What does the late Jilly Cooper mean to us? Jilly Cooper

I have yet to try any of Jilly Cooper’s novels (obituary, October 6) but I loved her column in the Sunday Times and read all of her ‘indulgent’ novels in the 1970s, so when our first daughter was born in 1977, I knew immediately that I wanted to name her Harriet.

I recently discovered that one of our oldest friends, an English scholar and great fan of Jane Austen, believed nearly 50 years ago that Harriet was named after one of Emma’s characters. I was reluctant to shatter his beautiful illusions, but my personal appreciation for Jilly Cooper decided that I would do so now.

By the way, our youngest daughter is known as Bella, but this time not after Cooper’s character. Her full name is Isabella, again a tribute not to Austen’s character in Northanger Abbey, but to Isabella Bird, the intrepid author of The Life of a Lady in the Rockies, a true story in which there is no shortage of horses or cruel men, though it is not entirely successful.
Caroline Cole
(Huddersfield, West Yorkshire).

I have never read a Jilly Cooper novel, but I am nonetheless deeply saddened to hear of her death. Long ago, in 1982, I saw her program Shakespeare in Perspective | The Merry Wives of Windsor – Part of the fantastic BBC Shakespeare series. I remember her insight, her humanity, and her sarcastic remarks about class. Real wit, and very funny with it.
Bob Kentridge
Professor of Psychology at Durham University

As a newly married woman in the 1960s, I was surprised to receive this three Copies of Jilly Cooper’s book How to Stay Married. The advice must have been good, as we celebrated our 57th anniversary in July.
Jan Holmes
Clitheroe, Lancashire