'A delicious cultural history that brings together some of the most influential social critics of the twentieth century, including Dorothy Parker, Mary McCarthy, Hannah Arendt, Susan Sontag and Joan Didion, and shows how these glamorous iconoclasts forged their singular careers. Dean makes the convincing argument that women's voices - if not necessarily feminist ones - did far more to define the last century's intellectual life than we realize' Michelle Goldberg, New York Times

'This is a great and worthy project: a primer for those for whom these names are new; a sustaining reminder for those already familiar with them. You put it down feeling steadier, more determined' Rachel Cooke, Observer

'Sharp, a portrait of ten female writers and thinkers, is a bracing tribute to the life of the iconoclastic mind: a reminder, in our age of flashy hot takes, of the matchless power of sustained and elegant argument' Pankaj Mishra, Guardian