A rebellious new history of female friendship and timely reclamation of the 'bad friend'.

'A brilliant ode to the necessity and complexity of female friendship.' HELEN CARR, THE SPECTATOR
'A tour through history proves female camaraderie is more than hashtags and girl power.' THE TIMES
'Bad Friend fizzes with women navigating, testing and redefining this most powerful and complex bond.' KATHERINE ANGEL
'A wonderful, tender, joyous book. I urge you to read it.' SUZANNAH LIPSCOMB

For as long as women have had friends, they've got us drunk, spilled our secrets, bailed on plans and meddled where we wished they wouldn't. They've also held back our hair, sat with us while we cried and made us feel altogether invincible. Maybe none of us is perfect.

Stirred by her own disappointments in friendship, cultural historian Tiffany Watt Smith sets out in pursuit of the rule-breaking women who offer a messier, more expansive vision of the connection we just might need the most.