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Octavia - Jilly Cooper

75 replies

Riverlee · 06/11/2021 16:52

I know we all like a Jilly Cooper, and I know we all like a bargain. Saw that ‘Octavia’ by Jilly Cooper is 99p on kindle. Not read it yet, but they’re usually quite good.

OP posts:
ditalini · 28/11/2021 16:09

I do love those books though. I think I could pretty much recite chapters of Harriet.

ditalini · 28/11/2021 16:16

Snog, marry, -run for the hills- avoid:

Snog: Lazlo
Marry: Matt
Avoid: Gareth

Snog: Rupert
Marry: Billy
Avoid: Jake (he didn't deserve Tory and nothing will rehabilitate him for me)

Philandbill · 28/11/2021 16:50

Gareth was horrible. I agree with @ditalini that Matt and Ace were the best heroes, though Matt was far too old for Imogen.

Snoopsnoggysnog · 05/12/2021 09:54

Ace Mulholland - such a great name Blush

Philandbill · 05/12/2021 19:39

Is it too sad to say that I remember why it was his nickname @Snoopsnoggysnog ?

ditalini · 05/12/2021 21:40

Ace, Pendle (King), Linn (Queen) and Jack Grin

I wonder if Linn actually made an appearance in earlier drafts of the book?

LuluBlakey1 · 05/12/2021 21:41

@Riverlee

Didn’t actually like the character, Octavia and found her a self-indulgent spoilt brat.
Did you like Gareth?
ditalini · 05/12/2021 21:42

And Berenice with her Hermes belt clinching her gauchos.

I was never quite sure what either of those garments looked like until I grew up and was able to look them up on Wikipedia.

MrsJackWhicher · 05/12/2021 21:45

Oooh blast from the past!
I can when I first read it years ago it was dated but just escapist fantasy fun.

LuluBlakey1 · 05/12/2021 21:50

I think it is in 'Octavia' where some retired stockbroker and his wife- both rich but shabbily dressed, spend their time gardening, no interest in anything flash, live in a perfect Queen Anne house by a water-meadow with gardens full of holly-hocks, delphiniums, rambling roses, honeysuckle, jasmine and ageing golden retrievers, and have afternoon tea on the terrace in ancient mis-matched china cups and plates along with a large cream and strawberry home-made Victoria sponge.

ditalini · 05/12/2021 21:55

@LuluBlakey1

I think it is in 'Octavia' where some retired stockbroker and his wife- both rich but shabbily dressed, spend their time gardening, no interest in anything flash, live in a perfect Queen Anne house by a water-meadow with gardens full of holly-hocks, delphiniums, rambling roses, honeysuckle, jasmine and ageing golden retrievers, and have afternoon tea on the terrace in ancient mis-matched china cups and plates along with a large cream and strawberry home-made Victoria sponge.
Yes, with their beautiful fresh faced daughter Lorna who is 17 years old and yet seen as a potential partner for 30 something Gareth.
Mum5net · 05/12/2021 22:16

Sevenoaks. My DD has a friend from Sevenoaks now and when she visits it always makes me smile. I’ve forgotten the reference . Was it Harriet ? Didn’t it have a pub, a hotel and two garages?

Philandbill · 06/12/2021 18:38

@ditalini Ace, Pendle (King), Linn (Queen) and Jack Yes! Grin

Philandbill · 06/12/2021 18:39

Ace's proper name was Ivan. I am waaaaay too invested in that book!

ANameChangeAgain · 06/12/2021 18:45

I used to love that they all had "scrubbed kitchen tables". Grin
The only Jilly Copper character I still like looking back was Jack, Lysander's dog. The rest, men and women, just fed the patriarchy.

Snoopsnoggysnog · 06/12/2021 19:13

Ok so enlighten me… why did he get the name Ace?

Musmerian · 06/12/2021 19:15

Is Octavia the one where she has an orgasm for the first time and describes it as like a washing machine? Rivals is the best of all of them.

StCharlotte · 06/12/2021 19:17

@ditalini

Actually, Hester and Nico from the first story in Lisa & co are the perfect Cooper couple.

The only decent story in the book.

Was that the one about the fishnets? (If so) That was very sweet.
StCharlotte · 06/12/2021 19:19

@Snoopsnoggysnog

Ok so enlighten me… why did he get the name Ace?
Wasn't it because he was the oldest? First/No.1?

I know an Ace in real life Smile

Aderyn21 · 06/12/2021 19:20

I wanted to marry Ace. It still upsets me in that book where he talks about his dead wife having a drawer full of single gloves because she kept losing them and couldn't bear to throw anything away that he'd given her!

Nowisthemonthofmaying · 06/12/2021 19:22

No, I think it's the one where they met at the laundrette and he puts a red silk handkerchief in with her boyfriend's shirts? I did like the Christmas fishnets though

LuluBlakey1 · 06/12/2021 19:38

@Mum5net

Sevenoaks. My DD has a friend from Sevenoaks now and when she visits it always makes me smile. I’ve forgotten the reference . Was it Harriet ? Didn’t it have a pub, a hotel and two garages?
Wasn't Sevenoaks a bonkers dog who always ran off, returned covered in mud, ate the cakes and slept on Harriet's bed?
LuluBlakey1 · 06/12/2021 19:41

@Musmerian

Is Octavia the one where she has an orgasm for the first time and describes it as like a washing machine? Rivals is the best of all of them.
Rivals isn't one of the set though. It was: Imogen Octavia Harriet Bella Prudence Emily Lisa and Co
Snoopsnoggysnog · 06/12/2021 19:49

I always loved the name Ace after reading that book and regretted not giving it to my DS then there was a whole thread on here about what a dreadful name it is and how it now means short for Asexual Confused

SydneyCarton · 06/12/2021 21:37

Hester and Nico is the one where she pretends she’s getting married because she’s too soft hearted to tell her boss she’s got a new job. Nico is an old friend and agrees to be her pretend fiancé because her actual boyfriend is awful and no one would believe she was really marrying him 🤣 Then it all spirals inevitably out of control…