Kissing Emma

From widely acclaimed comedian and author, Shappi Khorsandi, comes a modern fable about the rise and fall of a beautiful, but vulnerable, young woman in a world obsessed with fame and fortune. Emma and her mother are down on their luck. After getting kicked out of their home by their landlord, they're taking turns sleeping on the sofa in her aunt's tiny flat - and desperately trying to come up with an escape plan. Emma is struggling with her family, struggling at college where the girls are bitchy towards her and the boys only seem to want one thing, and struggling with never having enough money for anything, ever. Just as she's contemplating quitting sixth form to get a real job, she meets two men in her local park who convince her that she has a shot at modelling. But their motives are far from innocent, and Emma is soon pulled into the dark world hidden at the heart of London society's richest and most famous. Kissing Emma is inspired by the real life and untold story of Emma Hamilton, Lord Nelson's mistress. But Shappi Khorsandi's modern Emma is going to get the justice her namesake never did - and stick two fingers up at the men who dare to take advantage of young women while she's doing it. (P) 2021 Hodder & Stoughton Limited