Octavia (novel)

Octavia – The Taming of the Shrew is a 1977 romance novel by English author Jilly Cooper. It is one of several works in her romance series. Octavia is an upper-class, spoilt woman, who meets Gareth on a narrowboat holiday. Initially they do not see eye-to-eye, but ultimately fall in love. Initial reviews were mixed, with Auberon Waugh describing it as "glib, facile, immature and superficial", but the 1993 edition sold 100,000 copies. In the 21st century, reviewers praised the character of Octavia for being "fabulously flawed" and the book has been referenced in works by other authors. A 2007 adaptation of the novel was filmed starring Tamsin Egerton, but as of 2009 had not been released by ITV.