Workhorse
Will be published approx. on 15. January 2026
Book
Hardback
560 pages
978-0-00-873220-2 (ISBN)
Description
'Razor-sharp and deliciously wry' COCO MELLORS
'Funny, tender, thrillingly dark.' HEATHER DARWENT
'Exhilarating and beguiling' OLIVIA PETTER
An astonishing portrait of a city on the brink of a dizzying new era and a story about a young woman who will do anything to infiltrate the rarefied world of New York's fashion elite.
New York City, 2001.
Editorial Assistant Clodagh "Clo" Harmon wants nothing more than to rise through the ranks at the world's most prestigious fashion magazine. But there's just one problem: she doesn't have the right pedigree. Clo is a 'workhorse' in a world of beautiful, wealthy, impossibly well-connected 'show horses' and it seems that her fortunes will never change. That is until Clo meets Harry Wood, a reporter with visions of his own media empire and the person who might be Clo's ally in gaming the system...or is he the only thing standing between Clo and her rightful place at the top?
Clo begins to wade across boundaries, taking ever greater and more dangerous risks to become the Important Person she wants to be. But who is Clo under all the borrowed designer clothes and studied manners? And who are we if we share her desires?
As wickedly funny as it is darkly unsettling, Workhorse is an astonishing story of envy and ambition, set against the glamour and privilege of media and high society in New York at its height.
'Funny, tender, thrillingly dark.' HEATHER DARWENT
'Exhilarating and beguiling' OLIVIA PETTER
An astonishing portrait of a city on the brink of a dizzying new era and a story about a young woman who will do anything to infiltrate the rarefied world of New York's fashion elite.
New York City, 2001.
Editorial Assistant Clodagh "Clo" Harmon wants nothing more than to rise through the ranks at the world's most prestigious fashion magazine. But there's just one problem: she doesn't have the right pedigree. Clo is a 'workhorse' in a world of beautiful, wealthy, impossibly well-connected 'show horses' and it seems that her fortunes will never change. That is until Clo meets Harry Wood, a reporter with visions of his own media empire and the person who might be Clo's ally in gaming the system...or is he the only thing standing between Clo and her rightful place at the top?
Clo begins to wade across boundaries, taking ever greater and more dangerous risks to become the Important Person she wants to be. But who is Clo under all the borrowed designer clothes and studied manners? And who are we if we share her desires?
As wickedly funny as it is darkly unsettling, Workhorse is an astonishing story of envy and ambition, set against the glamour and privilege of media and high society in New York at its height.
Reviews / Votes
'Fierce, funny and unflinching. You certainly don't need to have worked in fashion to appreciate Palmer's razor-sharp and deliciously wry observations about the industry - but as someone who did, I both adored and applaud her honesty' Coco Mellors, Sunday Times bestselling author of Blue Sisters'I raced through this book. The world Palmer builds is exhilarating, particularly because she fills it with such beguiling, beautiful and fundamentally flawed characters. Imaginative and refreshing, I was completely addicted to it.' Olivia Petter, author of Gold Rush
'There are shades of Slaves of New York and The Devil Wears Prada in this deep, deep dive into the fashion abyss of Noughties New York. 'Work horse' Clo is an exceptional creation. An absolute treat of a book, I was obsessed.' Louise Candlish, Sunday Times bestselling author of Our House
'Sly, fun and astutely observed. Palmer transports you to the world of glossy magazines in the early 2000s, back when the going was good -the expense accounts, the parties, the fashion - while weaving in a suspenseful story about an assistant who will do anything in her power to move up on the masthead. Propulsive, surprising, and fun' Emma Rosenblum, bestselling author of Bad Summer People
'The best thing I've read this year by far. It's Prep meets The Devil Wears Prada meets The Goldfinch. Funny, tender, but with so many thrillingly dark moments. OBSESSED' Heather Darwent, bestselling author of The Things We Do to our Friends
'Thrilling, page-turning, and deeply absorbing - fin de siecle indulgence shackled to an anxious expense account.' Matthew Thomas, New York Times-bestselling author of We Are Not Ourselves
'A heady brew of nostalgia and melancholia, resurrecting a magazine yesterworld of prima donnas, cash drawers, and petty grievances.' - Lauren Mechling, author of How Could She
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
HarperCollins Publishers
Dimensions
Height: 162 mm
Width: 243 mm
Thickness: 48 mm
Weight
802 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-00-873220-2 (9780008732202)
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
Caroline Palmer was the Director of Editorial, Video and Social Media at Amazon Fashion until 2020. Prior to her tenure at Amazon, she spent seven years as the Editor of Vogue.com, and her writing has appeared in various publications, including The New York Times, LIFE, Seventeen Magazine and Vogue. She lives in Montclair, New Jersey with her husband and three children. Workhorse is her first novel.