Rivals (novel)

Rivals is a 1988 novel by English author Jilly Cooper. It is the second novel of the Rutshire Chronicles, a series of books set in the fictional English county of Rutshire. It was published as Players in the US. The novel is based on the competition for an independent television franchise in the Cotswolds. The incumbent franchisee is a company called Corinium Television, led by executive Tony Baddingham. A rival production company is established by Baddingham's former employee Declan O'Hara and Baddingham's nemesis Rupert Campbell-Black. They ultimately win the franchise, and Rupert falls in love with Declan's daughter Taggie. Upon its release Cooper was accused of libel by Conservative councillor Bill Bullingham, which led to a name change to Baddingham in the paperback first edition. The Northampton Chronicle and Echo reviewed the novel saying it was "as easily digestible as a Jeffrey Archer, as saucy as a Jackie Collins, and with as much spice as a Dick Francis". In 2024 Disney+ released the television series Rivals, which led a resurgence of interest in the novel. Reviews that year praised the readability of the novel and its pace, but were also critical of its description of the desirability of teenage girls and its fatphobia. Former British prime minister Rishi Sunak, and journalists Caitlin Moran and Jess Cartner-Morley, are fans of the novel.