Hags

Her book traces the hatred and fear of the middle-aged woman back through history … The greatest joy of Hags is its lively erudition … This eloquent, clever and devastating book describes the last remaining acceptable prejudice, one that is now even posited as progress: the loathing of older women – Janice Turner * The Times *My polemic of the year … a book that could not be more necessary (a sword and a shield) in the current climate – Rachel Cooke * Observer *Riveting, vital and impossible to read without rage – Lissa Evans, author of Old BaggageHags is rich and complex and witty and cleverer than I am. (You’d never get a male reviewer saying that.) I hope it won’t be read only in an echo chamber, by the women who are, as Smith was once called to her delight, ‘a batshit Mumsnet thread made flesh’. I hope it will also be read by young women who think me and the author terrible Terfs and bigots for believing in single-sex spaces; by young anyones; by the middle-aged and the elderly; by any man born of a mother; and by all those who agree with Smith when she writes: ‘I am not frightened of change. I am frightened of things staying the same.’ – Rose George * Spectator *Devastating and clever – Bel Mooney * Daily Mail *Smith makes an impassioned, powerful case … Hags can’t come soon enough’ * Mail on Sunday *Deftly illustrates how ageist misogyny remains an acceptable prejudice and, in laying out the ignominies visited upon middle-aged women, feels justifiably livid – Fiona Sturges * Guardian *A brilliantly witty, engaging and insightful book; a righteous polemic which examines and questions why so much hatred is directed towards middle-aged women - and, crucially, what this means for women today … a punchy, thought-provoking and thoroughly enjoyable read – Eleanor Fleming * Scotsman *

Victoria Smith is a regular contributor to the New Statesman and the Independent, focusing on women’s issues, parenting and mental health. Her newsletter, The OK Karen, about midlife women’s experiences of feminism, was launched last year. She lives in Cheltenham with her family.

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