British author Jilly Cooper, known for her bestselling risqué novels including "Rivals" and "Riders," has died at age 88, her agent and family said Monday.

A statement from her family said that the author's "unexpected death has come as a complete shock."

Cooper was best known for her books in "The Rutshire Chronicles," which portrayed the sex lives and excesses of the well-off, horse-riding set in 1980s England. The books sold millions of copies in the U.K. alone.

One of the books, "Rivals," was turned into a hit Disney+ TV series last year starring David Tennant and Alex Hassell.

"The privilege of my career has been working with a woman who has defined culture, writing and conversation since she was first published over fifty years ago," her agent, Felicity Blunt, said in a statement

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