I read Rivals a few years ago and enjoyed every page!
Tale
Follows Rupert Campbell-Black and Tony Baddingham as they have a long-standing rivalry that comes to a head. Coincidentally, Aidan Turner previously filmed at Chavenage House (The Priory in Rivals). The same filming location was also used to represent Trenwith House in the BBC’s 2015 TV adaptation of Poldark.
The characters, especially Aidan Turner as the honest journalist Declan O’Hara and David Tennant as the evil Lord B, are brilliant!
It’s quite difficult to compare the book and its characters to its TV adaptation, as we all bring our own perceptions of what certain characters should look and act like. Also, while we can read a book at our leisure, TV has to move at a pace that fits the format and doesn’t drag, so some characters or side stories may have to be cut for time’s sake. That being said, yes, there are differences from the book, but none so great that they detract from the overall enjoyment and entertainment value.
It makes us love Declan as much as we hate Lord B!
The 80s music is fantastic, although the only part I found annoying was the opening high-pitched operatic music, which just wasn’t right. As for all the sex scenes, yes, we could do without them, since we all have imaginations, but it wouldn’t be the book Cooper wrote. It was wonderful to spot Jilly Cooper herself in the restaurant lunch scene.
She seemed to really enjoy the show, as did I
The last episode ended quite differently from the book, so I hope there’s at least one more season where we can see what happens with Taggie and RCB. . .
And of course, we know that the evil Lord B must be there to wreak even more havoc
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