Rupert Campbell-Black


Rupert Edward Algernon Campbell-Black is a fictional character in the Rutshire Chronicles series of romance novels written by Jilly Cooper. He is the eighth-generation descendant Rupert Black. Campbell-Black's first appearance is in the novel Riders, which follows the lives and loves of a group of horse riders and show-jumpers. Although initially portrayed as a brutish, womanizing, adulterous cad, Campbell-Black's character is later somewhat redeemed through his triumphant winning of an Olympic gold medal for Great Britain. His loyalty is also highlighted through his friendships with Billy Lloyd-Foxe, Ricky France-Lynch and Declan O'Hara, as well as his gentle courtship of his second wife Agatha 'Taggie' O'Hara. He has five children: Marcus and Tabitha from his marriage with Helen Macaulay, adopted children Xavier and Bianca with Taggie, and the illegitimate Perdita.
Cooper has acknowledged that the character of Campbell-Black is based upon David Somerset, 11th Duke of Beaufort, and Andrew Parker Bowles, the former husband of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.
In September 2016, Bantam Press published Mount! with the strap line 'Rupert Campbell-Black is back...'.

Appearances