Jilly Cooper recently gave me a precious insight into her writing process.
‘Trust in the unexpected, ’ she said cheerily. I scribbled it on a Post-it note and stuck it to my computer screen, hoping it might temporarily grant me even one per cent of her literary prowess as I embarked on my own first book. Jilly’s message could apply to almost every aspect of my subject: female friendship.
From our earliest days in the playground, our connections with other girls consume our waking thoughts. We spend
