Very Important People

Very Important People' was written before the coronavirus pandemic, but Covid-19 makes it more relevant. ---Ollie Williams, Forbes Europe One of Amazon's Best Books of 2020 in Business and Leadership An unexpectedly riveting, richly human academic study. ---Iona McLaren, The Telegraph Mears succeeds in producing a compelling, vivid and curiously poignant account of this closed and highly influential scene. . . . Very Important People succeeds in exposing the intriguing and often distressing realities of a culture whose values seem both alien and unpleasantly persistent. ---Lisa Hilton, The Critic Mears is an excellent storyteller, resulting in a book that's well-informed and critical but also animated and engaging. * Tatler * Very Important People depicts a complex world of exchange and exploitation, and warrants praise for doing so without passing predictable moral judgement. More than offering a mere window into the exotic lives of others, Ashley Mears emphasizes themes that should resonate with us all: the labour of marginalized others that lurks behind so much status-seeking consumption, the risks of conflating work with fun and friendship, and the sad fact that 'girl power' remains as oxymoronic as ever. ---Alice Bloch, Times Literary Supplement A fascinating read. ---Lynn Barber, The Spectator Very Important People is elegantly written and genuinely page-turning, with revelations about life that go far beyond nightclubs. ---Iona McLaren, The Telegraph The most colourful investigation into nightlife and gender politics since Gloria Steinem went incognito as a Playboy Bunny in 1963. ---Mark Smith, The Times