"If I were an empress, I like to think I'd also use that position to become a reclusive globe-trotter, to write gloomy poetry about being a seagull, avoid all familial and societal obligations, and force my ladies in waiting to indulge me on my starvation diets and intrepid feats of exercise."

"Fantastic - a small book that has stuck with me for way longer than it took me to read it. Cannot recommend enough."