Is it OK to wear a bikini after forty?

What about peacock-blue toenail polish with bright-white hair and a faceful of slap?

If you don't bother with make-up, bosom upholstery and foot facials are you letting yourself go, or just letting go?

Just what are the rules for older women, and who on earth makes them? With her trademark wit and insight, much-loved novelist and journalist Maggie Alderson takes an honest look at ageing and asks the hard questions, such as who invented the 'natural-look' nipple concealer, and why? She tackles issues of gravity – the knees like fallen souffles, the ruched mummy tummy – and offers sage advice on what to do if you find yourself in a yoga class with a supermodel. She bemoans the passing of youth, but revels in the opportunities that age offers to be clearer, smarter, wiser and bossier (in the best possible way). If you've had it up to here with being told it's all downhill after forty, this is the book for you.