Want
Dyslexia-friendly Edition
Published on 23. October 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
630 pages
978-1-5266-9427-0 (ISBN)
Description
THE INSTANT NO. 1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
SHORTLISTED FOR THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS BOOK OF THE YEAR
'Want makes for addictive reading . . . compelling' Guardian
'I just loved reading it. It's exceptional' Fearne Cotton, Happy Place
'An empowering project' Stylist
'Extremely sexy . . . Want is the horny manifesto your TBR list will thank you for' Cosmopolitan
What do you want when no one is watching?
What do you want, when the lights are off?
What do you want, when you are anonymous?
When we talk about sex, we talk about womanhood and motherhood, infidelity and exploitation, consent and respect, fairness and egalitarianism, love and hate, pleasure and pain. And yet so many of us don't talk about it at all.
In this groundbreaking book, Gillian Anderson collects and introduces the anonymous sexual fantasies of women from around the world (along with her own anonymous submission). They are all extraordinary: full of desire, fear, intimacy, shame, satisfaction and, ultimately, liberation. From dreaming about someone off-limits to conjuring a scene with multiple partners, from sex that is gentle and tender to passionate and playful, from women who have never had sex to women who have had more sex than they can remember, these fantasies provide a window into the most secret part of our minds.
Want reveals how women feel about sex when they have the freedom to be totally themselves.
SHORTLISTED FOR THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS BOOK OF THE YEAR
'Want makes for addictive reading . . . compelling' Guardian
'I just loved reading it. It's exceptional' Fearne Cotton, Happy Place
'An empowering project' Stylist
'Extremely sexy . . . Want is the horny manifesto your TBR list will thank you for' Cosmopolitan
What do you want when no one is watching?
What do you want, when the lights are off?
What do you want, when you are anonymous?
When we talk about sex, we talk about womanhood and motherhood, infidelity and exploitation, consent and respect, fairness and egalitarianism, love and hate, pleasure and pain. And yet so many of us don't talk about it at all.
In this groundbreaking book, Gillian Anderson collects and introduces the anonymous sexual fantasies of women from around the world (along with her own anonymous submission). They are all extraordinary: full of desire, fear, intimacy, shame, satisfaction and, ultimately, liberation. From dreaming about someone off-limits to conjuring a scene with multiple partners, from sex that is gentle and tender to passionate and playful, from women who have never had sex to women who have had more sex than they can remember, these fantasies provide a window into the most secret part of our minds.
Want reveals how women feel about sex when they have the freedom to be totally themselves.
Reviews / Votes
Want makes for addictive reading . . . compelling * Guardian * I just loved reading it. It's exceptional -- Fearne Cotton * Happy Place * Want is an intriguing cabinet of curiosities showcasing the sheer glorious variety of female desire; at a time when women's freedom of expression and agency is under threat in so many places, any platform that allows us to speak up about an aspect of our lives that is still frequently veiled in shame is to be applauded * Observer * That trajectory and sense of self is something Anderson touches on in Want, describing how throughout her life, her feelings about sex and her sexuality have not been static entities * Marie Claire Australia * An empowering project * Stylist * Extremely sexy . . . Want is the horny manifesto your TBR list will thank you for * Cosmopolitan * Every human sexual desire is finally mysterious, unknowable, but there is no doubt that across the ages women's desire has been perceived as dangerous . . . Anderson allows those desires to speak * Financial Times * Queen of the bisexuals Gillian Anderson, aka Mother, aka the woman we all either want to be, or be with, or both - has just dropped arguably the hottest new book of the year (in more ways than one) * Pink News * You might have the same question I did: Would a book loosely patterned on an erotic bestseller published 50 years ago feel relevant in an age when every manner of sexual imagery and performance, real-life hookups and kink are available in the palm of our hands (so to speak) with a swipe, tap or text? The answer is a definitive yes * Washington Post * Trailblazing . . . what makes Want even more innovative is its inclusivity, with letters from queer women, trans women and non-binary people. * Gay Times *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 236 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 49 mm
Weight
826 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5266-9427-0 (9781526694270)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Person
Gillian Anderson is an award-winning film, television and theatre actor, producer and director. Among other honours, she has won two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards and an Evening Standard Theatre Award. In addition to her acting work, Gillian is also globally recognised as a respected activist and charity campaigner, previously co-authored the Sunday Times bestseller We: A Manifesto for Women Everywhere with Jennifer Nadel, and in 2023 founded the wellness drinks brand G-Spot which encourages women to embrace their unique power. In 2016 Anderson was appointed an honorary OBE for her services to drama. She lives in London with her three children.