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Between the Covers
Between the Covers
Sep 22, 2024 12:54 AM

Author:Jilly Cooper

Between the Covers

'No one else can make me laugh and cry quite like Jilly Cooper.' Gill Sims

'Jilly Cooper's non-fiction is just as entertaining as her novels.' Pandora Sykes

____________________

'One truth I have learnt, as middle age enmeshes me like Virginia creeper, is that I shall never change-because my capacity for self-improvement is absolutely nil.'

Jilly Cooper's observations from her days as a much-loved newspaper columnist cover everything to do with sex, socialising and survival - from marriage, friendship and the minutiae of family life, to the tedium of going to visit people for the weekend, the stress of hosting dinner parties and the descent of middle age.

Entertaining and full of heart, this classic collection of journalism from the legendary author explores the highs and lows of everyday life with wit, wisdom and warmth.

Praise for Jilly Cooper:

'Joyful and mischievous' Jojo Moyes

'Fun, sexy and unputdownable' Marian Keyes

'Flawlessly entertaining' Helen Fielding

Reviews

What better gift to give for Christmas than this wonderfully irreverent collection of the great Jilly Cooper's columns from the 60s?

—— i newspaper

No one else can make me laugh and cry, sometimes at the same time, quite like Jilly Cooper

—— Gill Sims

Jilly Cooper's non-fiction is just as entertaining as her novels

—— Pandora Sykes

This book has given me so much pleasure

—— Alan Titchmarsh

Britain needs this jolly Jilly Cooper collection...Line after line, anecdote after anecdote is laugh-out-loud funny, the prose bouncing along like a labrador puppy

—— The Times

There are so many lifestyle columnists today, you forget that Cooper did it first and did it best

—— The Telegraph

A collection of Jilly Cooper's vintage newspaper columns is bitchy, sexy, insightful and, most of all, great fun

—— Observer

She is simply a legend

—— Daily Mail

Compelling reading... It encourages both clinicians and members of the public to look at their health intrinsically linked to other people, their own community, the environment, as well as the politics and economics of their country, and more broadly, the world

—— Dipesh Gopal , BJGP Life

Inflamed takes the reader on a journey deep inside the human body . . . In doing so, it reveals how external inequalities affect these systems and cause serious harm

—— Layla Liverpool , New Scientist

I cried, laughed and cried again. It’s therapeutic to read and bloody amazing. This book will help to raise awareness and help people understand what it’s like to go through this, to see light at the end of the tunnel and know you won’t always feel like this.

—— Jessie Hunt, postpartum psychosis survivor

I absolutely loved this book. It’s so honest I related to the rawness of it all. There was so much I could identify with.

—— Helen Grimes, postpartum psychosis survivor

An important book and I have no doubt it will have a significant impact.

—— Dr Chi-Chi Obuaya, Psychiatrist

This is a generous, humane, brave gift of a book. Its guts and humour spoke to me loud and clear. I wept for Laura, women I love, and ones I’ve never met, many times throughout. There’s a conspiracy of silence around so many of areas of birth and new motherhood, and Laura is breaking the glass ceiling of it, with glorious honesty, humour and humility. I salute you, Laura - you’re a fucking warrior!

—— Sophie Dahl

A humblingly honest and human war report from the front lines of mothering, psychosis and recovery: there is no other book like it, and it is so desperately needed.

—— Giovanna Fletcher

This moving book was a pleasure to read and I didn't want to put it down. If anyone is going through a similar experience it will make them feel less alone.

—— Philippa Perry

Dockrill's raw yet ultimately hopeful account of her experience with postpartum psychosis shines an important light on a rarely discussed experience.

—— iNews

Bold, brave and raw, it must have taken immense courage to write this phenomenal memoir… It’s a tough read, but hugely inspiring…told with a winning dash of humour, and provides desperately needed insight into postnatal mental health

—— Eithne Farry , UK Press Syndication

What Have I Done? is heartbreaking and brutal in its honesty, and it is remarkable that Dockrill has managed to wring black comedy out of so much suffering… [the book] offer[s] a hand of solidarity to other women, as well as the assurance that there is a way through

—— Stephanie Merritt , Observer

It's a truly compelling read, and one I wholeheartedly recommend

—— Buzz

I very much enjoyed reading this one and if you love intimate coming of age tales as much as I do, you have to pick this up

—— Miriam Stimpfl

An engaging narrative . . . written with perfect poise

—— Saga

Fast-paced and filled with witty dialogue, and the book explores the depth and complexity of friendships between women

—— INDEPENDENT: 10 BEST BOOKS BY BLACK AUTHORS

Wildly entertaining

—— THE BOOKSELLER

I LOVED this absolute cracker of a book about the cuckoo in the next and a toxic female friendship. Highly recommended

—— LIZ NUGENT, author of LYING IN WAIT and OUR LITTLE CRUELTIES

I loved hanging out with Ronke, Simi and Boo. A brilliant portrayal of how complicated friendships can sometimes be

—— NINA POTTELL

This story draws you in and spits you out, breathless. Echoes of Atwood's The Robber Bride but so its own thing. A treat.

—— KATE SAWYER, author of THE STRANDING

A heady mix of friendship, dark comedy and murder. WAHALA is razor-sharp

—— OK! MAGAZINE

May's nuanced exploration of race and gender makes this refreshing. This will leave readers intrigued to see what May does next

—— PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY

A terrific, witty debut

—— I-NEWS

WAHALA hooked me from page one and kept me enthralled till the (TWIST!) end. A riot of colour and noise, friendships, enemies, secrets, lies and soul food. Written with a lightness of touch. Insightful, clever, and honest. I will read anything and everything she writes

—— ERICKA WALLER, author of DOG DAYS

This gripping debut is a journey of friendship, revenge and finding your true self

—— STYLIST MAGAZINE

Nikki May builds a propulsive reading experience as she slowly reveals Isobel's manipulations while keeping the reasons behind them hidden. Compelling character studies of each of the women don't shy away from the jealousies and judgements that sometimes make the line between friend and enemy razor thin...A fascinating look at the dark side of female friendship

—— KIRKUS

A funny brilliant read

—— BELLA

This will satisfy hungry appetites and blow your thriller taste buds. Deliciously spicy

—— HEAT MAGAZINE, Read of the Week

Nikki May's sharp and funny debut novel is a delight on many levels. WAHALA bursts with life from start to finish

—— DAILY EXPRESS, 'Books of 2022'

May seamlessly weaves love, betrayal, self-reflection, and Nigerian food, clothing, and customs into this fast-paced debut...Fans of domestic suspense will revel in this tale of friendship, family, and forgiveness, set in the cultural milieu of Lagos

—— LIBRARY JOURNAL

Sharp and darkly witty

—— CULTURE FLY

A rapid and wildly hilarious page-turner

—— COUNTRY AND TOWN HOUSE

A hotly tipped debut for 2022

—— DAILY EXPRESS

WAHALA combines a frank and daring exploration of modern female friendship with a dark, punchy thriller

—— WOMAN AND HOME

Fabulously fun

—— PRIMA MAGAZINE

May's skill for weaving together entertaining personal problems with a wistfulness for Nigerian food, customs and culture is unparalleled. WAHALA is hard to put down - an energetic, entertaining interrogation of a fundamentally flawed friendship

—— I-NEWS

Refreshing and original. Exhilarating

—— SUNDAY TIMES, Best Popular Fiction of 2022

Contemporary female friendship goes glam in this lively debut novel with remarkable depth

—— WASHINGTON POST

I would definitely recommend this book to friends. I already have!

—— Recommended Read, BBC Radio 2 Book Club

Sharply observed ... sophisticated and culturally adept ... May is a masterful chronicler of Black upper-middle-class lie and ennui in Britain. WAHALA is both great fun and extremely smart in how it captures some of the central issues in modern city living: women's evolving roles in home and work, interracial relationships and multicultural identity, the current competition that runs through so many friendships and daily interactions and, most of all, how easily intimacy can morph into enmity

—— NPR.ORG

Witty-wity-edge. Its humour is pin sharp

—— THE SHIFT, Sam Baker's Summer Reading

A dazzling, rich and efferverscent read. It's relevant and full of life. The killer edge was unexpectedly shocking. Just fantastic in every way

—— NB MAGAZINE

A glorious read

—— STYLIST MAGAZINE, 'The Style List'

Spicy as Aunty K's moin moin, satisfying as a plate of Ronke's jollof rice

—— SAGA MAGAZINE

Pacy, fun and gripping ... May wanted to write "a brown Sex and the City, or a brown Big Little Lies" - we reckon WAHALA could be just as big

—— EVENING STANDARD, Faces of 2022

Like "Sex and the City" but set in London. And with mystery. And murder

—— COSMOPOLITAN

The upshot is a funny, slightly murdery story about three women and their wahala, or "trouble" - their boyfriends, their professional aspirations, and their weaves

—— GLAMOUR MAGAZINE

The novel's strength lies in May's attention to her main character's identities. May's breezy prose is well-suited to these moments of casual intimacy, unfolding over drinks, at the hairdresser's or at the kitchen table, where all the best gossip takes place

—— NEW YORK TIMES

Some of the smartest reading fun I've had all year

—— DAISY BUCHANAN
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