Feminism and feminist theory Books

Book SynopsisMargaret Atwood is the author of more than fifty books of fiction, poetry and critical essays. Her novels include Cat's Eye, The Robber Bride, Alias Grace, The Blind Assassin and the MaddAddam trilogy. Her 1985 classic The Handmaid's Tale was followed in 2019 by a sequel, The Testaments, which was a global number one bestseller and shared the Booker Prize. Her most recent publications are the poetry collections Dearly and Paper Boat; Burning Questions, a selection of essays; and Old Babes in the Wood, a volume of short stories. Atwood is a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour, and has won numerous awards including the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Imagination in Service to Society, the Franz Kafka Prize, the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, the PEN USA Lifetime Achievement Award and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. She has also worked as a cartoonist, illustrator, librettist, playwright and puppeteer. She lives in Toronto, Canada.Trade ReviewA fantastic, chilling story. And so powerfully feminist -- Bernadine Evaristo, author of GIRL, WOMAN, OTHERCompulsively readable * Daily Telegraph *Out of a narrative shadowed by terror, gleam sharp perceptions, brilliant intense images and sardonic wit * Independent *The Handmaid's Tale is both a superlative exercise in science fiction and a profoundly felt moral story -- Angela CarterMoving, vivid and terrifying. I only hope it's not prophetic * The Listener *

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Book SynopsisA novel, that was originally published in 1963 under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas. It is partially based on the author's own life and descent into mental illness. It presents a portrait of the 1950s society.

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewPoignant, witty, comic, and self-deprecating. A laugh-out-loud, lightning quick journey through the years that will resonate with anyone who's ever been young and in love. * Daily Express *Very, very, very funny. Don't hate me when I tell you that Everything I Know About Love is Sex And The City for millennials, because I mean it as high praise * Red *I loved it so much, I wanted it to go on forever, Dolly Alderton is so gifted at making people care. A rare talent * Marian Keyes *Alderton is an old soul - she has learned life lessons while not yet out of her twenties that many of us post-menopausal matrons are still struggling with. A wonderful writer, who will surely inspire a generation the way that Caitlin Moran did before her. * Julie Burchill *I thought I knew a lot about love. Not as much as Dolly. Read as soon as possible. * Sharon Horgan *

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Book Synopsis''A groundbreaking work . . . Federici has become a crucial figure for . . . a new generation of feminists'' Rachel Kushner, author of The Mars RoomA cult classic since its publication in the early years of this century, Caliban and the Witch is Silvia Federici''s history of the body in the transition to capitalism. Moving from the peasant revolts of the late Middle Ages through the European witch-hunts, the rise of scientific rationalism and the colonisation of the Americas, it gives a panoramic account of the often horrific violence with which the unruly human material of pre-capitalist societies was transformed into a set of predictable and controllable mechanisms. It Is a study of indigenous traditions crushed, of the enclosure of women''s reproductive powers within the nuclear family, and of how our modern world was forged in blood.''Rewarding . . . allows us to better understand the intimate relationship between modern patriarchy, the rise of the nation state and the transition from feudalism to capitalism'' GuardianTrade ReviewRewarding . . . allows us to better understand the intimate relationship between modern patriarchy, the rise of the nation state and the transition from feudalism to capitalism * Guardian *A groundbreaking work . . . Federici has become a crucial figure for young Marxists, political theorists, and a new generation of feminists . . . a true radical who has lived by her political commitments, not just to women but against all forms of exploitation -- Rachel Kushner, author of The Mars RoomIt is both a passionate work of memory recovered and a hammer of humanity's agenda -- Peter Linebaugh, author of The London Hanged

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Book Synopsis*THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER**OVER HALF A MILLION COPIES SOLD*Discover the shocking gender bias that affects our everyday lives.'HELL YES. This is one of those books that has the potential to change things - a monumental piece of research' Caitlin MoranImagine a world where...· Your phone is too big for your hand· Your doctor prescribes a drug that is wrong for your body· In a car accident you are 47% more likely to be injured.If any of that sounds familiar, chances are you're a woman.From government policy and medical research, to technology, workplaces, and the media. Invisible Women reveals how in a world built for and by men we are systematically ignoring half of the population, often with disastrous consequences. Caroline Criado Perez brings together for the first time an impressive range of case studies, stories and new research from across the world that illustrate the hidden ways in which women are forgotten, and the profound impact this has on us all.Find out more in Caroline's new podcast, Visible Women.'A book that changes the way you see the world' Sunday Times'Revelatory, frightening, hopeful' Jeanette WintersonTrade ReviewRevelatory – it should be required reading for policy and decision makers everywhere -- Nicola SturgeonHELL YES. This is one of those books that has the potential to change things – a monumental piece of research -- Caitlin MoranRevelatory, frightening, hopeful. A secular Bible -- Jeanette WintersonThis book is a devastating indictment of institutionalised complacency and a rallying cry to fight back… Invisible Women should propel women into action. It should also be compulsory reading for men -- Christina Patterson * Sunday Times *Invisible Women takes on the neglected topic of what we don't know - and why. The result is a powerful, important and eye-opening analysis of the gender politics of knowledge and ignorance. With examples from technology to natural disasters, this is an original and timely reminder of why we need women in the leadership of the institutions that shape every aspect of our lives. -- Cordelia Fine

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Book SynopsisFrom the self-described ''black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet'', these soaring, urgent essays on the power of women, poetry and anger are filled with darkness and light. Penguin Modern: fifty new books celebrating the pioneering spirit of the iconic Penguin Modern Classics series, with each one offering a concentrated hit of its contemporary, international flavour. Here are authors ranging from Kathy Acker to James Baldwin, Truman Capote to Stanislaw Lem and George Orwell to Shirley Jackson; essays radical and inspiring; poems moving and disturbing; stories surreal and fabulous; taking us from the deep South to modern Japan, New York''s underground scene to the farthest reaches of outer space.

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Book Synopsis*A WATERSTONES 'BEST POLITICAL BOOK OF THE YEAR'**A TIMES 'BEST PHILOSOPHY AND IDEAS' BOOK OF 2021**A GUARDIAN 'BEST POLITICS BOOKS OF THE YEAR'*LONGLISTED FOR THE 2022 BUSINESS BOOK AWARD'A brilliant manifesto explaining why women are still so underestimated and overlooked in today's world, but how we can also be hopeful for change' - Philippa Perry'An impassioned, meticulously argued and optimistic call to arms for anyone who cares about creating a fairer society' - Observer__________Imagine living in a world in which you were routinely patronised by women.Imagine having your views ignored or your expertise frequently challenged by them.Imagine people always addressing the woman you are with before you.Now imagine a world in which the reverse of this is true.The Authority Gap provides a startling perspective on the unseen bias at work in our everyday lives, to reveal the scale of the gap that still persists between men and women. Would you believe that US Supreme Court Justices are interrupted four times more often than male ones... 96% of the time by men? Or that British parents, when asked to estimate their child's IQ will place their son at 115 and their daughter at 107?Marshalling a wealth of data with precision and insight, and including interviews with pioneering women such as Baroness Hale, Mary Beard and Bernadine Evaristo, Mary Ann exposes unconscious bias in this fresh feminist take on how to address and counteract systemic sexism in ways that benefit us all.Includes interviews with pioneering women such as:Baroness HaleMary BeardBernadine EvaristoMary McAleeseJulia GillardDolly Alderton and Pandora SykesCherie BlairLiz TrussAmber RuddFrances MorrisLaura Bates__________'Hugely exciting' - Emily Maitlis'Deeply researched, profoundly thoughtful and a book very much for the here and now: Mary Ann Sieghart's The Authority Gap is the book she was probably born to write' - Andrew Marr'At last here is a credible roadmap that is capable of taking women from the margins to the centre by bridging the authority gap that holds back even the best and most talented of women. - Mary McAleese, Former President of IrelandTrade ReviewHere is a brilliant manifesto explaining why women are still so underestimated and overlooked in today's world, but how we can also be hopeful for change. * Philippa Perry *Just in case anyone still thinks the patriarchy is a figment of feminist imagination, this book will prove otherwise. Everyone needs to read The Authority Gap because in order to change our culture, we need to fully recognise the problem. * Bernadine Evaristo *An impassioned, meticulously argued and optimistic call to arms for anyone who cares about creating a fairer society. * Observer *Persuasive, arresting, punchy and incisive. * The Sunday Times *Crackling with controlled anger, it features some eye-popping stories and a stellar cast of interviewees, from presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton and former Danish prime minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt to the novelist Bernardine Evaristo. Buy it for any woman ever talked over in a meeting, or patronised by a man who knows less than them. -- Gaby Hinsliff * Guardian Best Political Books of 2021 *Deeply researched, profoundly thoughtful and a book very much for the here and now: Mary Ann Sieghart's The Authority Gap is the book she was probably born to write. It is both a warning tract for bombastic, dismissive men, and a cheerful manual for all ambitious women. * Andrew Marr *In The Authority Gap, Mary Ann Sieghart combines an absorbing review of the contemporary evidence on the systematic undervaluing of women with some powerful new insights. Whether you know a little or a lot about sexism and misogyny, there is much to learn from this book, including some very practical tips on creating change that you can implement the minute after you turn the last page. * Julia Gillard, Former Prime Minister of Australia *Fascinating, powerful...the subject is very close to my heart. * Elif Shafak *Hugely exciting. * Emily Maitlis *At last here is a credible roadmap that is capable of taking women from the margins to the centre by bridging the authority gap that holds back even the best and most talented of women. Read this and weep at what we are wasting. Read this and believe we can fly on two wings and soon. * Mary McAleese, Former President of Ireland *Well-written, illuminating... has some excellent statistics and arguments to understand better the gap that harms even very successful women. * FT *Fascinating, thorough, empowering... One of those books that takes something ubiquitous, that many have become desensitised to, and slowly exposes its far-reaching implications. * Guardian *You have to read this book. Honestly, you really do. Because if you don't, you won't know what life is really like. Whether you are a man or a woman, you are going to see your life as a parent, a partner, a colleague quite differently. * Daniel Finkelstein *This is an essential account of structural sexism and the price it exacts - but it is so much more. In her extensive research and command of the evidence, Mary Ann Sieghart delivers nothing less than a modern map of the way we live, think and interact - and how we can do so much better. A must-read by one of the most important public intellectuals at work today. * Matthew d'Ancona, Editor and Partner, Tortoise Media *Sieghart demonstrates through meticulous use of the research data that these manly sins are disproportionately likely to be directed by men against women, and that their cumulative effect can sometimes be enormous. * The Times *All men stand to benefit from this book, by becoming more self-aware. But it is also a great guide to how to work and live together more productively, by understanding our fellow human-beings better, be they female or male, colleagues, friends or family. * Bill Emmott *Passionate...gives plenty of evidence that the issue still matters. * Daily Mail *Captivating account of how sexism is still rife in the corridors of power. Sieghart writes with empathy, clarity and passion. The book is enormously authoritative, knitting together academic studies with interviews of leading public figures. * Irish Independent *Really thought-provoking and challenging. Every man should read it, and then become consciously more deferential to women who know more than you. * Johann Hari *Eye opening and gloriously galvanising ... Impassioned, meticulously argued and optimistic * Zoella *

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Book SynopsisOffred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She has only one function: to breed. If she deviates, she will, like dissenters, be hanged at the wall or sent out to die slowly of radiation sickness. But even a repressive state cannot obliterate desire - neither Offred's nor that of the two men on which her future hangs.Trade ReviewA fantastic, chilling story. And so powerfully feminist -- Bernadine Evaristo, author of GIRL, WOMAN, OTHERCompulsively readable * Daily Telegraph *Out of a narrative shadowed by terror, gleam sharp perceptions, brilliant intense images and sardonic wit * Independent *The Handmaid's Tale is both a superlative exercise in science fiction and a profoundly felt moral story -- Angela CarterMoving, vivid and terrifying. I only hope it's not prophetic * The Listener *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Masterful. A thinking women's (and man's) valentine, a fitting conclusion to hooks' groundbreaking work on love in American life." -- Los Angeles Times "A powerful guidebook to life." -- Library Journal

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Book SynopsisI was supposed to be having the time of my life.When Esther Greenwood wins an internship on a New York fashion magazine in 1953, she is elated, believing she will finally realise her dream to become a writer. But in between the cocktail parties and piles of manuscripts, Esther''s life begins to slide out of control. She finds herself spiralling into serious depression as she grapples with difficult relationships and a society which refuses to take her aspirations seriously.The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath''s only novel, was originally published in 1963 under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas. The novel is partially based on Plath''s own life and descent into mental illness, and has become a modern classic.Trade Review"'In looking at the madness of the world and the world of madness [this book] forces us to consider the great question posed by all truly realistic fiction: what is reality and how can it be confronted?' New York Times Book Review"

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Book SynopsisVintage Feminism: classic feminist texts in short formWITH AN INTRODUCTION BY NATALIE HAYNESWhen this book was first published in 1949 it was to outrage and scandal. Never before had the case for female liberty been so forcefully and successfully argued. De Beauvoir’s belief that ‘One is not born, but rather becomes, woman’ switched on light bulbs in the heads of a generation of women and began a fight for greater equality and economic independence. These pages contain the key passages of the book that changed perceptions of women forever.TRANSLATED BY CONSTANCE BORDE AND SHEILA MALOVANY-CHEVALLIERANNOTATED AND INTRODUCED BY MARTINE REIDTrade ReviewA masterpiece * Vogue *Discovering The Second Sex was like an explosion in my skull, shattering illusions bred in a conventional fifties childhood...Re-reading the book now I realise how much of it is still entirely relevant, and that (despite advances) women are as much in need of liberation as ever -- Bel MooneyDe Beauvoir was not just a genius as a theorist. She dared to live it. Challenging conventional marriage and sexual practice, she used her own experience to explore the emotional costs of jealousy, attachment, monogamy, bohemianism, sexuality, of love -- Susie OrbachA fine piece of work, a lucid translation * Independent *A fresh, much expanded, more intelligible book which repays re-reading by adherents of the old version, and cries out for attention from young women who have not been exposed to this most powerful of feminist thinkers * Irish Times *

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Book SynopsisAn impassioned discussion about the alternative ways to form relationships and resist capitalismTrade Review‘This was my most eagerly awaited book of the year and it does not disappoint. A powerful, utterly engaging read and a vital call to action. Sophie K Rosa analyses how current conditions restrict our capacity for caring relationships with ourselves and others, and how these conditions can be implicated in so many forms of intimate violence, injustice and loss. A must read’ -- Meg-John Barker, author of 'Rewriting the Rules'‘Proposes radical answers for people longing for real intimacy, just as she proposes the need to centre all forms of intimacy as radical praxis. We are invited to look for the possibilities of abundant post-capitalist relating, and how they might nurture us in overcoming the systems which trap us in scarcity. It’s great. Please read it!’ -- Justin Hancock, Sex and relationships educator‘A clarion voice from a new generation of British feminists accessibly expanding family-abolitionist thought and praxis into new spheres in response to a swingeing care crisis ... I was gripped’ -- Sophie Lewis, author of 'Abolish The Family'‘Explores Black and Indigenous feminist and queer revolutionary approaches to relating helps unshackle the mind from capitalist and colonial kinship, friendship, and romance. In order to change the world, one must first change the story of the world that is possible’ -- Kim TallBear, professor at University of Alberta, Canada‘Made me reconsider so many of the cultural scripts I've been fed my whole life. Unsparing, important and hopeful’ -- Annie Lord, Vogue columnist and author of 'Notes on Heartbreak'‘Sophie K. Rosa challenges us to rethink, reimagine, resist and redefine intimacy according to our own standards instead of those force-fed to us via the white supremacist capitalist cisheteropatriarchy. Consider this the next read in your study group.’ -- ‘Ms. Magazine’‘Radical Intimacy scrutinises the reality of love and intimacy ... it also paints a moving alternative of what a different reality can offer. The call to action is strong; she is asking, with compassion and conviction, for collective liberation and for a revolution’ -- ‘Mashable’‘In a world wracked by successive economic and social crises, Sophie K Rosa offers us an alternative; she demands we imagine and create a better world through love … Radical Intimacy is an introduction to a utopian worldview that has compassion at its heart’ -- Adele Walton, ‘DAZED’‘Implores us to transcend our unfair social structures to instead compassionately reconnect with one another' -- Katie Goh, ‘i-D’‘Sophie K Rosa's polemic interrogates what it means to love and make connections under capitalism’ -- ‘Red Pepper’‘Rosa's groundbreaking manifesto invites us into a politically emancipatory conceptualisation of intimacy beyond capitalism and heteronormativity’ -- ‘The Skinny’‘A punchy and impassioned account of inspiring ideas about alternative ways to live … Radical Intimacy is the compassionate antidote to a callous society’ -- ‘The Spill’‘Excellent ... Instead of resigning ourselves to a lonely life in a New Gilded Age, Radical Intimacy points towards the long and difficult path to a kinder, better future’ -- ‘Los Angeles Review of Books’'I can’t recommend enough Sophie K. Rosa’s Radical Intimacy and its powerful meditations on fostering love and community amid the innately exploitative backdrop of capitalism' -- Kylie Cheung, ‘Jezebel’Table of ContentsIntroduction: The intimate is political 1. Your life in your hands 2. Us two against the world 3. They're all you've got 4. A ladder is not a resting place 5. The great equaliser Conclusion: strong bonds for a fragile planet

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Book SynopsisDelve into a legendary literary love affair'I am reduced to a thing that wants Virginia. I composed a beautiful letter to you in the sleepless nightmare hours of the night, and it has all gone. I just miss you...'At a dinner party in 1922, Virginia Woolf met the renowned author, aristocrat - and sapphist - Vita Sackville-West. Virginia wrote in her diary that she didn't think much of Vita's conversation, but she did think very highly of her legs. It was to be the start of almost twenty years of flirtation, friendship, and literary collaboration. Their correspondence ended only with Virginia's death in 1941.Intimate and playful, these selected letters and diary entries allow us to hear these women's constantly changing feelings for each other in their own words. Eavesdrop on the affair that inspired Virginia to write her most fantastical novel, Orlando, and discover a relationship that - even a hundred years later - feels radical and relatable.WITH A NEW INTRODUCTION FROM ALISON BECHDEL, AUTHOR OF FUN HOME AND CREATOR OF THE BECHDEL TEST.Trade Review"A deliciously tactile volume of love letters; I've been carrying them around the house, dipping in and out, and finding new things each time. As Vita said of Mrs Dalloway, they bewilder, illuminate and reveal" - Nino Strachey, author of Rooms of Their Own -- Nino Strachey, author of Rooms of Their Own

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Book SynopsisSimone de Beauvoir was born in Paris in 1908. In 1929 she became the youngest person ever to obtain the agrégation in philosophy at the Sorbonne, placing second to Jean-Paul Sartre. She taught at the lycées at Marseille and Rouen from 1931-1937, and in Paris from 1938-1943. After the war, she emerged as one of the leaders of the existentialist movement, working with Sartre on Les Temps Mordernes. The author of several books including The Mandarins (1957) which was awarded the Prix Goncourt, de Beauvoir was one of the most influential thinkers of her generation. She died in 1986.Trade ReviewA masterpiece * Vogue *Discovering The Second Sex was like an explosion in my skull, shattering illusions bred in a conventional fifties childhood...Re-reading the book now I realise how much of it is still entirely relevant, and that (despite advances) women are as much in need of liberation as ever -- Bel MooneyDe Beauvoir was not just a genius as a theorist. She dared to live it. Challenging conventional marriage and sexual practice, she used her own experience to explore the emotional costs of jealousy, attachment, monogamy, bohemianism, sexuality, of love -- Susie OrbachA fine piece of work, a lucid translation * Independent *A fresh, much expanded, more intelligible book which repays re-reading by adherents of the old version, and cries out for attention from young women who have not been exposed to this most powerful of feminist thinkers * Irish Times *

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Book SynopsisWomen's freedom is a myth. Or so we're told. If there is one thing that right and left can agree on, it's that this is a very bad time to be female. Misogyny is everywhere and, as the right would have it, thanks to a big fat liberal lie known as the sexual revolution, it is worse than ever. The death of courtship, duty and marriage are nails in the coffin of female happiness. The left has its own muddled ideas about sex, duty and marriage, but it knows this: girls' and women's bodies are an inventory of pain and suffering that needs to be outed, from period pain to menopause to endometriosis. Indeed, the narrative of female bodily disadvantage is so extreme that experts are beginning to admit it is at least partially responsible for the 5,000 per cent rise in girls reporting to gender clinics claiming to be boys. Increasingly, in the schemes of both right and left, women's agency is vanishing. In both, they are fragile, eminently breakable, and constantly facing a risk of permanent damage. Fear is everywhere and yet we're at a moment and a place in which women have never ever had it so good. This book is a call for women - and society - to get back in touch with the joy, freedom and power that Zoe and her female peers, evidently born in a lucky window (post-feminism, pre-Internet), saw opening up before them and, to some degree, have realised.

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Book SynopsisPublished as a standalone on International Woman's Day, the essay that became a touchstone of the feminist movement and inspired the term 'mansplaining', with an afterword on its origins.

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Book Synopsis'Intriguing' – Sunday Times'A rousing read' – Irish Times'A bright light of Francophone feminism' – New York TimesRenowned journalist Mona Chollet recasts the witch as a powerful role model: an emblem of strength, free to exist beyond the narrow limits society imposes on women.Taking three archetypes from historic witch hunts – independent women, women who avoid having children and women who embrace ageing – Chollet examines how women today have the same charges levelled against them. She calls for justice in healthcare, challenging the gender imbalance in science and questioning why female bodies åre still controlled by men.Rich with popular culture, literary references and media insights, In Defence of Witches is a vital addition to the cultural conversation around women, witches and the misogyny that has shaped the world they live in.With a foreword by Carmen Maria Machado and translated from French by Sophie R. Lewis.Trade ReviewA thought-provoking, discursive survey by Mona Chollet, a bright light of Francophone feminism . . . Chollet has emerged as a quiet revolutionary, pushing back against the clichés and the patriarchy that shapes them. -- Rachel Donadio * The New York Times *What sets Chollet’s book apart is her aligning so clearly the historical mistreatment of so-called witches with the misogyny of the 21st century. The subtitle sums it up: why women are still on trial . . . a rousing read. -- Sarah Gilmartin * Irish Times *Explores the worldview that the witch hunt has sought to promote - and its consequences on society today. * Vice *Mona Chollet reminds us how an infamous label has become a symbol of women's resistance to male domination. * Le Monde *[Mona Chollet] rehabilitates the figure of the witch, this dangerously independent, educated and strong woman. * Slate *[Mona Chollet] dissects this figure from our history – and our imagination – and demonstrates how women today, those who free themselves from certain social norms, are in fact the direct heirs of those who were pursued, hunted, censored, eliminated during the Renaissance. * Huffington Post *The term “witches” is still used today to caricature women of power, aging women or quite simply free women . . . Mona Chollet wonders about what remains today of the great witch hunts, that is to say the massacre of tens of thousands of women in Europe between the 16th and 17th centuries . . . [She] ends up convincing: the witch is a figure more fascinating and empowering than repulsive. * Libération *What remains of the witch hunts? A stubborn misogyny, which still tints the way our societies look at single women, childless women, aging women, or quite simply, free women . . . Today more than ever, witches tell us about our world and lead the way. * Télérama *A smart feminist treatise reclaiming the witch and her radical way of life as a path forward for womem . . . Chollet’s informed and passionate treatment will appeal to readers looking for more substance amid the witch trend that’s otherwise been largely commodified and often scrubbed of its feminist origins * Booklist *

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Book SynopsisThe fierce, feminist and gloriously romantic new Greek myth re-imagining from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Girl, Goddess, Queen.Love caused this war. At least, that's what the stories will say.When Cassandra's patron god, Apollo, offers her the gift of prophecy and all the power that comes with it she seizes the opportunity. But when she fails to uphold her end of the bargain, she discovers just how very far she has to fall. No one believes her visions, which all seem to be of one girl a girl who is going to start a war.Helen fled Sparta in pursuit of love but is finding it elusive. Now she must navigate the fierce politics and danger of the Trojan court - including from its princess, who seems intent on driving her from the city. . .But when war finally strikes, Cassandra and Helen must deal with more than just the army at their walls. Cassandra and Helen''s fates are more closely tied - and seemingly tragic

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Book SynopsisShortlisted for the HWA Non-Fiction Crown Award 2023 The history of a demonic tradition that was stolen from women – and then won back again. 'Remarkable work... Extraordinary, meticulous detail' Literary Review 'Deftly fuses scholarly rigour, control of literary and archaeological sources' BBC History Magazine Creatures like Lilith, the seductive first wife of Adam, and mermaids, who lured sailors to their death, are familiar figures in the genre of monstrous temptresses who use their charms to entice men to their doom. But if we go back 4,000 years, the roots of these demons lie in horrific creatures like Lamashtu, a lion-headed Mesopotamian demon who strangled infants and murdered pregnant women, and Gello, a virgin ghost of ancient Greece who killed expectant mothers and babies out of jealousy. Far from enticing men into danger and destruction, these monsters were part of women’s ritual practices surrounding childbirth and pregnancy. So how did their mythology evolve into one focused on the seduction of men? Sarah Clegg takes us on an absorbing and witty journey from ancient Mesopotamia to the present day, encountering a multitude of serpentine succubi, a child-eating wolf-monster of ancient Greece, the Queen of Sheba and a host of vampires. Clegg shows how these demons were appropriated by male-centred societies, before they were eventually recast as symbols of women’s liberation, offering new insights into attitudes towards womanhood, sexuality and women’s rights.Trade Review[A] remarkable work... Extraordinary, meticulous detail * Literary Review *A rewarding and profound study * Literary Review *A delightful romp through four thousand years’ worth of sinister superstition, offering an empathetic interpretation of these supernatural creatures, so-called monsters, with a particular focus on women’s experiences of them. Sarah Clegg provides thought-provoking insights into a range of beliefs and practices so often overlooked by mainstream history. * Jane Draycott *Woman's Lore is a fascinating exploration of the mythology and trope of the 'demonic woman' that has existed for centuries and persists even today. Thoughtfully researched, it is an empowering and enlightening read. * Catherine Cho *Deftly fuses scholarly rigour, control of literary and archaeological sources, an accessible, entertaining style, wonderful illustrations and a warm-hearted sympathy with women's plight across the centuries * BBC History Magazine *Well-written and engaging.... This combination of the classics and women's lib makes it an enlightening read * The Lady *

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Book SynopsisThroughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives - and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization, and helped make us who we are.

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Book Synopsis''A startling heroine'' SARAH MOSS, author of Summerwater ''A vividly female perspective on the Wars of the Roses'' IMOGEN HERMES GOWER, author of The Mermaid and Mr Hancock''Wolf Hall for the 2020s'' MANDA SCOTT, author of Boudica ''Absorbing'' TIMES __________________________________ 1431 is a dangerous time for a woman to be defiant. England has been fighting France for 100 years. At home, power-hungry men within a corrupt government manipulate a weak king - and name Cecily''s husband, York''s loyal duke, an enemy. As the king''s grasp on sanity weakens, plots to destroy York take root... It will take all of Cecily''s courage and cunning to save her family. But when the will to survive becomes ambition for a crown, will she risk treason to secure it? Inside closed bedchambers and upon bloody battlefields, CECILY portrays war as women fight it.TO COTrade ReviewA startling heroine -- Sarah MossIn vigorous, direct prose Garthwaite grippingly resurrects a remarkable woman * Sunday Times *Utterly compelling, this brilliant novel shines a light into a dark corner of our history and reclaims the voice and story of a powerful and forgotten woman. A phenomenal read. I loved it -- Liz Hyder, author of The GiftsHas the new Hilary Mantel arrived? * Sunday Telegraph *I look forward to hearing more from Annie Garthwaite and Cecily * Times *Cecily is a vivid and compelling portrait of a formidable figure from the 15th century and a heroine for our times * Big Issue *In Garthwaite's hands, Neville proves as Machiavellian, manipulative and era-defining as any man * Noon *Cecily stalks the corridors of power like a female Thomas Cromwell. A vividly female perspective on the Wars of the Roses - what a feat -- Imogen Hermes GowarAn extraordinary achievement . . . I could touch and breathe Cecily's world as if I was walking in her shadow -- Carol McGrathCECILY is the WOLF HALL for the 2020s... marks the start of a stellar career -- Manda ScottI loved it . . . Annie Garthwaite writes about the past with a kind of restrained, earthy vim, and with the sort of intimacy and immediacy - and empathy - that can only come from graft and craft -- Toby Clements

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Book SynopsisIf Women Rose Rooted has been described as both transformative and essential. Sharon Blackie leads the reader on a quest to find their place in the world, drawing inspiration from the wise and powerful women in native mythology, and guidance from contemporary role models who have re-rooted themselves in land and community and taken responsibility for shaping the future. Beautifully written, honest and moving, If Women Rose Rooted is a passionate song to a different kind of femininity, a rallying, feminist cry for the rewilding of womanhood; reclaiming our role as guardians of the land.Trade Review'Mind-blowing. An anthem for all we could be . . . I sincerely hope every woman who can read has the time and space to read it.' Manda Scott | 'Powerful and inspiring.' Melissa Harrison | 'A beautiful, intelligent and unusual book... I'm hoping this book will become the anthem of our generation.' Kate Forsyth | 'It is heartening to read a progressive view of the women's movement and one that links with care for the Earth and all living beings. This book is very well recommended.' GreenSpirit

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Book SynopsisI was supposed to be having the time of my life.When Esther Greenwood wins an internship on a New York fashion magazine in 1953, she is elated, believing she will finally realise her dream to become a writer.

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Book Synopsis"Life in this society being, at best, an utter bore and no aspect of society being at all relevant to women, there remains to civic-minded, responsible, thrill-seeking females only to overthrow the government, eliminate the money system, institute complete automation and destroy the male sex."Outrageous and violent, SCUM Manifesto was widely lambasted when it first appeared in 1968. Valerie Solanas, the woman who shot Andy Warhol, self-published the book just before she became a notorious household name and was confined to a mental institution. But for all its vitriol, it is impossible to dismiss as the mere rantings of a lesbian lunatic. In fact, the work has proved prescient, not only as a radical feminist analysis light years ahead of its time-predicting artificial insemination, ATMs, a feminist uprising against underrepresentation in the arts-but also as a stunning testament to the rage of an abused and destitute woman.In this edition, philosopher Avital Ronell's introduction reconsiders the evocative exuberance of this infamous text.Trade ReviewThe SCUM Manifesto is a document of profound vulnerability, written in a voice of profound empowerment. It's a brutal call to arms, written by a woman in a world of hurt. This tension between powerlessness and power makes it an enduring piece of writing. Never have the personal and the political been so mercilessly zipped together, like little steel teeth. -- Claire Dederer * Nation *Solanas is as relevant today as she was in the 1960s, because nothing much has changed for women. -- Julie Bindel * Spectator *You either happen to think this is a work of unadulterated genius, or you dismiss it as the ravings of a loony psycho-bitch, not understanding that this is exactly what makes it so compelling and so charged with insight. -- Suzanne Moore * New Statesman *Valerie Solanas wrote a very angry and very precise portrait of what she considered the male to be: something between a human and an ape; an unresponsive blob only concerned with physical sensation and without the capacity for empathy or self-knowledge or intimacy, and at the same time full of hatred and jealously and shame and guilt. Her description is beautiful and on some level, I think, entirely accurate. -- Nick CaveIts nihilism is a form of utopia for Solanas, a pre-punk aesthete who fearlessly tossed out ideas that people are just now beginning to raise . As a mixture of social philosophy and fine shtick, her work has the rare virtue of seeming at the same time totally insane and totally right. * Los Angeles Times *As Solanas reminds us, revolutionary ideas don't emerge quietly from the elite stratum of a society; they often bloom from its scum. * Dissent *Articulate, angry and funny. * Guardian *Gleefully incoherent, crackling with energy. * Bookslut *

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Book SynopsisGet ready to start taking charge of your own success.Whether it is through our parents, our education, our bosses, our colleagues, or the media we consume, we are constantly told that being humble is essential to our professional success. It's often seen as distasteful or arrogant to shout about our achievements. But in a modern workplace, where the conventional, steady, linear career path is becoming rarer and rarer, this advice seems ever-more obsolete. In the age of flexible working and portfolio careers, it's time to f*ck being humble.With simple exercises, steps and real-life examples, this is a resource for your bedside table that you can come back to again and again, at any point in your career. Learn how to: Know what you stand for Stop hiding (even when you don’t realise you are) Fully realise the power of networking Know your self-worth Play the money game and win Manage your emotions at work Take action and establish the right time to make the leap Keep the momentum you’ve generated going and maintain that elusive work-life balance Trade ReviewThis book is a toolkit to help you overcome your fears, with exercises on how to build self-worth, and how to play the money game - and win! * Cosmopolitan *

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Book Synopsis'There can be a perverse pleasure, as well as a sense of rightness and beauty, in insisting on flowering just when the world expects you to become quiet and diminish.' Sharon Blackie What is Hagitude? It means being at ease with the unique power women embody in the second half of their life. It means having a strong sense of who we are and what we have to offer the world. And a firm belief in our place in the ever-shifting web of life. For the woman who wishes to flourish without chasing eternal youth comes Hagitude. Interweaving myth, psychology, landscape and ecofeminism, acclaimed author Sharon Blackie reclaims the mid years as an alchemical moment - from which to shift into your chosen, authentic and fulfilling future - and the elder years as a path to dynamic influence. 'A fascinating book ... well researched, packed with stories and bursting with lovely descriptions of the natural world. There's plenty in it to inspire women of every age.' Christina Patterson, Sunday TimesTrade Review'Hagitude is already becoming a beloved cult classic, as a myth-infused manifesto for the possibilities for life from middle age onwards.' - Katherine May, author of Wintering; 'Hagitude is a fascinating book. It's well researched, packed with stories and bursting with lovely descriptions of the natural world. There's plenty in it to inspire women of every age.' - Christina Patterson, The Sunday Times; 'Hagitude has the power to change lives. By sharing her personal story alongside potent female figures from myth and history, Sharon Blackie offers us a rich and exciting vision of how we can grow into a more connected and creative second half of life. Full of fierce energy, this is a book that acts like a ration of courage, of purpose.' - Tanya Shadrick, author of The Cure for Sleep; 'Like all Blackie's works it is erudite, wise, passionate and empowering - a feast and a joy of a book.' - Sophie Anderson, author of The House on Chicken Legs

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Book SynopsisWhen Chris Kraus, an unsuccessful artist pushing 40, spends an evening with a rogue academic named Dick, she falls madly and inexplicably in love, enlisting her husband in her haunted pursuit. Dick proposes a kind of game between them, but when he fails to answer their letters Chris continues alone, transforming an adolescent infatuation into a new form of philosophy. Blurring the lines of fiction, essay and memoir, Chris Kraus's novel was a literary sensation when it was first published in 1997. Widely considered to be the most important feminist novel of the past two decades, I Love Dick is still essential reading; as relevant, fierce and funny as ever.Trade ReviewI know there was a time before I read Chris Kraus's I Love Dick (in fact, that time was only five years ago), but it's hard to imagine; some works of art do this to you. They tear down so many assumptions about what the form can handle (in this case, what the form of the novel can handle) that there is no way to re-create your mind before your encounter with them -- Sheila HetiThe intelligence and honesty and total originality of Chris Kraus make her work not just great but indispensable - especially now, when everything is so confusing, so full of despair. I read everything Chris Kraus writes; she softens despair with her brightness, and with incredible humor, too. -- Rachel KushnerI Love Dick is a classic. Here pain is the aphrodisiac and distance is the muse. Unrequited love is transformed into a fascinating book of ideas. -- Zoe PilgerEver since I read I Love Dick, I have revered it as one of the most explosive, revealing, lacerating and unusual memoirs ever committed to the page ... I Love Dick is never a comfortable read, and it is by turns exasperating, horrifying, and lurid, but it is never less than genuine, and often completely illuminating about the life of the mind. -- Rick MoodyI Love Dick is written in a clear prose capable of theoretical clarity, descriptive delicacy, articulate rage and melancholic longing * White Review *Tart, brazen and funny ... a cautionary tale, I Love Dick raises disturbing but compelling questions about female social behavior, power, control * Nation *For years before I read it, I kept hearing about Chris Kraus's I Love Dick. I mainly heard about it from smart women who liked to talk about their feelings ... I didn't understand exactly what it was, but it had an allure, like whispers about a dance club that only opened under the full moon, or an underground bar you needed a password to get into ... then I read it. I was nearly two decades late to the party - I Love Dick came out in 1997 - but I loved the party anyway. I was finally part of it, and it made me feel even more part of it - part of something ... I was holding white-hot text in my hands -- Leslie Jamison * New Yorker *I Love Dick is one of the most important books about being a woman ... Friends speak of Kraus's work in the same breathless and conspiratorial way they discuss Elena Ferrante's novels of female friendship set in Naples. The clandestine clubbishness that envelopes women who've read and immersed themselves in the texts shows how little female desire, anger and vulnerability is accurately and confidently explored in literature and culture ... the book reveals far deeper truths than standard and uncomplicated love plots tend to. -- Dawn Foster * Independent *This is the most important book written about men and women written in the last century... why is this revolutionary 18-year-old book finding its biggest audience only now? The answer lies in its own pages, when Kraus writes that "who gets to speak, and why, is the only question". In the last half a decade, women have been permitted to speak in a different way than before; women artists who use details of their own lives in their work are not as easily dismissed as they once were. The internet enables hordes of frightened, anonymous men to try to silence women via harassment and shaming, but it has also enabled our voices to be heard on a grander scale, with fewer intermediaries, than ever before. We are able to write our own letters to Dick now, and to publish them widely: to tell Dick exactly what we think of him, whether he likes it or not.This book will only become more relevant. Its time is now - and now, and now, for the rest of eternity. -- Emily Gould * Guardian *This book comes with a reputation, though it's not the one you might expect from the title, which leaps from the gorgeous, faux-innocent cover. Chris Kraus's "novel" was first published in the US in 1997 and has become recognised as both an influential feminist text and a key intervention in the debate over where life-writing ends and fiction begins ... What remains so brilliant about the book is the real, useful thought that Kraus builds out of her romantic fantasy ... You can call it a novel, then, but it's as a philosophical and cultural critique that I Love Dick bites hardest. -- Jonathan Gibbs * Independent *Read this on the bus - we dare you * Sunday Times Style *One of the most important feminist novels of the past two decades - -- Eva Wiseman * Observer Magazine *A joyful riposte to all those stories in which clever women fall victim to the pressures of convention - from The Yellow Wallpaper to The Bell Jar and beyond - and also to the countless books by men in which women are crushed by romantic encounters: from Madame Bovary to Anna Karenina to Laclos's epistolatory Les Liaisons Dangereuses and André Breton's autofiction, Nadja ... What makes now the right moment to publish Kraus's debut novel for the first time in the UK, after 18 years? There is a hint of retrospective gratitude: without Kraus, we might not have had the philosophers in high heels of Zoe Pilger's Eat My Heart Out, or Susana Medina's Philosophical Toys. Without her challenge to what she called "the 'serious' contemporary hetero-male novel ... a thinly veiled Story of Me", Sheila Heti might never have asked How Should a Person Be?, and Ben Lerner might never have written Leaving the Atocha Station. A whole generation of writers owes her ... You can get high on the book's passion, its humour, on the creation of a still-fresh style that not only says new things about female experience, but is able simultaneously to comment, tongue-in-cheek, on how this experience has been written, filmed and made into art. Kraus writes with an elegance that includes enough rough edges to make I Love Dick a game for real. - -- Joanna Walsh * Guardian *A literary must-have accessory, a relentlessly clever-clever book at fits neatly into the radical space recently opened up by semi-autobiographical novelists such as Nell Zink and Elena Ferrante ... It has some hugely arresting things to say about women's relationships with creative self-determination. -- Claire Allfree * Metro *The skill of the book allows the reader to enter into the fantasy (the one sex scene is torturous, but hot) while knowing it's destructive and one-sided. Chris recognises how vulnerable - ridiculous even - infatuation has made her. But she glories in the surrender ... This is a brilliant, experimental rollercoaster of a book ... there's something radical about a woman who pushes herself to the edge, finally to recover. -- Liz Hoggard * Observer *Genre-defying and dare I say it seminal ... It has possibly even more to tell us now than it did on first publication - or perhaps we're just more ready to hear it ... I Love Dick is one of the most important books about the limited ways in which women are permitted to speak. -- Lauren Elkin * TLS *I Love Dick is a wonderful catalogue of contradiction and desire, which benefits from the flexible and imaginative excess of its starting point: infatuation. It's also extremely funny and frantically absorbing. -- Anakana Schofield * Irish Times *A formidable novel of ideas * New Statesman *As important as Mrs Dalloway or The Bell Jar * Elle *What I Love Dick is really about is chaotic female sexuality and the ethics of using your life in your work ... it is soaked in feminist rage -- Hadley Freeman * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisThe multi-award-winning meditation on survival, care and the place of literature in an unequal world''Around that time my daughter and I had this exchange:Anne, imagine if the world had nothing in it.Do you mean nothing at all - just darkness - or a world without objects?I mean a world without things: no houses, chairs, or cars. A world with only people and trees and dirt.What do you think would happen?People would make things. We would make things with trees and dirt.''When the cold comes, when our needs announce themselves, it is with clothing, with possessions, in literature, through dreams - in all the forms and categories that shape, contain and constrain - that we keep ourselves alive. Yet, in a society in which some are rich and some are poor, who gets to dream, and who invents our forms? This is a book made of money and the lack of money; of writing and of not-writing; of illness and of care;

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Book SynopsisFrom one of the great thinkers and writers of our time, comes the unmissable final instalment in Deborah Levy''s critically acclaimed ''Living Autobiography''.''A beautifully crafted and thought-provoking snapshot of a life'' The Evening Standard_________________________________''I began to wonder what myself and all unwritten and unseen women would possess in their property portfolios at the end of their lives. Literally, her physical property and possessions, and then everything else she valued, though it might not be valued by society. What might she claim, own, discard and bequeath? Or is she the real estate, owned by patriarchy? In this sense, Real Estate is a tricky business. We rent it and buy it, sell and inherit it - but we must also knock it down.''Following the critical acclaim of Things I Don''t Want to Know and The Cost of Living, this final volume of Deborah Levy''s ''Living Autobiography'' is an exhilarating, thought-provoking and boldly intimate meditation on home and the spectres that haunt it._________________________________''Real Estate is a book to dive into. Come on in, the water''s lovely'' The Daily Telegraph''Her reflections on domesticity, freedom and romance are so beautiful, I found myself underlining multiple sentences a page. Wry, warm and uplifting, it''s a book I''ll return to again and again'' Stylist''[Levy''s living autobiography series is] a glittering triple echo of books that are as much philosophical discourse as a manifesto for living and writing'' Financial TimesTrade ReviewA beautifully crafted and thought-provoking snapshot of a life * Evening Standard *One of those wise books where you want to underline every sentence * Good Housekeeping *Her reflections on domesticity, freedom and romance are so beautiful, I found myself underlining multiple sentences a page. Wry, warm and uplifting, it's a book I'll return to again and again. * Stylist *The narrator of Real Estate is drily funny, irreverent, curious, even wise; she makes the reader want her for a companion . . . each of the books [in Levy's living autobiography series] bears several re-readings; together, they offer one version of how a woman might continually rewrite her own story. * The Observer *Levy is experimenting with language in subversive ways * Literary Review *This is a work about what it means to be a writer: its reinventions, isolations, self-interrogations, its shifting penury and riches, both emotional and financial. . . [Levy's living autobiography series is] a glittering triple echo of books that are as much philosophical discourse as a manifesto for living and writing. * Financial Times *Lyrical sentences come naturally, full of cadence . . . She's particularly touching on the love between mothers and daughters, and funny too . . . Real Estate is a book to dive into. Come on in, the water's lovely. * Daily Telegraph *Her voice - at once jokey and elliptical - is so casually intimate that it feels like catching up with an old friend . . . In three moving memoirs, Levy has perfectly fused the act of writing with the art of living. * i *Levy's intellectual energy is as frenetic as [the] dance floor, her memoirs a string of disparate pearls that entwine travelogue with philosophy and memory with literature * i *Expect fierce prose and bold meditations on what it means to be a woman. * Red *

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Book SynopsisThe first in Deborah Levy's essential three-part 'Living Autobiography' on writing and womanhood. 'Unmissable. Like chancing upon an oasis, you want to drink it slowly . . . Subtle, unpredictable, surprising' Guardian _________________________________ Taking George Orwell's famous essay, 'Why I Write', as a jumping-off point, Deborah Levy offers her own indispensable reflections of the writing life. With wit, clarity and calm brilliance, she considers how the writer must stake claim to that contested territory as a young woman and shape it to her need. Things I Don't Want to Know is a work of dazzling insight and deep psychological succour, from one of our most vital contemporary writers. The final two instalments in Deborah Levy's 'Living Autobiography', The Cost of Living and Real Estate, are available now. _________________________________ 'Superb sTrade ReviewAn up-to-date version of 'A Room of One's Own' . . . I suspect it will be quoted for many years to come * Irish Examiner *Superb sharpness and originality of imagination. It is feminist and political while being an inspiring work of writing . . . She writes on the high wire, unfalteringly -- Marina WarnerLevy's strength is her originality of thought and expression -- Jeanette WintersonAn exciting writer, sharp and shocking as the knives her characters wield * Sunday Times *One of the few contemporary British writers comfortable on a world stage * New Statesman *A writer whose anger and confusion in the face of the world transform into poetic flights of fancy . . . which always feel marvellously right * Independent *

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Book Synopsis''One of the most influential non-fiction books of the twentieth century'' The New York TimesWhen Betty Friedan produced The Feminine Mystique in 1963, she could not have realized how the discovery and debate of her contemporaries'' general malaise would shake up society. Victims of a false belief system, these women were following strict social convention by loyally conforming to the pretty image of the magazines, and found themselves forced to seek meaning in their lives only through a family and a home. Friedan''s controversial book about them - and every woman - would ultimately set Second Wave feminism in motion and begin the battle for equality. This groundbreaking and life-changing work remains just as powerful, important and true as it was nearly fifty years ago, and is essential reading both as a historical document and as a study of women living in a man''s world.Trade ReviewFeminism ... began with the work of a single person: Friedan * Nicholas Lemann *

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Book SynopsisAn unmissable essay from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Don't Touch My Hair and What White People Can Do Next 'A magnificent text' KATY HESSEL 'This is so sharp, and funny, and will be so generously liberating for so many - read it!' KATHERINE RUNDELL 'A must-read' PSYCHOLOGIES For too long, beauty has been entangled in the forces of patriarchy and capitalism: objectification, shame, control, competition and consumerism. We need to find a way to do beauty differently. This radical, deeply personal and empowering essay points to ways we can all embrace our unruly beauty and enjoy our magnificent, disobedient bodies. 'This call to joyful disobedience is proof that Dabiri is one of our most important thinkers and writers ... Fresh, new and important' IRISH TIMES 'Radical, incisive, thoughtful ... I can't recommend enough' VICKY SPRATTTrade ReviewThis is the book we have needed . . . her pièce de resistance, a clarion call for us to reconsider the entire contemporary concept of beauty . . . empowering -- Best New Books in October * Glamour *Wonderful. I love all Emma Dabiri's work, for its insistence on nuance, on praxis, on scholarship, on the necessity of human joy. This is so sharp, and funny, and will be so generously liberating for so many - read it! -- Katherine RundellA magnificent text -- Katy HesselA polemic that offers liberating solutions. This call to joyful disobedience is proof that Dabiri is one of our most important thinkers and writers. Throughout Disobedient Bodies, as in her previous books, Emma Dabiri displays her ability to convey complicated ideas in an accessible, elegant way ... Feminists have been examining beauty standards and the ways in which our bodies are policed for a long time now, but Emma Dabiri's new book still feels fresh, new and important * The Irish Times *A must-read . . . Dabiri writes with empowering enthusiasm on alternatives to the way we look at beauty, and encourages us to rebel against current beauty standards * Psychologies *A radical, incisive and thoughtful assessment of beauty - how we conceive of it under capitalism and how we ought to reframe our thinking about it and, by extension - ourselves. I can't recommend ordering a copy enough. Emma is a fantastic writer . . . she always helps me to find new ways of seeing, perhaps she can do that for you too -- Vicky Spratt * The i *Disobedient Bodies grapples with the complicated and messy history of beauty, and how our constantly evolving (yet always unattainable) standards are entrenched in oppressive systems that hold us back . . . Dabiri takes our understanding beyond the surface. It's an essay that calls for a radical reimagination and holistic reclamation of beauty * Dazed *Engagingly written and well researched . . . A powerful read * Independent *Powerful . . . Disobedient Bodies explores the way in which we spend effort and money rectifying our "flaws" . . . to encourage an alternative approach to beauty -- Best New Books to Read in October 2023 * The i *A very important book -- Carol MorleyPraise for What White People Can Do Next -- :Emma is once-in-a-generation clever -- Caitlin MoranGame-changing -- Jason Okundaye * British Vogue *Essential . . . accessible and yet so full of scholarship. Witty, insightful, a must-read -- Owen JonesImpactful . . . a manifesto for meaningful and lasting change. And trust us, once you've picked it up and started reading, you won't want to put it down * Cosmopolitan *Praise for Don't Touch My Hair -- :Groundbreaking . . . I would urge everyone to read it * Guardian *Groundbreaking . . . scintillating -- Bernardine Evaristo * TLS *Fascinating, educational, personal, humble and engaging. I urge you all to read it! -- Marian Keyes

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Book Synopsis*This book is published in the USA with the title HAVING IT ALL*''This is a book for evey woman. Optimistic and hopeful.'' PHILIPPA GREGORY''A passionate, provocative case for change.'' ADAM GRANTIT''S NOT IN YOUR HEAD. IT''S IN THE DATA.To be a woman today is to be overwhelmed from every angle. The data proves that the odds are still stacked against us - biologically, culturally, economically. But that same data can empower us to make choices that will reclaim our time, energy and help us find joy.In Femonomics, economist Corinne Low explodes the myths about what makes women successful and happy such as:- What if flexible working isn''t the answer, and we actually need more boundaries?- What if the gender happiness gap was as important as the gender pay gap? - What if you had the power to prioritise things you actually value, rather than the things that other people value?- What if being more ''successful'' actually meant putting family before work?Femonomics gives you the tools to design the life you want. It will teach you how to turn your time into money, how to work out what you value, how to invest in the right partner, how to plan your career at every stage, how to organise your family life - and ultimately how to make the world work for you.

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Book SynopsisNERO BOOK AWARDS WINNER 2023WINNER, NON FICTION BOOK 2023, BOOKS ARE MY BAG AWARDSSHORTLIST, BOOKSHOP.ORG INDIE CHAMPIONSSHORTLIST, AMAZON NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEARSHORTLIST, GOODREADS CHOICE BOOK OF THE YEARAudible Books of the Year 2023The Times Books of the Year 2023Apple Best Audiobooks of 2023BOOKSHOP.ORG Book of the Month January 2024THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER'I tore through this hilarious, smart, sad, revealing book' - Bob Odenkirk'Funny, sharp and has incredible clarity' - Jon Ronson'An absolute riot. I'm literally going to read it again once I've finished, and I'm a miserable bastard...it's a belter' - FRANKIE BOYLE'Strong Female Character is a testament to the importance of self-knowledge.' - Rachael Healy, The GuardianA summary of my book:1. I'm diagnosed with autism 20 years after telling a doctor I had it.2. My terrible Catholic childhood: I hate my parents etc.3. My friendship with an elderly man who runs the corner shop and is definitely not trying to groom me. I get groomed.4. Homelessness.5. Stripping.6. More stripping but with more nervous breakdowns.7. I hate everyone at uni and live with a psycho etc.8. REDACTED as too spicy.9. After everyone tells me I don't look autistic, I try to cure my autism and get addicted to Xanax.10. REDACTED as too embarrassing.'Fern's book, like everything she does, is awesome. Incredibly funny, and so unapologetically frank that I feel genuinely sorry for her lawyers.' - PHIL WANG'Of course it's funny - it's Fern Brady - but this book is also deeply moving and eye-opening'- ADAM KAY'It made me laugh out loud and broke my heart and made me weep...I hope absolutely everyone reads this, and it makes them kinder and more curious about the way we all live' - DAISY BUCHANAN'Glorious. Frank but nuanced, a memoir that doesn't sacrifice voice or self-awareness. And it has brilliant things to say about being autistic and being funny' - ELLE MCNICOLL'A set text for all of us in 2023' - DEBORAH FRANCES-WHITE'Fern is a brilliant, beautiful writer with a unique voice and even more unique story. Astute, honest and very, very funny.' - LOU SANDERS'So funny and brilliant' - HOLLY SMALE'Witty, dry, and gimlet-eyed, Strong Female Character is a necessary corrective. Brady offers a compelling, messy, highly resonant portrait of what masked Autism feels like.' - Devon Price, author of Unmasking AutismTrade ReviewOf course it's funny - it's Fern Brady - but this book is also deeply moving and eye-opening -- ADAM KAYIt made me laugh out loud and broke my heart and made me weep...I hope absolutely everyone reads this, and it makes them kinder and more curious about the way we all live -- DAISY BUCHANANGlorious. Frank but nuanced, a memoir that doesn't sacrifice voice or self-awareness. And it has brilliant things to say about being autistic and being funny -- ELLE MCNICOLLFern is a brilliant, beautiful writer with a unique voice and even more unique story. Astute, honest and very, very funny. -- LOU SANDERSSo funny and brilliant -- HOLLY SMALEAn absolute riot. I'm literally going to read it again once I've finished, and I'm a miserable bastard...it's a belter -- FRANKIE BOYLEFern Brady's book is alive in your hands. Brave doesn't cover it and I'm not sure what will. Fizzing with intelligence, it will hit you in the heart, lungs and liver. You'll laugh, cry, be still and if you're not autistic - by god you'll learn. If you are autistic you'll be seen, heard, held, rocked and loved here. A set text for all of us in 2023 * DEBORAH FRANCES-WHITE *Strong Female Character is a testament to the importance of self-knowledge. Fern Brady is a natural and engaging writer, weaving bleak episodes with moments of pure comedy as she re-appraises crucial moments in her life through the lens of her autism diagnosis. Brutal honesty and a talent for storytelling combine to make an insightful memoir that's not only very funny, but will no doubt provide invaluable moments of recognition for many readers. * RACHAEL HEALY, The Guardian *Witty, dry, and gimlet-eyed, Strong Female Character is a necessary corrective. Brady offers a compelling, messy, highly resonant portrait of what masked Autism feels like * Devon Price, author of Unmasking Autism *This Bathgate girl has more jaw-dropping tales to share than your average comedian-cum-author could hope to harvest in a lifetime. Perhaps more of us ought to grapple with our own mortality if it births something so bold as Strong Female Character. * The List *Strong Female Character will reassure fellow autistic folk that they are not alone * Chortle *Shocking and incredibly moving - and it will make you laugh at subjects that you didn't think you possibly could * Scotland on Sunday *A brutal, funny and heartbreaking memoir. The pace is brisk and her deadpan humour makes the darkest material hilariously funny. -- Marianne Power * The Times *Brilliant! -- Sarah Atkinson, CEO Social Mobility Foundation * HR Magazine *This very personal account of bullying, stripping, homelessness and stand-up is shocking and incredibly moving - and will make you laugh at subjects that you didn't realise could be funny. -- Kirsty McLuckie * i Paper *[Brady] brings unsparing wit to a memoir that calls out the bulls--t in every culture she's experienced. -- Helen Brown * The Telegraph *Strong Female Character is a clear-eyed, deeply sane account of an at times tumultuous life; a life shaped by class and gender, but mostly, it's now clear to her, by her autism. * The Herald *

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Book SynopsisOn the 25th anniversary of the Scottish Parliament, this book captures an important moment in contemporary history: how a grassroots women''s movement, harking back to the suffragettes and second wave feminists of the 1970s and 1980s, took on the political establishment - and changed the course of history.Through a collection of over thirty essays and photographs, some of the women involved tell the story of the five-year campaign to protect women''s sex-based rights. Author J.K. Rowling explains why she used her global reach to stand up for women. Leading SNP MP Joanna Cherry writes of how she risked her political career for her beliefs. Survivors of male violence who MSPs refused to meet are given the voice they were denied at Holyrood. Ash Regan MSP recounts what it was like to become the first government minister to resign on a question of principle since the SNP came to power in 2007. Former prison governor Rhona Hotchkiss charts how changes in prison policy in Scotlan

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Book SynopsisWhat should a metropolis for working women look like? A city of friendships beyond Sex and the City. A transit system that accommodates mothers with strollers on the school run. A public space with enough toilets. A place where women can walk without harassment. Through history, personal experience and popular culture Leslie Kern exposes what is hidden in plain sight: the social inequalities are built into our cities, homes, and neighbourhoods. She maps the city from new vantage points, laying out a feminist intersectional approach to urban histories and proposes that the city is perhaps also our best hope for shaping a new urban future. It is time to dismantle what we take for granted about cities and to ask how we can build more just, sustainable, and care-full cities together.Trade ReviewThis original study of the gendering processes occurring in the neoliberal city is a significant addition to scholarly debate on cities and gender. Empirically grounded in the intricacies of the condo market in Toronto, it both adds to, and updates, the pathbreaking work around gendered critical urban analysis. An accessible and incisive text that will no doubt instigate future discussions -- Loretta Lees, Cities Group, Department of Geography, King’s College, London * [for Sex and the Revitalised City] *Cities aren't built to accommodate female bodies, female needs, female desires. In this rich, engaging book the feminist geographer Leslie Kern envisions how we might transform the "city of men" into a city for everyone. Let's all move there immediately.' Lauren Elkin, author of Flaneuse -- Lauren Elkin, author of Flaneuse[An] insightful scholarly work ... This provocative analysis will resonate with theoretically minded feminists. * Publishers Weekly *An optimistic, pragmatic book, which points to already extant solutions and looks forward to a more just, joyous urban future. -- Stephanie Sy-Quia * Tribune *Kern resists drawing a blueprint for a new master-planned feminist city. Instead, she believes we ought to take a closer look at how cities perpetuate inequality from the perspective of race, gender, ability, and class. -- Diana Budds * Curbed *An intersectional analysis of our urban environments through a combination of personal narrative, theory, and pop culture analysis. -- Leilah Stone * Metropolis Magazine *[Feminist City] examines the city's paradoxical ability to oppress and emancipate-how an environment teeming with gendered inconvenience, racial discrimination, and sexual violence can also be a locus of queer independence, community care, and emancipatory feminist world-making. ... Heavily researched but accessibly written, the book is a dynamic mix of high and low, facts and feelings, research and reality. * Hazlitt *Kern delves into the interlocking inequalities and systems of oppression that take concrete shape in cities, using an intersectional feminist approach to explore the gendered aspects of urban space...an enjoyable and accessible book that not only contributes to urban feminist geography, but to urban planning and policy more broadly * LSE Review of Books *[Feminist City is] a small but provocative book. It is both an introduction to feminist geography and to modern feminism, with its multiple meanings and numerous contradictions. ... In a world where the male gaze is so often the only gaze considered, so much so [that] most people don't even think of it as being gendered in any way, Feminist City is revelatory. -- Ron Jacobs * CounterPunch *Looking through the lens of geography, pop culture and public and personal history, the book exposes how female bodies are ostracised in urban spaces. * Refinery29 *There should be more books like this...Feminist City is wide-ranging and sophisticated, brief and engaging. * ICON Magazine *Kern [wants] to envi­sion a more inclu­sive city that con­sid­ers the phys­i­cal and cul­tur­al needs of its most mar­gin­al­ized mem­bers. -- Apoorva Tadepalli * In These Times *[Kern] introduces readers to a number of different ways the city is at once emancipatory and endangering. She deploys an intersectional lens to explore such themes as mobility, protest, adolescence, and friendship, weaving together an impressive array of sources from academic writings and popular culture (Doreen Massey appears alongside Two Dope Queens). -- Sophie Gonick * Public Books *

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Book SynopsisA landmark, incendiary collection from one of the leading essayists working today. Inspiring everyone from radical activists to Beyoncé Knowles, Rebecca Solnit's essay 'Men Explain Things to Me' has become a touchstone of the feminist movement and established her as one of the leading thinkers of our time. Here it is collected along with the best of Solnit's feminist writings. From French sex scandals to the nuclear family, rape culture to mansplaining, Virginia Woolf to colonialism, these essays are a fierce and incisive exploration of the issues that a patriarchal culture will not necessarily acknowledge as 'issues' at all. With grace, wit and energy, and in the most exquisite and inviting of prose, Rebecca Solnit proves herself a vital leading figure of the feminist movement and a radical, humane thinker. 'Solnit is a compelling writer with a glorious turn of phrase' Evening StandardTrade ReviewWhat has always impressed me in Solnit's writing is the simple cadence and timbre of a sentence, a paragraph, the way a whole essay lilts and skips. She is not one of the most important female essayists of her generation. She is one of the most important essayists of her generation. Incendiary, indignant, and true -- Stuart Kelly * Scotland on Sunday *[A] trenchant collection of essays... an eloquent reminder that we still have some way to go when it comes to speaking of the issues Solnit raises -- Erica Wagner * Financial Times *Stark and powerful prose... Solnit is a compelling writer with a glorious turn of phrase -- Rosamund Urwin * Evening Standard *[These essays] are the thin edge of a continuum that reaches from the opening anecdote to the rape and murder statistics that she deploys to such devastating effect. Solnit's book does what the best feminist writing does: it makes me angry. And it makes me believe we can, and we must, fight for change -- Caroline Criado-Perez, feminist activistExceptional... The feminist debate has once again exploded into the mainstream over the last few years, and this collection marks Solnit out as among the most thoughtful of many energetic writers leading it -- Jessica Abrahams * Prospect *Essays on feminism from the consistently wonderful author of The Faraway Nearby. Anything she writes is a must-read * Bookseller *Solnit is a brilliant essayist... A highly enjoyable and thought-provoking read -- Patrick Neale * Bookseller *A necessary read... Solnit writes powerfully * Flavourwire *Essential reading for anyone - feminist or not, male or female - who wants to fight for equality across all fronts * Gazette, Western Mail, Swindon Advertiser and Leicester Mercury *The essays fiercely confront crime against women... Solnit has a voice of fearless and provocative asperity; she launches a quiverful of aphoristic arrows -- Stevie Davies * Independent *A revolt championing the cause of women... [Solnit's] work feels both timeless and timely. She argues persuasively, is often funny and is articulate to a fault... [her] writing is its own victory and revolt. An incendiary, inquiring and important work -- Sinead Gleeson * Irish Times *Essential reading for anyone - feminist or not, male or female * Irish Examiner *The most clarifying, soothing and socially aware document I've read on the topic this year. Not to mention funny -- Lena Dunham 'Book of the year' * Wall Street Journal *

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Book SynopsisEvery Thursday morning in a living room in Iran, over tea and pastries, eight women meet in secret to discuss forbidden works of Western literature. As they lose themselves in the worlds of Lolita, The Great Gatsby and Pride and Prejudice, gradually they come to share their own stories, dreams and hopes with each other, and, for a few hours, taste freedom. Azar Nafisi''s bestselling memoir is a moving, passionate testament to the transformative power of books, the magic of words and the search for beauty in life''s darkest moments.Trade ReviewEngrossing, fascinating, stunning -- Margaret AtwoodI was enthralled and moved -- Susan SontagAnyone who has ever belonged to a book group must read this book -- Geraldine BrooksVivid, often heroic and sometimes funny ... Nafisi's rather wonderful book touches a beauty of its own -- Paul Allen * Guardian *Remarkable ... an eloquent brief on the transformative power of fiction * The New York Times *

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewFunny, fierce and feminist; this is a refreshing romp through Greek mythology. Bea Fitzgerald draws on her extensive knowledge to create this imaginative retelling, turning everything we think we know about Persephone and Hades upside down and recasting them as the stars of this unexpected, meticulously researched, empowering rom-com. * Jennifer Saint, Sunday Times bestselling author of Ariadne *Girl, Goddess, Queen is simply divine. Bea has woven a classic myth with an electrifying romance and a witty, fiercely modern twist. Beautifully written, utterly glorious, and fabulously powerful, this is a definite must-read that should be at the top of everyone's TBR pile! * Beth Reekles, bestselling author of The Kissing Booth *A captivating debut! Girl, Goddess, Queen is an incredibly fun and wonderfully crafted reimagining of a beloved myth - bringing to life timeless gods, the complex intimacy of family bonds, a fierce protagonist, and a passionate slow-burn romance. * Sue Lynn Tan, Sunday Times bestselling author of Daughter of the Moon Goddess. *Girl Goddess Queen is a richly woven, gloriously funny and deeply swoony exploration of the Hades & Persephone myth, and I'm so excited for everyone to discover the marvellous talent that is Bea Fitzgerald. * Lizzie Huxley-Jones, author of Make You Mine This Christmas *A fresh feminist take on a classic myth, Girl, Goddess, Queen is ripe with yearning, humour and wit. * Rosie Talbot, author of Sixteen Souls *A clever and fresh feminist retelling that pulses with beauty and life. * Anna Waterworth, author of The Girl Who Grew Wings *

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