‘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!’
‘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’ ─ Roisín O'Donnell, author of NESTING
‘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
'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
‘I inhaled this consuming and addictive novel about love, artistic agency, and the charged complexities of creation, collaboration and power’─ Francesca Reece, author of GLASS HOUSES
'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
‘Sublime’ ─ Jessica Stanley, author of CONSIDER YOURSELF KISSED
