Scabby Queen

‘Gripping and moving. A literary triumph’ Nicola Sturgeon ‘A humane and searching story’ Ian Rankin ‘Kirstin Innes is aiming high, writing for readers in the early days of a better nation’ A.L. Kennedy A NEW STATESMAN BOOK OF THE YEAR • A SCOTSMAN BOOK OF THE YEAR Three days before her fifty-first birthday Clio Campbell – one-hit wonder, political activist, lifelong love and one-night-stand – kills herself in her friend Ruth’s spare bedroom. And, as practical as she is, Ruth doesn’t know what to do. As the news spreads around Clio’s collaborators and comrades, lovers and enemies, the story of her glamorous, chaotic life spreads with it – from the Scottish Highlands to the Genoa G8 protests, from an anarchist squat in Brixton to Top of the Pops. Sifting through half a century of memories and unanswered questions, everyone who thought they know her is forced to ask: who was Clio Campbell? Clio Campbell, a name that echoed through the internet and media, was more than just a one-hit wonder. Her life was a complex process, a blend of fiction and reality, constantly under the scrutiny of the public eye. For fans of Jenni Fagan (The BBC National Short Story Award 2017), Graeme Armstrong (The Young Team), Andrew O'Hagan (Mayflies), Douglas Stuart (Young Mungo), and David F. Ross (Dashboard Elvis is Dead).