Mount! (77 page)

The great Kenneth Tynan claimed that one should always write about things close to you. My main heroine in
Mount!
is therefore a Zimbabwean carer, widowed when her husband is gunned down trying to rescue a rhino from poachers. Moving to England, she lands a job caring for Rupert Campbell-Black’s wayward father. After switching to working in Rupert’s yard, she is replaced by a male South African carer.

I am in turn colossally indebted to the many marvellous carers who lived in and looked after my husband Leo in his last years, treated us both with such kindness and cheerfully endured the often long hours. A large majority were supplied by wonderful local agency Corinium Care, managed by Clare Janik. Many came from Zimbabwe or South Africa and provided me with crucial detail, inspiration, touching copy for my story and became huge friends. They include Lindy Botha and Ashleen McGovern from Zimbabwe, Lauren Holt, Louise Price, Susan Illing, Gorete Figueira, Norman Cilliers and Jen
Lombard, from South Africa, Lois Bell from New Zealand, Melissa Bathfield from Mauritius.

All had different invaluable takes on caring as did the numerous National Health carers, particularly Hazel John, who poured in in the various early stages and again treated both Leo and me with equal love and consideration.

I am particularly grateful to Jen Lombard and Hazel John, who were with me and such an incredible comfort when Leo died. Jen stayed on for several months and was so valuable advising me on South African catering.

Few diseases are slower and crueller than Parkinson’s, few actions crueller and more violent than hacking off rhino horns or elephant tusks. We must find a cure for the first and totally outlaw the second.

A win at the races is hugely exciting, but I really screamed the house down when I learnt my marvellous publishers Transworld had won Publisher of the Year. It is so richly deserved. Led with great flair and kindness by managing director, Larry Finlay, every department is dedicated to cherishing their authors and selling their books.

I have the loveliest, wisest editor in Linda Evans. Greatly aided by the matchless Jo Williamson and the marvellous Bella Bosworth and Alice Murphy-Pyle, who have heroically dealt with getting a big rambling book to the printers and sewing the early seeds of publicity. I must also thank vigilant copy editor Joan Deitch, and the lovely desk editor Viv Thompson, who looked after the nitty-gritty of the process.

One of the incentives to finishing a book is to work on its promotion with my dear, charismatic freelance friend Nicky Henderson, who teams up so well with the serene and lovely Publicity Director Patsy Irwin, and her ace department at Transworld.

I’d also like to thank Bradley Rose for driving me around and being encyclopaedic on football, and Jean Kriek and Kathy Webb for always being so welcoming on the Transworld switchboard. Transworld is only one of the publishing jewels of the Penguin Random House group, so I was particularly touched that Tom Weldon, CEO of such a vast organization,
found time to give me much encouragement.

In addition, I am hugely privileged to have an utterly marvellous agent in Vivienne Schuster, who inspires and protects me, sometimes curbs my silliness and always makes me laugh. She has in turn been helped by wonderful assistants Emma Herdman and Jess Whitlum-Cooper.

On the home front, it is impossible to describe how my life has been transformed by my PA, Amanda Butler. Kind, funny, warm, thoughtful, unbossily efficient, she spreads happiness wherever she goes. I must also thank her husband, ‘Postman’ Phil, for heroically delivering manuscripts and copy. Nor can I begin to thank Amanda and two other great friends, Annette Xuereb-Brennan and Mandy Williams, for gallantly deciphering my frightful writing; spotting howlers, making suggestions and miraculously producing a beautiful manuscript in just over a month. Nor would I last a day without Ann Mills, my divine housekeeper of more than thirty years and her joyful friend Moira Hatherall, who so cheerfully and uncomplainingly muck out my house and restore it to order and beauty. If I do any entertaining, they are also inspired party animals.

Since I had a hip operation a year ago and then gashed my other leg rescuing a ladybird, Celia Mackie and Julie Laws have been a source of fun and great comfort, dog walking and looking after me on different nights of the week. Phil Bradley has been equally swift and entertaining whilst driving me about, as has Simon Stroud.

My own family, as usual, have been beyond reproach. Laura Cooper, my stepdaughter, her son Kit and his girlfriend Lucille Cordell-Lavarack have been endlessly solicitous.

Emily, my daughter, a brilliant make-up artist, has been invaluable at de-croning me before smart racing parties. She and her husband Adam Tarrant and their three sons, Jago, Lysander and Acer, provide constant love and joy and marvellous copy, as do Felix and his wife Edwina and their daughters, Scarlett and Sienna. No family could be more cherishing.

The last three years have been tough in that as well as losing Leo, my beloved black rescue greyhound Feather and equally
beloved rescued cat Feral both died. My darling remaining black rescue greyhound Bluebell misses them all too, but tries hard to fill the gap.

Finally, I’d like to thank Leo, wherever he is now, for fifty-two never dull years. I was so lucky to be married to a great publisher, whose kindness, stoicism and humour in the face of illness never failed him.

Jilly Cooper
is a journalist, writer and media
superstar. The author of many number-one bestselling novels, she lives in Gloucestershire with
her rescued racing greyhound Bluebell.

She was appointed OBE in 2004 for services to literature, and has been awarded honorary doctorates by the Universities of Gloucestershire and Anglia Ruskin.

Riders

Rivals

Polo

The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous

Appassionata

Score!

Pandora

Wicked!

Jump!

How to Stay Married

How to Survive from Nine to Five

Jolly Super

Men and Supermen

Jolly Super Too

Women and Superwomen

Work and Wedlock

Jolly Superlative

Super Men and Super Women

Super Jilly

Class

Super Cooper

Intelligent and Loyal

Jolly Marsupial

Animals in War

The Common Years

Hotfoot to Zabriskie Point (with Patrick Lichfield)

How to Survive Christmas

Turn Right at the Spotted Dog

Angels Rush In

Araminta’s Wedding

Little Mabel

Little Mabel’s Great Escape

Little Mabel Wins

Little Mabel Saves the Day

Emily

Bella

Harriet

Octavia

Prudence

Imogen

Lisa & Co

The British in Love

Violets and Vinegar

TRANSWORLD PUBLISHERS
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Transworld is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at
global.penguinrandomhouse.com

First published in Great Britain in 2016 by Bantam Press
an imprint of Transworld Publishers
Copyright © Jilly Cooper 2016
Cover photography: © Larry Rostant; except horse portrait © Shutterstock
Design by Richard Ogle/TW

Jilly Cooper has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

This book is a work of fiction and, except in the case of historical fact, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Every effort has been made to obtain the necessary permissions with reference to copyright material, both illustrative and quoted. We apologize for any omissions in this respect and will be pleased to make the appropriate acknowledgements in any future edition.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Version 1.0 Epub ISBN 9781448170876
ISBNs 9780593072905 (cased)
9780593072912 (tpb)

This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

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