First published in Great Britain in 2020 by Canongate Books Ltd,

      14 High Street, Edinburgh EH1 1TE

       canongate.co.uk

      This digital edition first published in 2020 by Canongate Books

      Copyright © Patience Agbabi, 2020

      Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders and obtain their permission for the use of copyright material. The publisher apologises for any errors or omissions and would be grateful if notified of any corrections that should be incorporated in future reprints or editions of the book.

      The right of Patience Agbabi to be identified as the

      author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance

       with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

      British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available on request from the British Library

      ISBN 978 1 78689 965 1

      eISBN 978 1 78689 966 8

      To Solomon and Valentine,

      for showing me the portal to secret,

      dystopian and magical worlds . . .