struck up a brief pen-pal relationship with Jilly. I believe it started when she wrote to Jilly suggesting that the world of competitive gun dog trails might be a suitable subject for a book, as it contained the apparent Cooper prerequisites: animals, affairs, back-stabbing, and landed gentry. The correspondence came at a time when my mother had just been diagnosed with terminal cancer and I remember how much it cheered her up that one of her heroes took the time to reply to her. Tim, Hertfordshire

‘She liked dog people’

Aside from her well recognised literary talent she was also a great dog lover. I used to live in Bisley, where Dame Jilly lived for many years. If you ever met her out on a walk with her beloved dogs, you were guaranteed a cheery hello accompanied by her warm smile. As she was so famous you didn’t want to stop and chat too much. That changed, though, when I got my own dog. She liked dog people! Avi, Bristol