One Woman Show

Thrilling… filled with twists in Kitty’s story that compel and captivate… the experimental format carries an enjoyable tale impressively… each wall label is under seventy-five words, and suffused with the language of museums… this style refines eloquently Coulson’s expansive ideas about womanhood and history – Laura Baliman * TLS *
Wildly original…[A] tiny but powerful novel… It’s sometimes snarky, sometimes sad, with enough poignant moments to make me wish it could go on and on. … You can sit down and read it in less time than it takes to drive to the art museum, but you’ll be thinking about it for far longer. If you appreciate truly original structure and storytelling, put this modern masterwork on your reading list. * NPR *
Strange, biting, tender, and heartbreaking in turns. AND all at once … I read it in one fell swoop. It is brilliant – Maira Kalman * author of Women Holding Things *
A funny and clever take on the interchangeability of women and works of arts as possessions – Philip Hook * author of Breakfast at Sotheby’s *
Beautiful, beautiful book … the cover is absolutely gorgeous, it would make a delicious Christmas gift * Art Juice Podcast *
Coulson tells us Kitty Whitaker’s story stylishly and succinctly through label-length entries * Harper’s Bazaar *
Compulsive and spry – Hephzibah Anderson * the Observer *
Coulson’s formally inventive, witty novel uses gallery captions to capture Kitty’s journey through the 20th century. At once terse and expansive, this is a literary experiment that intrigues – Francesca Peacock * the Mail on Sunday *
A highly original and imaginative work that captivates and intrigues … so brief that it can be read straight through in an hour, but that is not to say it is slight … Coulson’s unusual command of language rewards multiple readings * The Irish Times *
the writing is clever, witty and deftly – and at times poignantly–executed, and that more than earns One Woman Show its coveted red dot (aka sales sticker) from us’ * Marie Claire Best Books of 2023 *

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.

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