ONE
The plot sees our silver fox of a hero, Rupert Campbell-Black, taking a break from training racehorses to buy a football club.
TWO
Even august publications like The Literary Review and The Economist are talking about Tackle! The latter said recently: ‘Jilly Cooper’s novels are smutty, sexist and snobbish. They are reprehensible in every way. They are great fun.’
THREE
Statistics don’t lie. Jilly Cooper has written 18 novels, sold over 11 million copies in the UK and has legions of devoted fans. If you aren’t yet on board, we cannot urge you in stronger terms to try her for the first time.
FOUR
When Cooper first submitted her manuscript to the publishers in January, they asked her to make the sex scenes longer. The octogenarian said at the time: ‘I thought I was quite good at sex, but I think I’ve forgotten how to do it.’ She got down to work nevertheless and now Tackle! promises to be as raunchy as we like the Rutshire Chronicles to be.
FIVE
In its review of Tackle!, The Times says Jilly Cooper ‘can still conjure the loveliest phrase’. This is the point that Cooper’s naysayers miss. Her writing is witty, elegant and a pleasure to read.
SIX
There is no better reason to read Tackle! than the fear that it may Cooper’s last novel. Prolific as she is, the author is 86 years old and would be forgiven for wanting permanently to pack away her typewriter (yes, she really does still use one).
Three Other Releases To Look Forward To This Winter
Normal Women: 900 Years Of Making History By Philippa Gregory
Gregory has learned a lot about the past in her long and fruitful career as a writer of historical fiction. In this glorious new book, she distils all that she’s gleaned about British females through the centuries.
Light Over Liskeard By Louis De Bernieres
Here, the best-selling author of Captain Corelli’s Mandolin turns his hand to the heart-warming and humorous tale of a man who leaves London to make a life of self-sufficiency in the Cornish moors.
Endgame By Omid Scobie
Royal reporter Omid Scobie is back with a book about a how the British monarchy can survive following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Citing sources that include palace staff and friends of the family, Scobie ponders whether the House of Windsor still has what it takes.
By Becky Ladenburg
November 2023
