Title: Polo (Rutshire Chronicles)
Author: Jilly Cooper
Publisher: Corgi; New edition (07 May 2007)
ISBN: 978-0552156165

Horses, bad behaviour, and lots of orgasms. Polo is the third book in Jilly Cooper’s Rutshire Chronicles series and is, hands-down, my absolute favourite of the – currently – nine-book line-up. (I may be a bit biased, though, as this was the first Jilly Cooper I ever read and the sex scenes it contains have been indelibly burned into what was my (somewhat) innocent teenage brain. In fact, Polo was my introduction to the concept that more than one orifice could be utilised during intercourse …)

Polo was originally published in 1991 but re-reading it over twenty years after it first hit the shelves hasn’t resulted in any loss of enjoyment. The characters still feel over-blown and awesome, their carry-on both awful and wonderful, and their sexual shenanigans fun, hot and captivating.

Although Rupert Campbell-Black, the bad boy of Riders and Rivals, continues to make his presence felt in Polo, the stage belongs to ‘moody, macho, and magnificent’ Ricky France-Lynch (a nine-goal polo player suffering through personal tragedy) and fourteen-year-old, polo-mad Perdita MacLeod (who wants nothing more than to get Ricky into bed). A brilliant cast of charismatic supporting characters push the pair through the story, their actions outweighed only by their outstanding names (who wouldn’t want to jump in the sack with someone called ‘Red’, ‘Angel’, ‘Dancer’ or ‘Jesus’?).

Interestingly, something that’s remained constant for me through many readings of this book is Perdita’s spot in the limelight. Her interactions with the men who surround her – particularly Luke Alderton (who is my favourite character) – steal the show from Ricky, despite his equal billing. That’s not to say Ricky’s story is weak – it isn’t – it’s just that his bratty side-kick is very, very compelling.

I’m always intrigued by people’s reactions to Jilly Cooper: you either get ‘oh, God, no!’ or ‘she’s bloody brilliant’. Without a doubt, I’m in the latter group. Her writing is sharp and witty, she takes risks with her characters (they often do very stupid things and have questionable morals), and her story plotting and pacing are excellent. Further, while this book has been enjoyed, I suspect, by a largely female audience over the years, it seems that many men rate Jilly’s writing, too. (I recently had a male colleague proclaim Ms Cooper to be his favourite author.)

As someone who grew up riding horses – and still does – I found the equine elements of this book very enjoyable but you in no way have to be a pony-lover – or a polo enthusiast – to appreciate the story at hand. Fundamentally, Polo is all about relationships: the ones that are healthy and ones that aren’t.

Tickle your fancy? Click on the following links to buy this book from Amazon.co.uk (Kindle ; Paperback) and Amazon.com (Kindle ; Paperback (import)).