‘Brilliant. Christine Coulson’s tragicomedy of manners is an immense delight. Condensed into its witty format is the story of a life, a life like some I have known and others about which I have read. Coulson captures her character’s gentle decline with the precision of Edith Wharton and evokes the eras she traverses with such clarity, even wisdom, describing a woman’s changing (or unchanging) role in the world with an acuity that left this reader astonished time and again’ Andrew Solomon
‘Heartbreaking and funny . . . Coulson’s language is perfection . . . I love the pages of voices, like voices in the galleries, and so many moments made me laugh. Truly masterful and patient and insane, in the best way’ Leanne Shapton
‘Funny, clever and unexpectedly profound – I couldn’t put it down’ Helena Attlee
‘Arch and wholly original, this is a pocket rocket of a novel. The economy with which Coulson manages to capture a life with equal amounts of both vigour and heartbreak is a stunning achievement. An irrepressible and timeless reflection on art, self and female objectification’ Wiz Wharton
‘Wildly original . . . [A] tiny but powerful novel . . . It’s sometimes snarky, sometimes sad, with enough poignant moments to make me wish it could go on and on . . . You can sit down and read it in less time than it takes to drive to the art museum, but you’ll be thinking about it for far longer. If you appreciate truly original structure and storytelling, put this modern masterwork on your reading list’ NPR
‘Strange, biting, tender, and heartbreaking in turns. AND all at once . . . I read it in one fell swoop. It is brilliant’ Maira Kalman
‘A funny and clever take on the interchangeability of women and works of arts as possessions’ Philip Hook
‘A spry novel, chronicling the story of a society dame almost entirely through wall labels. It’s an apt experiment, given that Kitty Whitaker is raised to become a bauble in some future husband’s vitrine . . . compulsive’ Hephzibah Anderson, Observer
‘Beautiful . . . absolutely gorgeous’ Art Juice Podcast
‘Coulson tells us Kitty Whitaker’s story stylishly and succinctly’ Harper’s Bazaar
‘A jewel box of a novel . . . Coulson’s innovative form is the perfect vehicle for her wry commentary on the complexities of seeing and being seen . . . She is gifted at conveying astute observations through small, often humorous details . . . A pleasure to read’ Kirkus Reviews
‘Elegantly wrought . . . Carefully arranged within Coulson’s precisely pointed prose, even strictly rationed words can deliver an abundance of meaning. . . . Her lapidary, impeccably composed labels typically finish with a punchline’ The New Criterion
‘The writing is clever, witty and deftly – and at times poignantly –executed, and that more than earns One Woman Show its coveted red dot (aka sales sticker) from us’ Marie Claire, Books of the Year
‘A short, clever novel that tells the story of a woman over the course of her life in a series of museum wall labels . . . it is remarkable how much information she can convey about Kitty’s life’ Ann Levin, Independent
‘Unconventional . . . non-narrative paragraphs somehow add up to create mounting tension, with wry social commentary, feminist barbs and psychological insight bursting through the lacquered surface’ The Lady
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Christine Coulson spent twenty-five years writing for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Her final project was to write wall labels for the museum’s new British Galleries. During that time, she dreamt of using the Met’s strict label format to describe people as intricate works of art. Her first experiment with this idea described an imaginary woman called Kitty, who became the unlikely protagonist of One Woman Show.
ONE WOMAN SHOW
A Novel Christine Coulson
avid reader press
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First published in the United States of America by Crown by Avid Reader Press, an imprint of Simon and Schuster LLC 2024
First published in Great Britain by Particular Books 2024
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For C. C. & C.
Always stop for beauty.
gar·ni·ture (gär-ni-ch r), n. a set of decorative objects (such as vases or urns)
ONE WOMAN SHOW
Opening October 17, 2023
This exhibition is made possible by gin, taffeta, and stock dividends. Additional support has been provided by quiet fortitude and a sly, necessary wit.
MASTERPIECE, AGED 5, 1911
Caroline Margaret Brooks Whitaker (known as Kitty), b. 1906 Collection of Martha and Harrison Whitaker (known as Minty and Whit)
With arms folded in deliberate contrapposto, Minty and Whit Whitaker observe their daughter, Kitty, positioned in a strip of expensive morning sunlight. The five-year-old knows she is being watched and adjusts herself to advantage. Her glaze glows, enhanced flawlessly by her subtle sculptural design. She is all fireworks, this golden child, a delirious display of Bernini verve and unrivaled WASP artistry.
MANHATTAN CHILD, AGED 6, 1912
Caroline Margaret Brooks Whitaker (known as Kitty)
Collection of Martha and Harrison Whitaker
Kitty and the related examples in her garniture follow the precedent of earlier forms, ignoring the avant-garde of contemporary European movements like Cubism in deference to careful restraint and balanced presentation. Like many society standards of similar manufacture, Kitty’s smooth surfaces and refined proportions borrow from the eighteenthcentury example of Robert Adam’s neoclassical designs. In a small rococo flourish, Kitty likes to steal things.
R. HARRISON BOBBINGTON WHITAKER (KNOWN AS WHIT)
Kitty’s Father, Aged 31, 1912
Ex–Collection of Frances and Barnaby Whitaker (known as Flit and Bobby)
Formed in the Anglophilic taste, Whit Whitaker toggles gently between dandy and daddy. The eldest of four known works from the earlier Whitaker collection, this jardiniere is designed to hold and propagate the Whitaker paper fortune. Embracing a broad range of florid design gestures, he displays a marked preference for the company of younger men. The distinctly handsome qualities of his wife, Minty, are often remarked upon with more than a hint of insinuation.
MARTHA JANE THOMPSON BROOKS WHITAKER
(KNOWN AS MINTY)
Kitty’s Mother, Aged 29, 1912
Ex–Collection of Prudence and Eliot Hay Brooks (known as Bunty and Eli)
A monument to classical rigor, Minty Whitaker improbably personifies the stylistic imperatives of discipline and desire. Eschewing standard modes of adornment, she is purely Mayflower made—all guile, no gilding—making her cash-hungry pairing with Whit Whitaker a predictable coupling of pedigree and prosperity. Minty’s severity and austere silhouette distract from her more lascivious cravings, which consistently extend beyond traditionally acceptable levels.
RIVAL, AGED 7, 1913
Caroline Margaret Brooks Whitaker (known as Kitty)
Collection of Martha and Harrison Whitaker
An awareness of curatorial hierarchy arrives early as Kitty recognizes the limited real estate of any prized pedestal. Critical distinctions are being made, judgments imposed, and rankings adjusted by a collective force that Kitty feels but does not quite understand. Her fellow garniture members all bear the weight of this competition from a young age, the sense of being evaluated to determine who will be the most treasured object among them.
