Emily Perkins - Lioness

Emily Perkins in conversation with Nikki Macdonald Emily talks about her novel Lioness which won the big fiction prize of 2024, The Acorn Fiction Prize at the Ockham NZ Book Awards. Judges described the novel as “an incisive exploration of wealth, power, class, female rage, and the search for authenticity”. The main character, Therese, is in her early 50s and her life is unravelling; her wealthy husband is being investigated for fraud and she is fascinated by a new friend Claire who has cast aside family and societal expectations. Warmth and humour - including a chaotic party scene at a flash Marlborough Sounds holiday home - are used to explore questions we might have hoped feminism would have solved years ago and to examine tensions of class and wealth. Emily talks to Nikki about Therese's coming of (middle) age.