Guardians of their galaxy

Building an imaginary world takes skill and dexterity. Few writers get it right, immersing readers in a parallel reality they might never want to leave

- SEEMA GOSWAMI

A few weeks ago, I pulled out an old copy of Jilly Cooper's Riders from my bookshelves to relive the memories of my misspent youth. Before you could say 'bonkbuster', I was back in the universe of Rutshire, a rural enclave enlivened by the heartstoppingly good looking (and heartbreakingly caddish) Rupert Campbell Black, the show-jumper who rarely met a woman he didn't want to jump. I knew the story and even remembered some of the lines, but I was sucked into the world that Cooper had created.

I felt a sense of acute bereavement when it was time to say goodbye to the characters. Except, of course, that I did not need to do any such thing. All I had to do to remain in that idyllic universe was to download the next seven books in the series. And that's exactly what I did, racing through Rivals, Polo, The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous. As of this writing, I am immersed in the world of classical music with Appassionata - still within the mythical Rutshire.