Dame Jilly Cooper, the legendary author known for her steamy romance novels, has died at the age of 88.
News of her passing was confirmed by her publisher, who told Sky News: "It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Dame Jilly Cooper, DBE who died on Sunday morning, after a fall, at the age of 88."
Cooper was famed for her raunchy novels, which were dubbed "bonkbusters", focused on the intimate lives of wealthy socialites in the countryside.
Her Rivals series was adapted into a hugely popular Disney+ series starring David Tennant and Aidan Turner, and Cooper worked as an executive producer.
Cooper's children, Felix and Emily, also shared a heartfelt statement, writing: "Mum was the shining light in all of our lives. Her love for all of her family and friends knew no bounds. Her unexpected death has come as a complete shock.
"We are so proud of everything she achieved in her life and can't begin to imagine life without her infectious smile and laughter all around us."
Cooper shot to fame in the 1980s with her erotic novels captivating fans with the adventures of upper-class characters such as show jumper Rupert Campbell-Black.
Her stellar career spanned over 50 years and saw her sell over 11 million copies of her books.
Cooper's agent, Felicity Blunt, also paid tribute to her talents, saying: "The privilege of my career has been working with a woman who has defined culture, writing and conversation since she was first published over fifty years ago.
"You wouldn't expect books categorised as bonkbusters to have so emphatically stood the test of time, but Jilly wrote with acuity and insight about all things - class, sex, marriage, rivalry, grief and fertility."
Her publisher Bill Scott-Kerr added: "Jilly may have worn her influence lightly, but she was a true trailblazer. As a journalist she went where others feared to tread, and as a novelist she did likewise.
"With a winning combination of glorious storytelling, wicked social commentary and deft, lacerating characterisation, she dissected the behaviour, bad mostly, of the English upper middle classes with the sharpest of scalpels."
Born in Hornchurch, Essex, in 1937, Cooper earned the nickname of "the unholy terror" while at school in Salisbury.
She went on to begin her writing career in 1956 as a junior reporter on the Middlesex Independent, and claimed she was sacked from 22 jobs before finding her way into book publishing.
Cooper also became a newspaper columnist, writing mostly about relationships, which led to the publication of her first book, How to Stay Married, in 1969, and which was soon followed by How to Survive from Nine to Five, a guide to working life, in 1970.
Our thoughts remain with her family, friends, and fans at this heartbreaking time.