Prompt #41 – A book by the oldest author on your TBR

There’s a few different ways that people are interpreting this task. I wasn’t going to spend ages looking up all the authors on my TBR. Jilly Cooper is 88 so I would be surprised if she wasn’t the oldest living author on my shelf.

What it’s about?

One of the glorious Rutshire Chronicles.

Into the cut-throat world of Corinium television comes Declan O’Hara, a mega-star of great glamour and integrity with a radiant feckless wife, a handsome son and two ravishing teenage daughters. Living rather too closely across the valley is Rupert Campbell-Black, divorced and as dissolute as ever, and now the Tory Minister for Sport.

Declan needs only a few days at Corinium to realize that the Managing Director, Lord Baddingham, is a crook who has recruited him merely to help retain the franchise for Corinium. Baddingham has also enticed Cameron Cook, a gorgeous but domineering woman executive, to produce Declan’s programme. Declan and Cameron detest each other, provoking a storm of controversy into which Rupert plunges with his usual abandon.

As a rival group emerges to pitch for the franchise, reputations ripen and decline, true love blossoms and burns, marriages are made and shattered, and sex raises its (delicious) head at almost every throw as, in bed and boardroom, the race is on to capture the Cotswold Crown.

What I think:

I had never read Jilly Cooper before and so many people recommended her to me. I haven’t watched the Disney TV series of Rivals yet because I wanted to read the book first

And I really enjoyed it.

This is a chunky book with over 700 pages and there is a huge cast of characters.

Despite their flaws, their secrets and their many, many lies, the cast of characters are hugely appealing.

Outwardly they are rich, gorgeous and powerful, but behind closed doors there are doubts and insecurities.

The main plot revolves TV star Declan O’Hara. He joins  Corinium to host a new flagship show interview the highest profile stars. He soon clashes with executive Tony Baddingham. When their relationship implodes battle lines are drawn.

Tony is desperate to retain the TV  franchise and will do anything to get it. Declan teams up with gorgeous former show jumper, now Minister for Sport, Rupert Campbell-Black to put together a rival bid and poach Tony’s disgruntled staff.

There is everything I was expecting – sex and affairs, love and romance, power struggles and backstabbing galore.

There is patriarchy and misogyny galore, casual racism and some of the relationships would definitely not stand up to modern scrutiny and sensibilities. This  is 1980s upper-middle class Conservative England – and who knows how much has really changed outside of these horsey country house circles.

While there’s obviously a lot that is unpalatable, there is also a lot of humour and characters that you are really rooting for. It’s an absolute product of it’s time and I can see the appeal of this series.