Workhorse
- Judith D Collins
- Oct 14
- 7 min read
Updated: Oct 14
By: Caroline Palmer
Narrator: Helen Laser
ISBN: 9781250381545
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Publication Date: 10/14/2025
Format: Audiobook My Rating: 4 Stars (ALC)
"Fierce, funny and unflinching."—Coco Mellors, New York Times bestselling author of Blue Sisters
A richly drawn, unsettling, and wickedly funny story of envy and ambition set against the glamor and privilege of media and high society in New York City at its height.
At the turn of the millennium, Editorial Assistant Clodagh “Clo” Harmon wants nothing more than to rise through the ranks at the world’s most prestigious fashion magazine. There’s just one problem: she doesn’t have the right pedigree. Instead, Clo is a “workhorse” surrounded by beautiful, wealthy, impossibly well-connected “show horses” who get ahead without effort, including her beguiling cubicle-mate, Davis Lawrence, the daughter of a beloved but fading Broadway actress. Harry Wood, Davis’s boarding school classmate and a reporter with visions of his own media empire, might be Clo’s ally in gaming the system—or he might be the only thing standing between Clo and her rightful place at the top.
In a career punctuated by moments of high absurdity, sudden windfalls, and devastating reversals of fortune, Clo wades across boundaries, taking ever greater and more dangerous risks to become the important person she wants to be within the confines of a world where female ambition remains cloaked. But who really is Clo underneath all the borrowed designer clothes and studied manners—and who are we if we share her desires?
Hilariously observant and insightful, Workhorse is a brilliant listen about what it means to be in thrall to wealth, beauty, and influence, and the outrageous sacrifices women must make for the sake of success.
The audiobook is narrated by Helen Laser, best known for her audiobook performances in Yellow Face by R.F. Kuang and The Wedding People by Alison Espach.
A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books.
My Review
Caroline Palmer, a former fashion editor, makes a stunning entrance into the literary scene with her debut novel, WORKHORSE. It's edgy, witty, gritty, and unapologetically bold as she takes us on a captivating journey alongside Clo, a young woman navigating the dark side of ambition. This wickedly funny tale is sure to entertain and provoke thought!
About..
Meet Clo, an ambitious young assistant hailing from a middle-class background in Philadelphia. She embarks on a thrilling journey as the new editorial assistant to the arts and culture editor at a prestigious fashion magazine reminiscent of Vogue, set against the bustling backdrop of Manhattan’s media scene in the early 2000s.
This narrative establishes a vivid class dichotomy between the "Workhorses" and "Show Horses"—the privileged elite versus those striving to make their mark. Clo belongs to the Workhorses, navigating a world where the haves and have-nots starkly contrast.
There's a big problem. She doesn't have the right pedigree. Instead, Clo is a “workhorse” surrounded by beautiful, wealthy, impossibly well-connected “show horses” who get ahead without effort, including her beguiling cubicle-mate, Davis Lawrence, the daughter of a beloved but fading Broadway actress.
Determined to ascend the ranks, Clo skillfully maneuvers through complex class dynamics, indulgent perks, and a fiercely competitive atmosphere. Faced with pressure to conform, she discovers clever ways to manipulate her surroundings and sacrifice, despite lacking the wealth, wardrobe, pedigree, and connections that her peers possess.
Along the way, she forms a connection with her cubicle-mate, Davis Lawrence, a stunning and well-connected daughter of a renowned actress, whose glamorous life is both captivating and intimidating.
Clo also encounters Harry Wood, a reporter whose potential as an ally in her ascent is clouded by his ambiguous motives.
As she takes increasingly bold risks, Clo's ambition for wealth, beauty, and influence intensifies. A pivotal event compels her to confront the extreme sacrifices she has made in pursuit of success, prompting a deep reflection on her identity and the person she has become.
In her quest to infiltrate the elite circles of the fashion world, Clo meticulously studies her wealthy counterparts. This ongoing performance of a life that isn’t truly hers brings forth emotional turmoil, amplifying her feelings of impostor syndrome and compelling her to hide her authentic self.
Clo's journey becomes intertwined with the tumultuous family dynamics of Davis, stirring feelings of jealousy and complicating her aspirations. While this connection could pave her way to the upper echelons she desires (money, clothes, connections), it also exposes her to the chaotic and often abusive relationship between Davis and her mother, Barbara, a fading Broadway star, ultimately jeopardizing Clo's emotional stability and complicating her professional landscape.
As Clo climbs the ladder, she grapples with the risk of betraying those closest to her. Her intricate relationships with Davis and Harry Wood—a potential ally or rival—add layers of complexity to her ambition.
In pursuit of her dreams, Clo finds herself in a precarious situation. Faced with a series of escalating challenges and deceptive promises, Clo must navigate the demanding world she has chosen, testing her ambition and integrity while revealing the darker facets of the industry.
Despite the obstacles and setbacks she encounters on her path to success, the ultimate question remains: will her efforts be enough to achieve her dreams? What will she have to give up to attain them?
Here are my reflections:
Clo is truly a fascinating character! While she often seems oblivious to her past mistakes, her misadventures are undeniably amusing. Although none of the characters are particularly endearing, the cutthroat nature of their world highlights Clo's unwavering belief that she deserves success, no matter the consequences. There is no accountability for her actions.
These high-stakes associations with the wrong people could prove disastrous. The novel delves into how Clo's quest for elite status leads her to make increasingly unethical choices. Will she prioritize her integrity or her ambition?
Through sharp social commentary, humor, snark, and satire, the author crafts a compelling character in Clo, who takes perilous and unethical risks in her ascent among New York City's elite. Clo's ambition drives her to take escalating gambles that jeopardize her career, relationships, and sense of self.
In summary, this novel offers a profound exploration of ambition, class, privilege, and the true cost of success. The culmination of Clo's personal and professional risks ultimately brings her to a pivotal moment, forcing her to face the real price of her ambition. Will she learn from her mistakes, or will greed and ambition lead to her downfall?
Sharp and witty, what a remarkable, insightful, and fun debut! I eagerly anticipate what Palmer will create next.
Regarding the audiobook...
The audiobook is an absolute delight, brilliantly performed by the talented Helen Laser (a favorite). Her voice and enthusiasm perfectly embody Clo and bring all the characters to life, keeping you thoroughly entertained from start to finish!
Recommendations...
For those who enjoyed The Devil Wears Prada or appreciate the darkly humorous works of Emma Rosenblum that delve into themes of class and privilege (a personal favorite), this book is a must-read!
Thanks to St. Martin's Press, #MacAudio2025, and NetGalley for sharing an advanced listening copy in exchange for my honest opinions.
blog review posted @
JudithDCollins
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: Oct 14, 2025
My Rating: 4 Stars
Praise
"A fast-paced and funny examination of ambition and its consequence"
―The New York Times
"Former fashion editor Palmer renders Clo’s world in vivid, gritty detail alongside sharp commentary on class, ambition, and women’s roles in the publishing industry."
―Booklist
"Palmer’s expertly observed tale dissects the haves and have nots who populate a brutal world, and leaves readers wondering just what they’d do if they had Clo’s ability―and her opportunity to get ahead."
―Town & Country Magazine
“A fierce, funny, and unflinching examination of ambition, class, and the quiet indignities of being underestimated. You certainly don’t need to have worked in fashion to appreciate Palmer’s razor-sharp and deliciously wry observations about the industry―but as someone who did, I both adored and applaud her honesty.”
―Coco Mellors, New York Times bestselling author of Blue Sisters
“Workhorse is a sly, fun, and astutely observed novel about what happens when one young woman’s ambition runs amok. Caroline Palmer transports you to the world of glossy magazines in the early 2000s, back when the going was good―the expense accounts, the parties, the fashion―while weaving in a suspenseful story about an assistant who will do anything in her power to move up on the masthead. It was propulsive, surprising, and fun. I ate it up.”
―Emma Rosenblum, bestselling author of Mean Moms and Bad Summer People
"For a novel to convincingly and all at once evoke Brideshead Revisted, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Six Degrees of Separation, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, and yes, The Great Gatsby (as well, somehow, as The Sorrows of Young Werther) is several feats―of storytelling panache, of plot architecture, of thematic cohesion, and of provocative inquiry into the human heart. This thrilling, page turning, and deeply absorbing novel is an anthropological treatise on a lost New York at just slightly past the peak of American capitalism―fin de siecle indulgence shackled to an anxious expense account. A love letter to and post-mortem of the magazine industry, Workhorse beautifully captures not just the medieval and arcane pressure on women to achieve distinction amidst male control of the levers of power, but also the ever-widening gap between the soaring masters of the universe and their strained, human buttresses. The tensions between personal lives and career aspirations spring vividly to life here, as women find their ways professionally at great personal cost, trying to retain core values in a world that operates under a ruthless, Darwinian logic. Emerging from the constant testing of the narrator’s mettle is an ode to friendship and an argument for self-knowledge as the greatest power of all."
―Matthew Thomas, New York Times-bestselling author of We Are Not Ourselves
“The walls have ears―and eyes and a steel-trap memory. Vogue veteran Caroline Palmer has concocted a heady brew of nostalgia and melancholia in Workhorse, resurrecting a magazine yesterworld of prima donnas, petty cash drawers, and petty grievances. Giddyap!”
―Lauren Mechling, author of How Could She and coauthor of The Memo
"This book! The best thing I've read this year by far. It's Prep meets The Devil Wears Prada meets The Goldfinch. Funny, tender, but with so many thrillingly dark moments. I've been telling everyone I know about it. Everyone is going to be absolutely obsessed with Clo and her brutal world as she tries to fold herself to become the 'right' kind of girl. OBSESSED."
―Heather Darwent, author of The Things We Do to our Friends
"There are shades of Slaves of New York and The Devil Wears Prada in this deep, deep dive into the fashion abyss of Noughties New York. 'Work horse' Clo is an exceptional creation, aching with ambition and forensically attentive to the hierarchies she must conquer to make her mark. An absolute treat of a book, I was obsessed."
— Louise Candlish, Sunday Times bestselling author of Our House
About the Author
From 2014 to 2019, Caroline Palmer was the director of editorial, video, and social media at Amazon Fashion. Prior to her tenure at Amazon, she spent seven years as the editor of Vogue.com. Her work has appeared in various publications, including The New York Times, Life, Seventeen magazine, and Vogue. She lives in Montclair, New Jersey, with her husband and three children. Workhorse is her first novel. WEBSITE
