MISSY

“Dol McQueen is a sensational character and a captivating narrator.” The Herald

After finishing his novel of the American West, Chris Hannan sent it to just one publisher, HarperCollins in New York, where Courtney Hodell read it and bought it.

"The voice was wonderful," Courtney Hodell says. "That was the immediate attraction. I loved Dol McQueen’s savage and seductive company and the crazy abandon of her career as a ‘flash-girl’ in the Wild West. But the heart of the story is her relationship with her mother. It’s wonderfully subtle. On the one hand Dol loves her mother and desperately wants to help her. But she has a suppressed fury toward her too. It’s an interesting battle that goes on inside her. I loved it so much that when I moved from HarperCollins to Farrar, Straus & Giroux I took the title with me."

Literary agent Jonny Geller of Curtis Brown took Hannan on as a client and sent Missy to Rebecca Carter at Chatto & Windus.

"I was about to go off to France on holiday with my young family when Missy arrived. I was exhausted and in need of a complete break but I stuffed the unread manuscript in my luggage, a bit resentful to be taking work with me. After the first page I couldn't put it down. Dol is such a great anti-heroine; at first she's just very funny and great company but then you start to worry for her and hurt for her. She's wonderful. When I came back from France, we got into an auction for the book. The whole office cheered when we won it."

“Perhaps it’s unsurprising that an award-winning playwright should have excelled in the creation of a character’s voice, or that so much of the success of this debut novel should depend on that voice. But from the gorgeously sassy opening, it is surprising how winning, and how powerful, the voice of Dol McQueen actually is.” The Independent

For media requests and publicity inquiries in the UK contact Lisa Gooding Publicity Manager Harvill Secker and Chatto & Windus LGooding@randomhouse.co.uk 20 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 2SA

For media requests and publicity inquiries in the US contact Kathy Daneman Publicity Manager Farrar, Straus & Giroux kathy.daneman@fsgbooks.com 212.206.5325

 

 

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