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Frida Slattery As Herself
'An epic tale of love, ambition and artistic freedom' Stylist
By Ana Kinsella
Table of Contents
About The Book
‘Gorgeous, immersive… both epic and intimate, funny and wise’ Roisín O'Donnell
'Moving, thought-provoking, and utterly delightful’ Elif Batuman
‘Took me back to the way I felt when reading Normal People’ Stylist
‘A sexy, sprawling epic’ Glamour
A BBC Culture Pick for 2026
‘You could probably run cities on the energy generated between directors like him and actresses like her’
When Frida Slattery and John Reddan meet in a Dublin pub in 2005, neither can imagine how they will come to shape and define each other’s lives.
Frida is struggling to launch her acting career, while John is already gaining a name for himself as a director. From the first they see in each other potential and the chance to create work that matters, though the lines between collaboration and exploitation, friendship and desire will prove dangerously slippery.
With the financial crisis looming, the next 16 years takes them from Dublin to London, via New York and LA, and through success and disappointment, joy and heartbreak. Their connection is tested and stretched to the point of rupture, but something remains that outlasts both their work and their own shifting perceptions.
FRIDA SLATTERY AS HERSELF is an unforgettable story of love, artistic collaboration, and two people coming of age, together and apart.
Readers are loving FRIDA SLATTERY
'Totally riveting. A propulsive and compelling story of love, collaboration and all its complexities’
‘Funny and wise with so many interesting ideas about relationships and making art and growing up. Will be great for Sally Rooney readers and for fans of La La Land’
‘I love this book with a passion. These characters feel so real – they are raw, frustrating, flawed, and addictive!’
'An absorbing, wise and honest read… I'll be recommending it to everyone!’ – Lizzy Stewart, author of ALISON and THE WRECK
‘A virtuosic and assured journey through two entwined lives – I was so wholly and breathtakingly invested in each character that I felt genuinely bereft when I was finished. It has such heart and vibrancy, and an abundance of style' – Sophie Mackintosh, author of THE WATER CURE and PERMANENCE
'An expansive, deeply felt love letter to artistic expression, as compelling and ambitious as it is beautifully written. Ana Kinsella handles big themes – power, desire, success – with great subtlety and skill’ - Lisa Owens, author of NOT WORKING and NATURAL DISASTER
'Moving, thought-provoking, and utterly delightful’ Elif Batuman
‘Took me back to the way I felt when reading Normal People’ Stylist
‘A sexy, sprawling epic’ Glamour
A BBC Culture Pick for 2026
‘You could probably run cities on the energy generated between directors like him and actresses like her’
When Frida Slattery and John Reddan meet in a Dublin pub in 2005, neither can imagine how they will come to shape and define each other’s lives.
Frida is struggling to launch her acting career, while John is already gaining a name for himself as a director. From the first they see in each other potential and the chance to create work that matters, though the lines between collaboration and exploitation, friendship and desire will prove dangerously slippery.
With the financial crisis looming, the next 16 years takes them from Dublin to London, via New York and LA, and through success and disappointment, joy and heartbreak. Their connection is tested and stretched to the point of rupture, but something remains that outlasts both their work and their own shifting perceptions.
FRIDA SLATTERY AS HERSELF is an unforgettable story of love, artistic collaboration, and two people coming of age, together and apart.
Readers are loving FRIDA SLATTERY
'Totally riveting. A propulsive and compelling story of love, collaboration and all its complexities’
‘Funny and wise with so many interesting ideas about relationships and making art and growing up. Will be great for Sally Rooney readers and for fans of La La Land’
‘I love this book with a passion. These characters feel so real – they are raw, frustrating, flawed, and addictive!’
'An absorbing, wise and honest read… I'll be recommending it to everyone!’ – Lizzy Stewart, author of ALISON and THE WRECK
‘A virtuosic and assured journey through two entwined lives – I was so wholly and breathtakingly invested in each character that I felt genuinely bereft when I was finished. It has such heart and vibrancy, and an abundance of style' – Sophie Mackintosh, author of THE WATER CURE and PERMANENCE
'An expansive, deeply felt love letter to artistic expression, as compelling and ambitious as it is beautifully written. Ana Kinsella handles big themes – power, desire, success – with great subtlety and skill’ - Lisa Owens, author of NOT WORKING and NATURAL DISASTER
Product Details
- Publisher: Scribner UK (May 7, 2026)
- Length: 400 pages
- ISBN13: 9781398549241
Raves and Reviews
This is a real treat of a novel; a gorgeous, immersive story which manages to be both epic and intimate, funny and wise. It is, among many things, a beautiful portrait of Dublin, and a story about difficult love, the lure of ambition and finding your creative voice. Tender and unexpected, the story of Frida Slattery and John Reddan will stay with me for a very long time’
– Roisin O’Donnell, author of NESTING
‘I inhaled this consuming and addictive novel about love, artistic agency, and the charged complexities of creation, collaboration and power. Frida Slattery and John Reddan will stay with you long after you close the pages of this utterly absorbing debut’
– Francesca Reece, author of GLASS HOUSES
‘An expansive, deeply felt love letter to artistic expression, Frida Slattery As Herself is as compelling and ambitious as it is beautifully written. Ana Kinsella handles big themes – power, desire, success – with great subtlety and skill. I loved it’
– Lisa Owens, author of NOT WORKING and NATURAL DISASTER
‘Sublime'
– Jessica Stanley, author of CONSIDER YOURSELF KISSED
‘Frida Slattery As Herself is a deft, profound, and seemingly effortless portrayal of how a series of artworks – as well as the personal and professional lives of the artists – take shape over fifteen years, spanning the 2008 financial crisis, MeToo, and COVID. Ana Kinsella manages to deliver all the pleasures of a comic-romantic novel, while thinking through a satisfying number of big themes: gender politics and financial precarity, the mysteries of artistic collaboration, and the relentless tug-of-war between freedom and security. Moving, thought-provoking, and utterly delightful’
– Elif Batuman, author of THE IDIOT and EITHER/OR
‘Ana Kinsella writes so well on how the galloping excitement of your twenties makes way for the weighty expectation of your thirties and how relationships that you assumed defined you might, possibly, become a trap you keep falling into. She doesn't shy away from her characters’ spikier tendencies, treating them always as real, deliciously flawed people (which is a thing I love!). It's an absorbing, wise and honest read and I'll be recommending it to everyone!’
– Lizzy Stewart, author of ALISON and THE WRECK
‘An epic tale of love, ambition and artistic freedom… Kinsella paints an intoxicating picture in this standout debut’
– Stylist
‘A great holiday read’
– Kathy Burke
‘A virtuosic and assured journey through two entwined lives – I was so wholly and breathtakingly invested in each character that I felt genuinely bereft when I was finished. It has such heart and vibrancy, and an abundance of style'
– Sophie Mackintosh, author of THE WATER CURE and PERMANENCE
‘Kinsella is particularly alert to the seductions of what might be called a work romance: the thrill of building ideas together, of being seen not just as a person but as potential, material, muse… What sustains Frida Slattery As Herself for 500 pages is its commitment to emotional complexity. Kinsella is interested not only in the drama of the relationship but in its subtler recalibrations as well as the way artistic collaborations can illuminate and obscure emotional truth’
– Johanna Thomas-Corr, Sunday Times
‘Inside the reliable pull of a well-written love story, Frida Slattery As Herself is a skilful, unusual novel – clever, lucid and unexpected in the way of good theatre’
– Anjali Joseph, Guardian, Book of the Day
‘A tale of modern romance forged against the vagaries of a brave new world… In so far as the book is about leaving and being elsewhere, it is a parable of modern Ireland… Kinsella’s players are beautifully portrayed’
– Will Fleming, Literary Review
‘Kinsella’s fascinating tale of the struggle for self-determinism in art and life offers a sharp, beautifully nuanced insight into inspiration, the push and pull of the long ties that bind, and who owes whom what in pursuit of personal and creative freedom’
– Marie Claire
‘A will-they-won’t-they plot propels immersive plotting but they also share a deeper artistic connection, allowing Kinsella to muse with tenderness and wit on ambition, desire and power dynamics’
– Hephzibah Anderson, Mail on Sunday
'Irish author Ana Kinsella follows her acclaimed non-fiction work Look Here with her debut novel… One of the season's most talked-about debuts'
– Aimée Walsh, Mirror
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