Swoon is a prehistory of the fangirl. From the Byromaniacs of Regency London to the screamers of Beatlemania, it revisits six defining moments in book, film and music history through the eyes of the girls and women who gave birth to pop culture as we know it today.

Far from passive consumers, these women were tastemakers, visionaries and cultural disruptors. Their obsessions shaped literary canons, built Hollywood icons and turned musicians into messiahs – long before social media came along. But with power came panic, especially when female fans and male stars were involved. Fandom became a moral and cultural battleground. What was at stake was women’s right to want things they weren’t supposed to want, feel things they weren’t supposed to feel and express all these things loudly, shamelessly and in public.

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Reviews

“A groundbreaking study of female love – and lust – from Byron to the Beatles. Right from the very first page, Bea Martinez-Gatell hooks you in with sensational stories of scandal but then unfolds a serious message. The policing of women’s desire, Swoon argues, says so much more about us, the society we live in and our fears of feminine sexuality than it does about the individuals involved. What a pleasure it is to read something that takes women’s pleasure seriously!”

Dr Kirsty Sedgman, cultural studies expert and author of On Being Unreasonable

“Stunningly original. Swoon reads like a novel, a pop culture history and a feminist manifesto rolled into one. Like Greil Marcus – but sexier.”

Graham Coxon, Blur guitarist and author of Verse, Chorus, Monster!

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