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In Jilly Cooper's third Rutshire chronicle we meet Ricky France-Lynch, who is moody, macho, and magnificent. He had a large crumbling estate, a nine-goal polo handicap, and a beautiful wife who was fair game for anyone with a cheque book. He also had the adoration of fourteen-year-old Perdita MacLeod. Perdita couldn't wait to leave her dreary school and become a polo player.The polo set were ritzy, wild, and gloriously promiscuous.Perdita thought she'd get along with them very well.But before she had time to grow up, Ricky's life exploded into tragedy, and Perdita turned into a brat who loved only her horses - and Ricky France-Lynch.Ricky's obsession to win back his wife, and Perdita's to win both Ricky and a place as a top class polo player, take the reader on a wildly exciting journey - to the estancias of Argentina, to Palm Beach and Deauville, and on to the royal polo fields of England and the glamorous pitches of California where the most heroic battle of all is destined to be fought - a match that is about far more than just the winning of a huge silver cup...
768 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
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About the author
Jilly Cooper
91 books849 followersDame Jilly Cooper, OBE (born February 21, 1937) was an English author. She started her career as a journalist and wrote numerous works of non-fiction before writing several romance novels, the first of which appeared in 1975. She was most famous for writing the six blockbuster novels the Rutshire Chronicles.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 253 reviews
June 1, 2016
Horses, bad behaviour, and lots of orgasms. Polo is the third book in Jilly Cooper’s Rutshire Chronicles series and is, hands-down, my absolute favourite of the – currently – nine-book line-up. (I may be a bit biased, though, as this was the first Jilly Cooper I ever read and the sex scenes it contains have been indelibly burned into what was my (somewhat) innocent teenage brain. In fact, Polo was my introduction to the concept that more than one orifice could be utilised during intercourse …)
Polo was originally published in 1991 but re-reading it over twenty years after it first hit the shelves hasn’t resulted in any loss of enjoyment. The characters still feel over-blown and awesome, their carry-on both awful and wonderful, and their sexual shenanigans fun, hot and captivating.
Although Rupert Campbell-Black, the bad boy of Riders and Rivals, continues to make his presence felt in Polo, the stage belongs to ‘moody, macho, and magnificent’ Ricky France-Lynch (a nine-goal polo player suffering through personal tragedy) and fourteen-year-old, polo-mad Perdita MacLeod (who wants nothing more than to get Ricky into bed). A brilliant cast of charismatic supporting characters push the pair through the story, their actions outweighed only by their outstanding names (who wouldn’t want to jump in the sack with someone called ‘Red’, ‘Angel’, ‘Dancer’ or ‘Jesus’?).
Interestingly, something that’s remained constant for me through many readings of this book is Perdita’s spot in the limelight. Her interactions with the men who surround her – particularly Luke Alderton (who is my favourite character) – steal the show from Ricky, despite his equal billing. That’s not to say Ricky’s story is weak – it isn’t – it’s just that his bratty side-kick is very, very compelling.
I’m always intrigued by people’s reactions to Jilly Cooper: you either get ‘oh, God, no!’ or ‘she’s bloody brilliant’. Without a doubt, I’m in the latter group. Her writing is sharp and witty, she takes risks with her characters (they often do very stupid things and have questionable morals), and her story plotting and pacing are excellent. Further, while this book has been enjoyed, I suspect, by a largely female audience over the years, it seems that many men rate Jilly’s writing, too. (I recently had a male colleague proclaim Ms Cooper to be his favourite author.)
As someone who grew up riding horses – and still does – I found the equine elements of this book very enjoyable but you in no way have to be a pony-lover – or a polo enthusiast – to appreciate the story at hand. Fundamentally, Polo is all about relationships: the ones that are healthy and ones that aren’t.
Polo was originally published in 1991 but re-reading it over twenty years after it first hit the shelves hasn’t resulted in any loss of enjoyment. The characters still feel over-blown and awesome, their carry-on both awful and wonderful, and their sexual shenanigans fun, hot and captivating.
Although Rupert Campbell-Black, the bad boy of Riders and Rivals, continues to make his presence felt in Polo, the stage belongs to ‘moody, macho, and magnificent’ Ricky France-Lynch (a nine-goal polo player suffering through personal tragedy) and fourteen-year-old, polo-mad Perdita MacLeod (who wants nothing more than to get Ricky into bed). A brilliant cast of charismatic supporting characters push the pair through the story, their actions outweighed only by their outstanding names (who wouldn’t want to jump in the sack with someone called ‘Red’, ‘Angel’, ‘Dancer’ or ‘Jesus’?).
Interestingly, something that’s remained constant for me through many readings of this book is Perdita’s spot in the limelight. Her interactions with the men who surround her – particularly Luke Alderton (who is my favourite character) – steal the show from Ricky, despite his equal billing. That’s not to say Ricky’s story is weak – it isn’t – it’s just that his bratty side-kick is very, very compelling.
I’m always intrigued by people’s reactions to Jilly Cooper: you either get ‘oh, God, no!’ or ‘she’s bloody brilliant’. Without a doubt, I’m in the latter group. Her writing is sharp and witty, she takes risks with her characters (they often do very stupid things and have questionable morals), and her story plotting and pacing are excellent. Further, while this book has been enjoyed, I suspect, by a largely female audience over the years, it seems that many men rate Jilly’s writing, too. (I recently had a male colleague proclaim Ms Cooper to be his favourite author.)
As someone who grew up riding horses – and still does – I found the equine elements of this book very enjoyable but you in no way have to be a pony-lover – or a polo enthusiast – to appreciate the story at hand. Fundamentally, Polo is all about relationships: the ones that are healthy and ones that aren’t.
December 24, 2021
I definitely have a soft spot for gingers, so the fact that Red was one of the biggest villains in the series saddens me.🥲
Despite being apathetic about polo, this was an entertaining (if trashy) read!
Despite being apathetic about polo, this was an entertaining (if trashy) read!
February 6, 2025
Very strong 3,5⭐️ Jilly Cooper… THE WOMAN YOU ARE!!! I truly have no idea how she can write a book with more than 700 pages, some terrible characters (greatly written, horrible people) and about a topic that I do not care about- polo, and I still eat it up and ask for more. That’s a talent.
March 21, 2016
Original review
First read in my teens, this is my fave Jilly Cooper, just beating Rivals. Bonkbusting mayhem at it's very best, and I fell head over heels in love with Luke!
Today's review
Luke. Oh Luke. He was the stuff of teenage dreams. A gentle giant with muscles of steel and a heart of gold, he was madly in love with screwed up Perdita, who in turn was madly in love firstly with polo king Ricky and later with Luke's arrogant arsehole brother. He waited and waited and finally got his girl *sigh*, becoming one of my all time fave characters.
Not so much these days. Oh Luke, Perdita wasn't simply screwed up, she was a screeching brat who treated you (and everyone else) like dirt for six long years, and when she finally came to her senses and realised you were The One afterall, you should have done a Rhett. Instead you gratefully proposed and rode off into the sunset together. Gah. Grow a pair, mate.
So Luke went the same way as Billy from Riders in a re-read of that a couple of years ago: hero to zero, teenage idol to grown-up waster. Thank god for Rupert whose wicked glint continues to thrill from bastard badboy to loved-up softie!
With Luke falling off the pedestal, that vacancy went to adorably scatty 30-something Daisy who lives and loves in total chaos. Even more adorable is Taggie, my favourite character from Rivals, who along with hubby Rupert continues to be Cooper's star.
5 lovestruck Luke stars back in the day; 4 girls-rule stars for Daisy and Taggie today!
First read in my teens, this is my fave Jilly Cooper, just beating Rivals. Bonkbusting mayhem at it's very best, and I fell head over heels in love with Luke!
Today's review
Luke. Oh Luke. He was the stuff of teenage dreams. A gentle giant with muscles of steel and a heart of gold, he was madly in love with screwed up Perdita, who in turn was madly in love firstly with polo king Ricky and later with Luke's arrogant arsehole brother. He waited and waited and finally got his girl *sigh*, becoming one of my all time fave characters.
Not so much these days. Oh Luke, Perdita wasn't simply screwed up, she was a screeching brat who treated you (and everyone else) like dirt for six long years, and when she finally came to her senses and realised you were The One afterall, you should have done a Rhett. Instead you gratefully proposed and rode off into the sunset together. Gah. Grow a pair, mate.
So Luke went the same way as Billy from Riders in a re-read of that a couple of years ago: hero to zero, teenage idol to grown-up waster. Thank god for Rupert whose wicked glint continues to thrill from bastard badboy to loved-up softie!
With Luke falling off the pedestal, that vacancy went to adorably scatty 30-something Daisy who lives and loves in total chaos. Even more adorable is Taggie, my favourite character from Rivals, who along with hubby Rupert continues to be Cooper's star.
5 lovestruck Luke stars back in the day; 4 girls-rule stars for Daisy and Taggie today!
December 4, 2015
The best thing about Jilly Cooper books is her female characters. They're very realistic.
They aren't all drop dead beautiful, model thin, and perfectly coifed. Their houses aren't always clean, and they're not all award winning journalists, or environmental activists, or renowned artists.
They're normal, average, women who sometimes stay in their PJs all day, watch "Neighbors", and eat ice cream right out of the carton.
They run out of clean underwear, don't always wash their hair, or bother with make-up. Nine times out of ten, those are days the guy they like decides to drop by unannounced.
Not that it matters because the guy falls in love with them anyway.
Which I think is cool beans.
They aren't all drop dead beautiful, model thin, and perfectly coifed. Their houses aren't always clean, and they're not all award winning journalists, or environmental activists, or renowned artists.
They're normal, average, women who sometimes stay in their PJs all day, watch "Neighbors", and eat ice cream right out of the carton.
They run out of clean underwear, don't always wash their hair, or bother with make-up. Nine times out of ten, those are days the guy they like decides to drop by unannounced.
Not that it matters because the guy falls in love with them anyway.
Which I think is cool beans.
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July 21, 2025
"Be careful," Luke said wearily. "You've 'fallen among those who are careless with other people's lives.'"
I'm back with the third bonkbuster in the Rutshire Chronicles series, and this is basically a retread of Riders, but make it polo and add an illegitimate daughter to the mix.
You've got adultery up the wazoo, rape, statutory rape, assault, child death, animal abuse and death, and a bunch of other things I can't really remember. There is a lot. It is scandalous. It is problematic as hell. It is...highly readable.
I hate that I'm enjoying this series so much.
Dame Jilly Cooper and I sit at entirely different ends of the political spectrum, and her views on relationships and patriarchy are...fairly frightening. But there is just something just so entertaining about all of it. The drama. The stakes. The spectacle. The soft examination of how women in sport are treated differently than men when they act like the men act instead of the gendered expectation of how "ladies" are supposed to act.
Hell, maybe I just enjoy the way Cooper describes her white people and their obsession with tanning. One girl had a "peanut-butter-colored body" that "seemed to be bouncing out of her gold dress."
It's an image that sticks.
I'm back with the third bonkbuster in the Rutshire Chronicles series, and this is basically a retread of Riders, but make it polo and add an illegitimate daughter to the mix.
You've got adultery up the wazoo, rape, statutory rape, assault, child death, animal abuse and death, and a bunch of other things I can't really remember. There is a lot. It is scandalous. It is problematic as hell. It is...highly readable.
I hate that I'm enjoying this series so much.
Dame Jilly Cooper and I sit at entirely different ends of the political spectrum, and her views on relationships and patriarchy are...fairly frightening. But there is just something just so entertaining about all of it. The drama. The stakes. The spectacle. The soft examination of how women in sport are treated differently than men when they act like the men act instead of the gendered expectation of how "ladies" are supposed to act.
Hell, maybe I just enjoy the way Cooper describes her white people and their obsession with tanning. One girl had a "peanut-butter-colored body" that "seemed to be bouncing out of her gold dress."
It's an image that sticks.
February 8, 2025
Polo follows the love lives of two women, scatty but lovable Daisy, and her daughter, the ,a ggressive and extremely rude Perdita. Perdita has two passions in life, polo and her employer, the handsome but taciturn Ricky, who is a brilliant polo player but pining for his ex wife. Daisy has a guilty secret - she doesn't know who Perdita's father is, and for this reason she puts up with all Perdita's rudeness and temper tantrums. Perdita is madly in love with Ricky for two thirds of the book, then rather abruptly in love with one of the other characters. Daisy too has her ups and downs, but naturally both women find True love in the end, after a lot of sex scenes and an awful lot of polo
I found it hard to feel sympathy for any of the characters - Daisy is nice but so wet she is maddening, Perdita is too obnoxious, and Ricky is embittered by a tragedy that was entirely his own fault. Even Rupert Campbell Black can’t enliven the story enough. But mainly it’s the interminable polo matches, and some very unpleasant descriptions of animals suffering, that make this book a mostly unappealing read to me.
I found it hard to feel sympathy for any of the characters - Daisy is nice but so wet she is maddening, Perdita is too obnoxious, and Ricky is embittered by a tragedy that was entirely his own fault. Even Rupert Campbell Black can’t enliven the story enough. But mainly it’s the interminable polo matches, and some very unpleasant descriptions of animals suffering, that make this book a mostly unappealing read to me.
July 23, 2017
This series is, far and away, the absolute best trashy romance available in the world. Jilly Cooper puts all her *Rivals to shame. Whenever I don't have a fresh book handy, I just pick of any one of this series and know that I will be instantly transported. This is probably my 15th or higher read of this book and it's my favorite of them all. Best to start at the beginning though, and read them all, start to finish. If you love fictitious, ridiculously over the top, impossibly wealthy & beautiful people doing outrageous things and getting into all sorts of naughty trouble, with the bad guys/girls getting their just desserts at the end and the good ones living happily ever after, this series is for you.
* Pun intended = Rivals
* Pun intended = Rivals
May 13, 2021
Having absolutely adored Riders and Rivals, I must say it took a while to get into Polo. The lengthy descriptions of games led to me groaning every time it was match day! That being said, this book still has bucket loads of humour and as the story progresses you can't help but feel a connection to the main characters. Cooper does such a great job of painting a picture of her extensive cast you really feel like they are your best friends by the end. It must be said that Chessie France-Lynch was an absolute delight and made up for the lack of Janey Lloyd-Foxe! I also couldn't help but laugh out loud every time Sharon called out for Hoo-arn! Looking forward to reading the fourth instalment of the Rutshire Chronicles. Thank you Jilly!
May 28, 2012
Not quite my favourite JC....Rivals is hard to beat I think, but I still love this story as it arcs a couple of the other Rutshire novels so has a massive ridiculous cast of brilliant characters. Special mention to adjectives repeatedly used including 'heavenly', 'ravishing', 'piggy' and 'pouty'. If there is an alternate universe then I hope this is it.
May 8, 2020
After Riders and Rivals i was SO geared up to read Polo! Sadly i didn’t particularly like/relate to the characters,especially Perdita! What a shame!
I’ll still stick with the series and pray the next book keeps me hooked!
I’ll still stick with the series and pray the next book keeps me hooked!
May 10, 2012
F yeah horses and british people.
July 8, 2012
Definitely my favourite Jilly Cooper ever. Mrs Cooper's stories are often called *romps through the Rutshire countryside,* and this romps like a thoroughbred polo pony.
The great joy ( aside from the dreamy men ) is how animals become characters as much as the people.
It contains some of my favourite Jilly Cooper characters. Daisy ( Perdita's mother ) is as absent minded and slightly eccentric as I am, and I love her for it. I've never been able to take to Rupert Campbell-Black somehow,
but Polo stars Ricky France-Lynch and Luke Alderton. Ohhhhhh yeah !
The great joy ( aside from the dreamy men ) is how animals become characters as much as the people.
It contains some of my favourite Jilly Cooper characters. Daisy ( Perdita's mother ) is as absent minded and slightly eccentric as I am, and I love her for it. I've never been able to take to Rupert Campbell-Black somehow,
but Polo stars Ricky France-Lynch and Luke Alderton. Ohhhhhh yeah !
September 17, 2022
This was a needlessly long read - often repetitive descriptions and one dimensional characters - and it felt dated with how the ultimate goal seemed to be "female character without agency wants to be rescued by man". Trashy fun if you're into that sort of thing, but I just want to move onto something else now.
October 2, 2014
Finished! I am finally free of this cursed book and its hateful characters!
March 9, 2025
a delightful romp filled with some truly heinous and selfish characters. my heart undoubtedly belongs to luke alderton.
July 16, 2010
Another summer bonkbuster from Jilly Cooper, but one I found more disappointing than Riders and Rivals. This story is presented as a backdrop to the first two books Cooper wrote that centred on Rupert Campbell-Black, covering the time he was with Helen and then his relationship with Taggie. Instead of show jumping or television, we are presented with the glitzy world of polo - from the clubs in the English countryside to the heat scorched yards of Argentina to the Hollywood glamour of Palm Beach.
Our heroine this time round is spoilt brat Perdita, who shows a stunning flair for polo and has sympathetic, loving relationships with horses and dogs, but not with people. She is brought up by long suffering mother Daisy and stepfather Hamish, with whom Daisy has had two more children. Perdita's father is absent for much of the book, but his entrance is explosive.
It is extremely hard to find any liking at all for Perdita - her every action is driven by her desperate need for attention. She shouts and screams to get her own way, and is never taken in hand by anyone. She cannot see the people who are good in her life and instead seeks out those who have money and can therefore help her reach the pinnacle of polo success.
For most of her life, Perdita imagines herself in love with Ricky France-Lynch - another brooding, arrogant loner in the mould of Rupert. Ricky, however, suffers enormous tragedy early on in his polo career and so it is much easier to have sympathy for his character. He is fighting to win back his wife, Chessie, and erase the memory of son Will, and much of his bad behaviour can be attributed to this.
So, things I liked: well, Cooper has lost none of her ability to tell a rip-roaring page-turning story and I enjoy the gossipy nature of her writing style. She is able to conjure up pictures of the polo world and the three very diverse locations in which much of the story is set. Once more, her love for horses and dogs leaps from the page since the polo ponies are the real heroes and heroines of the book. I loved the characters of Luke and Daisy, and was glad to see Ricky achieve the happiness he so yearned for.
Things I didn't like can be mostly summed up by one word: Perdita. This is one of the least likeable of the characters that Cooper has written so far - so much so that you actually begrudge her redemption late in the book and feel that she hasn't suffered half enough for the pain and heartache she inflicts on others. I also disliked Chessie, and could not understand for the life of me why Ricky would be trying so hard to win her back.
One other thing that bugs me about Jilly's books is the fact that all of the most beautiful women are slender and predatory. There is usually a place for a tubby cheerful sort - here, Daisy and in previous books the likes of Lizzie - but they are not considered the beauties of the piece. I understand that the books were written when thin equalled beautiful, but it is a shame that a more healthy body image cannot be promoted.
So, all in all, a book I enjoyed but not her best work.
Our heroine this time round is spoilt brat Perdita, who shows a stunning flair for polo and has sympathetic, loving relationships with horses and dogs, but not with people. She is brought up by long suffering mother Daisy and stepfather Hamish, with whom Daisy has had two more children. Perdita's father is absent for much of the book, but his entrance is explosive.
It is extremely hard to find any liking at all for Perdita - her every action is driven by her desperate need for attention. She shouts and screams to get her own way, and is never taken in hand by anyone. She cannot see the people who are good in her life and instead seeks out those who have money and can therefore help her reach the pinnacle of polo success.
For most of her life, Perdita imagines herself in love with Ricky France-Lynch - another brooding, arrogant loner in the mould of Rupert. Ricky, however, suffers enormous tragedy early on in his polo career and so it is much easier to have sympathy for his character. He is fighting to win back his wife, Chessie, and erase the memory of son Will, and much of his bad behaviour can be attributed to this.
So, things I liked: well, Cooper has lost none of her ability to tell a rip-roaring page-turning story and I enjoy the gossipy nature of her writing style. She is able to conjure up pictures of the polo world and the three very diverse locations in which much of the story is set. Once more, her love for horses and dogs leaps from the page since the polo ponies are the real heroes and heroines of the book. I loved the characters of Luke and Daisy, and was glad to see Ricky achieve the happiness he so yearned for.
Things I didn't like can be mostly summed up by one word: Perdita. This is one of the least likeable of the characters that Cooper has written so far - so much so that you actually begrudge her redemption late in the book and feel that she hasn't suffered half enough for the pain and heartache she inflicts on others. I also disliked Chessie, and could not understand for the life of me why Ricky would be trying so hard to win her back.
One other thing that bugs me about Jilly's books is the fact that all of the most beautiful women are slender and predatory. There is usually a place for a tubby cheerful sort - here, Daisy and in previous books the likes of Lizzie - but they are not considered the beauties of the piece. I understand that the books were written when thin equalled beautiful, but it is a shame that a more healthy body image cannot be promoted.
So, all in all, a book I enjoyed but not her best work.
February 17, 2017
I could have liked this book, and I wanted to like it, but I found Perdita so utterly intolerable for most of the book, I really couldn't like this book as much as the others. And don't get me started on the whole paternity thing. I mean, really?
I did like, or at least enjoy mort of the other characters, except for Red who has all the bad behaviour and none of the redeeming qualities or charm of Rupert in Riders. Luke was a darling, who deserved much better than he got, and I do adore Daisy.
I did like, or at least enjoy mort of the other characters, except for Red who has all the bad behaviour and none of the redeeming qualities or charm of Rupert in Riders. Luke was a darling, who deserved much better than he got, and I do adore Daisy.
February 5, 2016
I loved this book. My Dad recommended it to me when I was home visiting with nothing to do. I couldn't put it down. The closer I got to the end the less pages I read as I didn't want this enjoyable read to stop.
June 16, 2013
I love Polo! Ironically, Jilly Cooper introduced me to Robert Frost (as well as other things, which shall not be mentioned here). A very good read, keeps me hooked til the last page even though I've read it so many times it's falling apart.
February 23, 2010
A bit of fun that can't be taken seriously at any level. Very horsey!
May 2, 2018
ABOUT SEXY POLO PLAYERS....WITH ALOT OF ROMANCE AND DISASTERS....GOOD READINGS
November 28, 2024
Red when I find you it's OVER for you.
June 28, 2025
3.5
Think very much a book of its time, enjoyable story but I wish her female characters were a bit less wet
Think very much a book of its time, enjoyable story but I wish her female characters were a bit less wet
August 12, 2025
I don’t give a rat’s ass about polo.
I finished Rivals (the TV show) on December 31st and finished the 900-page book a week after that, obsessively trying to collect all the moments I could get in Taggie and Rupert’s love story. I loved the book as much as I adored the show, but I promised myself not to read the other 10 (!) instalments of the Rutshire Chronicles.
But, alas, I caved. I finished Polo in 4 days, again desperately scrambling for some much needed Taggie and Rupert material. It was quite honestly the only reason I picked up the book at all. I was a bit disappointed by the lack of scenes from their POVs, but was happy enough to watch their romance from the sidelines. Who knew, though, that I’d enjoy a book about polo — a sport I still don’t really understand, much less care about, even after 770 pages of excruciating details — as much as I did?
And yes — the whole Rutshire series is insanely misogynistic, and wildly offensive. It’s pure trash. It’s all about sex, even more than it is about polo and horses and money. Everyone seems to have had an affair with each other. In this book, grown men are thirsting after a 14-year-old girl, barely restraining themselves to ‘wait another two years’. The girl in question is Perdita MacLeod, and she is most likely the worst character I’ve come across in my life. Jilly Cooper might be a woman herself, but judging by the descriptions of all the women in the book, she doesn’t think very highly of members of her own sex.
The rich and handsome men are all let off the hook very easily. If it weren’t for Luke Alderton, a proud, kind, respectful, loyal, self-made and utterly perfect American polo player, you might think Cooper prefers men to be like the horrifyingly adulterating Rupert Campell-Black in his pre-Taggie days. Luke and Taggie are ideal characters, and it’s no wonder everyone loves them so much. They inevitably end up with people who don’t deserve them, but it’s great stuff to read.
If the books are so morally objectionable and terribly offensive, then why read them at all? Well, there’s no other way of putting it: they’re super funny, well-written and compelling. They won’t leave you bored for a second. Jilly Cooper manages to describe the same rubbish plotline in a million different, original ways, and at the end of the book you can’t help but feel satisfied.
I promised myself not to read the other 9 books, but I’m sure I won’t be able to resist.
I finished Rivals (the TV show) on December 31st and finished the 900-page book a week after that, obsessively trying to collect all the moments I could get in Taggie and Rupert’s love story. I loved the book as much as I adored the show, but I promised myself not to read the other 10 (!) instalments of the Rutshire Chronicles.
But, alas, I caved. I finished Polo in 4 days, again desperately scrambling for some much needed Taggie and Rupert material. It was quite honestly the only reason I picked up the book at all. I was a bit disappointed by the lack of scenes from their POVs, but was happy enough to watch their romance from the sidelines. Who knew, though, that I’d enjoy a book about polo — a sport I still don’t really understand, much less care about, even after 770 pages of excruciating details — as much as I did?
And yes — the whole Rutshire series is insanely misogynistic, and wildly offensive. It’s pure trash. It’s all about sex, even more than it is about polo and horses and money. Everyone seems to have had an affair with each other. In this book, grown men are thirsting after a 14-year-old girl, barely restraining themselves to ‘wait another two years’. The girl in question is Perdita MacLeod, and she is most likely the worst character I’ve come across in my life. Jilly Cooper might be a woman herself, but judging by the descriptions of all the women in the book, she doesn’t think very highly of members of her own sex.
The rich and handsome men are all let off the hook very easily. If it weren’t for Luke Alderton, a proud, kind, respectful, loyal, self-made and utterly perfect American polo player, you might think Cooper prefers men to be like the horrifyingly adulterating Rupert Campell-Black in his pre-Taggie days. Luke and Taggie are ideal characters, and it’s no wonder everyone loves them so much. They inevitably end up with people who don’t deserve them, but it’s great stuff to read.
If the books are so morally objectionable and terribly offensive, then why read them at all? Well, there’s no other way of putting it: they’re super funny, well-written and compelling. They won’t leave you bored for a second. Jilly Cooper manages to describe the same rubbish plotline in a million different, original ways, and at the end of the book you can’t help but feel satisfied.
I promised myself not to read the other 9 books, but I’m sure I won’t be able to resist.
November 12, 2025
What are wild ride! I enjoyed Rivals a lot so I was very excited to get into the next book of the Rutshire Chronciles.
The characters are an absolute hoot. Each of them absolutely amazing and funny. Except Perdita. I cannot stand her.
This was just such a fun book to read. A soap opera between pages. The vibe is "what are downtown Abbey descendants doing for fun"
I will say, parts of this book are very not PC. It is certainly a book of its time with certain situations and the way some of the male characters are handled.
The TV show version, while still being full of spice, definitely cleaned up what is a bit dated.
I really love this series. Despite the occasional bumps it is an absolute comfort read. It is an ultimate happy ending where even the animals are with their true love. I also enjoyed seeing some characters from the last book in their marital bliss as well.
My vibe while reading this?
A piping hot cup of tea, sweetened of course, bundled in an old quilt sitting underneath an ancient tree, on top of a hill overlooking a vast estate. Frost in the air and the sun just rising.
If only it could be! Haha!
The characters are an absolute hoot. Each of them absolutely amazing and funny. Except Perdita. I cannot stand her.
This was just such a fun book to read. A soap opera between pages. The vibe is "what are downtown Abbey descendants doing for fun"
I will say, parts of this book are very not PC. It is certainly a book of its time with certain situations and the way some of the male characters are handled.
The TV show version, while still being full of spice, definitely cleaned up what is a bit dated.
I really love this series. Despite the occasional bumps it is an absolute comfort read. It is an ultimate happy ending where even the animals are with their true love. I also enjoyed seeing some characters from the last book in their marital bliss as well.
My vibe while reading this?
A piping hot cup of tea, sweetened of course, bundled in an old quilt sitting underneath an ancient tree, on top of a hill overlooking a vast estate. Frost in the air and the sun just rising.
If only it could be! Haha!
March 6, 2025
It took me a lot longer to read this book than its predecessors partly because it starts with the main character as a child, one of my least favorite things, and I've been moving to a new city. It didn't help that Perdita was so damn unlikable for 90% of the book. I enjoyed reading about Daisy more than anyone else, but I liked Luke and Ricky and Angel and most of the side characters more than Perdita. I still really liked the book, but it took longer to really get going than the first two, and it bugged me how some of the time overlapped with the earlier books which added to the feeling of slowness in the first quarter or so. I'm still so enthralled with the series that I'll be starting book four very soon.
June 14, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 stars for Polo by Jilly Cooper
Ridiculous? Yes. Over the top? Absolutely.
But I couldn’t stop reading it.
Set in the chaotic world of polo and old money, this book is packed with egos, wild affairs, horses, and enough 80s drama to fuel a whole season of Dallas. This is pure chaotic glam and I was completely hooked.
It’s easy to read, wildly entertaining, and full of characters you’ll love, hate, or just love to hate.
Not my usual kind of read—but honestly? I had the best time and ready for the next installment from Rutshire
Ridiculous? Yes. Over the top? Absolutely.
But I couldn’t stop reading it.
Set in the chaotic world of polo and old money, this book is packed with egos, wild affairs, horses, and enough 80s drama to fuel a whole season of Dallas. This is pure chaotic glam and I was completely hooked.
It’s easy to read, wildly entertaining, and full of characters you’ll love, hate, or just love to hate.
Not my usual kind of read—but honestly? I had the best time and ready for the next installment from Rutshire
December 10, 2019
Am realizat tarziu ca aceasta carte face parte dintr-o serie, dar cum n-au legătura neapărat intre ele, merge. Am citit-o repede pt ca e usurica, dar nu mi s-a parut la fel de drăguță ca cealalta carte citite de același autor. Imogen mi s-a parut mai amuzantă și mai mișto scrisă.
După cum observ, autoarea are înclinații spre sport, pt ca in ambele romane, vb despre el. Dacă în Imogen a fost tenis, aici este polo.
Ii dau 3 stele pt ca nu m-a dat pe spate povestea... dar nu e rea.
După cum observ, autoarea are înclinații spre sport, pt ca in ambele romane, vb despre el. Dacă în Imogen a fost tenis, aici este polo.
Ii dau 3 stele pt ca nu m-a dat pe spate povestea... dar nu e rea.
April 19, 2025
One of the most anxiety-filled reading experiences I have ever had. Between the horse deaths, and the toddler deaths, and the kinda-incest, Jilly Cooper nearly broke me with this one. It is hard to find it a pleasurable experience when she is so hell-bent on hating her characters and being so utterly cruel to them.
Especially Taggie. Taggie seems to exist for Jilly in this space where, she wants to be her, but also hates her and projects on her a lot. And I don't really see her using Taggie as an avatar for her own pain and suffering, not when the feelings and emotions just aren't explored at all.
I love Riders and Rivals, and I am excited to read the next book which sounds fun, but I found this one was hard to stomach. Perdita also needs professional help. A lot of it.
Especially Taggie. Taggie seems to exist for Jilly in this space where, she wants to be her, but also hates her and projects on her a lot. And I don't really see her using Taggie as an avatar for her own pain and suffering, not when the feelings and emotions just aren't explored at all.
I love Riders and Rivals, and I am excited to read the next book which sounds fun, but I found this one was hard to stomach. Perdita also needs professional help. A lot of it.
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