One Woman Show (Paperback) - Christine Coulson

MARIE CLAIRE BEST BOOKS OF 2023

'Funny, clever and unexpectedly profound - I couldn't put it down' Helena Attlee

'It is remarkable how much information she can convey about Kitty's life . . . solely using wall labels' Independent

A novel like no other - remarkably told through museum wall labels - about a twentieth-century woman who transforms herself from a precious object into an unforgettable protagonist

Prized, collected, critiqued. One Woman Show revolves around the life of Kitty Whitaker as she is defined by her potential for display and moved from collection to collection through multiple marriages. Christine Coulson, who has written hundreds of exhibition wall labels for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, precisely distils each stage of Kitty's sprawling life into that distinct format, every brief snapshot in time a wry reflection on womanhood, ownership, value and power.

Described with wit, poignancy and humour over the course of the twentieth century, Kitty emerges as an eccentric heroine who disrupts her privileged, porcelain life with both major force and minor transgressions. As human foibles propel each delicately crafted text, Coulson playfully asks: who really gets to tell our stories?

'Heartbreaking and funny . . . truly masterful and patient and insane, in the best way' Leanne Shapton

'Wry, humorous, poignant' Spectator

About the Author

Christine Coulson spent twenty-five years writing for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Her final project was to write wall labels for the museum's new British Galleries. During that time, she dreamt of using the Met's strict label format to describe people as intricate works of art. Her first experiment with this idea described an imaginary woman called Kitty, who became the unlikely protagonist of One Woman Show.