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Octavia (novel)

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Octavia
AuthorJilly Cooper
LanguageEnglish
GenreRomance
Set in20th-century England
Published1977 (Arlington Books)
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Pages272
Preceded byHarriet 
Followed byPrudence 
Websitehttps://www.jillycooper.co.uk/books/octavia/

Octavia – The Taming of the Shrew is a 1977 romance novel by English author Jilly Cooper. It is one of several works in her romance series. Octavia is an upper-class, spoilt woman, who meets Gareth on a narrowboat holiday. Initially they do not see eye-to-eye, but ultimately fall in love. Initial reviews were mixed, with Auberon Waugh describing it as "glib, facile, immature and superficial", but a new edition in 1993 sold 100,000 copies. In the 21st century, reviewers praised Octavia (the character) for being "fabulously flawed" and it was referenced in works by other authors. A 2007 adaptation of the novel was filmed starring Tamsin Egerton, but as of 2009 had not been released by ITV.

Plot

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The novel follows the social life of the eponymous heroine Octavia, who is an upper-class, wealthy, beautiful and spoilt woman, who also enjoys getting men to fall in love with her. She decides to seduce her friend Gussie's fiancé, Jeremy. Much of the novel takes place on a narrowboat holiday, where Octavia, Gussie and Jeremy are also joined by a fourth person, Welshman Gareth. Octavia and Gareth do not enjoy one another's company to begin with, but ultimately end up with romantic feelings for one another.

Background

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Octavia is part of a series of romance novels written by Cooper in the 1970s.[1] One character was modelled on George Humphreys, a Welshman with whom Cooper had an affair in the late 1950s.[2] Cooper posed for the cover photograph of an early edition of the novel.[1] The novel itself is set in the summer of 1976.[3]

Reception

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Published on 25 July 1977,[4] the book's full title is Octavia – The Taming of the Shrew.[5] Upon its release, Auberon Waugh reviewed the novel as "a glib, facile, immature and superficial romance" and expressed disappointment in the work since Waugh believed that Cooper could write a lot better.[5] Elizabeth Grey from The Times noted that Cooper avoids the traditional romantic convention in which the heroine remains a virgin until the last page. Grey found the jokes annoying but still funny, and confessed to falling in love with the character of Octavia.[6] Gareth, the romantic interest was described by the Manchester Evening News as "a gritty Welsh business tycoon" and the novel's predictable ending was remarked upon.[7] the Guardian described the novel as "an incontinent little burble" but praised its word play.[8] The brief review also mentioned the sub-plot where Octavia finds she can reach "a great whooshing" orgasm with the Welsh hero.[8] On its paperback release in 1978, the Fife Free Press reviewed the book as an "easy-to-read romantic story" that would make a good holiday read.[9] A 1993 edition of the novel sold over 100,000 copies.[10] A 2006 edition, published (with the rest of the series) at the same time as Wicked!, sold 10,000 copies.[10]

In 2018 Red magazine listed it as one of their Top Ten books by Cooper.[11] The eponymous Octavia in the novel is a complex character and 21st-century reviewers praised Cooper for writing a heroine who was "feisty" and "fabulously flawed".[12][13] The book features as a focus of one of the teenage diary entries in Mud by Emily Thomas, published in 2018.[14] In 2023 Irish journalist Emily Hourican stated she'd choose Octavia and the other novels in Cooper's romance series as her specialist subject on Mastermind.[15] In 2025's Read Yourself Happy, Daisy Buchanan described how she could empathise with Octavia's insecurities.[16] Anna Bonet, writing in The i Paper in the same year, described it as an escapist novel and a 1970s romcom.[13]

Adaptations

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An adaptation of the novel was commissioned and filmed for ITV1 in 2007.[17][18] However, it was not aired at its due date in 2008 due to financial issues at ITV, and as of February 2009 had no set date for release.[18][note 1] The concept was to televise in hour-long episodes new adaptations of Cooper's romance series.[10][19] With Octavia as the pilot, three further episodes based on other works from the series were due to be made.[10] Starring Tamsin Egerton and adapted by Jonathan Harvey, it was produced by Touchpaper Television.[3][18][20]

Literary influence

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The purchase of this novel, and meeting its author at a book-signing, is the subject of a chapter in the novel Village Teacher by Jack Sheffield.[21]

Notes

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  1. ^ An email from Jilly Cooper's publisher in May 2025 confirmed that it had never been broadcast.

References

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  1. ^ a b Manning, Sarah (7 August 2018). "A love letter to Jilly Cooper". Red Online. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  2. ^ Hanks, Robert, "First Lady of Rutshire", The Guardian (1959–2003); 18 March 1996; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Guardian (1821–2003) and The Observer (1791–2003) pg. A4
  3. ^ a b Walker, Tim (29 August 2023). "Tamsin Egerton: Too cool for school | The Independent | The Independent". The Independent. Archived from the original on 29 August 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
  4. ^ "Don't get caught with your Jillys down". The Bookseller. 16 July 1977. p. 73.
  5. ^ a b Waugh, Auberon (30 July 1977). "Glib Jilly in turgid mood about love". Liverpool Daily Post (Welsh Edition). p. 4.
  6. ^ "Not a simper in sight". Elizabeth Grey. The Times, 3 June 1978; p. 9; Issue 60318.
  7. ^ "Octavia". Manchester Evening News. 1 November 1977. p. 11. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  8. ^ a b "In brief". The Observer. 28 August 1977. p. 24. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  9. ^ "Pick of the Paperbacks". Fife Free Press. 23 June 1978. p. 21.
  10. ^ a b c d Richardson, Anna (27 July 2007). "Jilly Romps to ITV". The Bookseller. p. 34.
  11. ^ "The best Jilly Cooper books". Red Online. 8 August 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  12. ^ Flood, Alison (9 August 2010). "Jilly Cooper: Queen of the bonkbuster". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  13. ^ a b Bonet, Anna (21 February 2025). "The 14 best books for escapism". The i Paper. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  14. ^ Thomas, Emily (5 July 2018). Mud. Random House. ISBN 978-1-78761-125-2.
  15. ^ Hourican, Emily (25 June 2023). "'I love Jilly. I feel so much gratitude to her' – Marian Keyes and fellow authors on the irrepressible Jilly Cooper". www.independent.ie. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
  16. ^ Buchanan, Daisy (6 February 2025). Read Yourself Happy: How to Use Books to Ease Your Anxiety. Dorling Kindersley Limited. ISBN 978-0-241-74215-0.
  17. ^ "TM™.design – Octavia for ITV1". tmtm.design. Archived from the original on 28 April 2025. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  18. ^ a b c Dowell, Ben (12 February 2009). "ITV delays single dramas in downturn". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  19. ^ Conlan, Tara (19 July 2007). "ITV rides high with Cooper". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  20. ^ Walker, Tim (21 December 2011). "Jilly Cooper prepares for new films to set pulses racing – Telegraph". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 21 December 2011. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  21. ^ Sheffield, Jack (2010). Village Teacher. Corgi. p. 134. ISBN 978-0-552-15788-9.
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