What do you think?
Rate this book
The Rag Doll Contract
Olivia has always believed that worth is earned through achievement—by any means necessary. Her ruthless ambition fuels her escape from the deadening familiarity of Bracknell. First, she conquers Oxford; then law school; and finally, the Only Circle—a shadowy network of the most elite corporate law firms in the world.
The promise of power and greatness beckons, and Olivia surges forward, convinced she’s found what she’s always wholeness, identity, and a self remade. But beneath the gleaming high-rises and immaculate offices of the Only Circle lies a brutal reality. Trainees work through endless nights on thankless deals that siphon their time, sanity, and identities. In-house gyms, sleeping tubes, and on-site clinics ensure employees never leave the building. Dull-eyed psychiatrists dole out prescriptions, keeping staff steady on little white pills and beta blockers as they grind through the twilight hours.
And in everyone lurks a need—visceral and stiff, more brutal than want—to be the best. To break from the bloodshot masses. To be the thing that is perfect and shiny and new.
Under this carnivorous system of constant monitoring, appraisal, and scrutiny, Olivia tells herself, again and again, that she is willing to pay the price.
Whatever the cost.
The promise of power and greatness beckons, and Olivia surges forward, convinced she’s found what she’s always wholeness, identity, and a self remade. But beneath the gleaming high-rises and immaculate offices of the Only Circle lies a brutal reality. Trainees work through endless nights on thankless deals that siphon their time, sanity, and identities. In-house gyms, sleeping tubes, and on-site clinics ensure employees never leave the building. Dull-eyed psychiatrists dole out prescriptions, keeping staff steady on little white pills and beta blockers as they grind through the twilight hours.
And in everyone lurks a need—visceral and stiff, more brutal than want—to be the best. To break from the bloodshot masses. To be the thing that is perfect and shiny and new.
Under this carnivorous system of constant monitoring, appraisal, and scrutiny, Olivia tells herself, again and again, that she is willing to pay the price.
Whatever the cost.
310 pages, Paperback
Published December 23, 2024
7 people are currently reading
53 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
March 20, 2025
This book is a must read for those with the Rose tinted glasses on when it comes to thinking about Corporate life.
This was brilliantly written - the anxiety of Olivia was palpable throughout. Herson is a master of curating tension and this book made me nervous to my very core with my stomach in knots throughout. I felt like I was in Olivia's shoes - and I didn't enjoy it (but a credit to Herson).
This is such a fascinating character study into the extremes one might go to, to simply achieve the most at any cost. The other characters aren't as fleshed out but that directly reflects the attention Olivia pays to them which was really interesting, rather than I felt a symptom of lazy writing.
The short chapters kept up the tense, unreletning pace which directly mirrored the pressure Olivia is under.
This novel was a masterclass in how to sustain tempo, even catapult it forward as Olivia's life comes crashing down around her.
Worth the read, but be careful.
This was brilliantly written - the anxiety of Olivia was palpable throughout. Herson is a master of curating tension and this book made me nervous to my very core with my stomach in knots throughout. I felt like I was in Olivia's shoes - and I didn't enjoy it (but a credit to Herson).
This is such a fascinating character study into the extremes one might go to, to simply achieve the most at any cost. The other characters aren't as fleshed out but that directly reflects the attention Olivia pays to them which was really interesting, rather than I felt a symptom of lazy writing.
The short chapters kept up the tense, unreletning pace which directly mirrored the pressure Olivia is under.
This novel was a masterclass in how to sustain tempo, even catapult it forward as Olivia's life comes crashing down around her.
Worth the read, but be careful.
March 2, 2025
I was actually going to DNF this book at around 30% I was getting a bit bored and didn’t really understand the whole plot of the book but I’m glad I read on…I feel so bad for Olivia and all of the trainees that are basically forced into this programme thinking that they will have a future when in reality it destroyed them. It’s definitely worth the read!
February 20, 2025
Ahhh I loved this novel!! From the very first page it gripped me and I couldn’t put it down.
Set against the backdrop of the elite corporate legal world, the story unfolds with hypnotic intensity, weaving together sharp social commentary, psychological depth, and writing so immersive you feel every beat of the protagonist’s unraveling reality. The prose is electric - laced with wit, dark humour, and devastating beauty - reminding me of the raw emotional depth of Ottessa Moshfegh/ Donna Tartt, and the perception of Bret Easton Ellis. But this book is also completely original and exists in its own league.
What truly sets this book apart is its brutal honesty. It doesn’t flinch. It doesn’t soften itself to be palatable. It forces you into the protagonist’s skin, making you feel every disorienting high and crushing low. The descent into corporate hell is painted with exquisite detail, and the psychological realism is so visceral that you can’t help but ache for Olivia even as she spirals through a world where ambition + sanity are locked in a death match.
This is a book that lingers. Days after finishing it, I found myself returning to its sentences, its images, its profound, unflinching truths about power, mental illness, and the cost of survival. The Rag Doll Contract is not just a novel. It’s an experience. And it’s one I won’t forget!!!
If you’re looking for something safe, don’t read this book. If you want to be shaken, enthralled, and fundamentally changed - this is for you.
Set against the backdrop of the elite corporate legal world, the story unfolds with hypnotic intensity, weaving together sharp social commentary, psychological depth, and writing so immersive you feel every beat of the protagonist’s unraveling reality. The prose is electric - laced with wit, dark humour, and devastating beauty - reminding me of the raw emotional depth of Ottessa Moshfegh/ Donna Tartt, and the perception of Bret Easton Ellis. But this book is also completely original and exists in its own league.
What truly sets this book apart is its brutal honesty. It doesn’t flinch. It doesn’t soften itself to be palatable. It forces you into the protagonist’s skin, making you feel every disorienting high and crushing low. The descent into corporate hell is painted with exquisite detail, and the psychological realism is so visceral that you can’t help but ache for Olivia even as she spirals through a world where ambition + sanity are locked in a death match.
This is a book that lingers. Days after finishing it, I found myself returning to its sentences, its images, its profound, unflinching truths about power, mental illness, and the cost of survival. The Rag Doll Contract is not just a novel. It’s an experience. And it’s one I won’t forget!!!
If you’re looking for something safe, don’t read this book. If you want to be shaken, enthralled, and fundamentally changed - this is for you.
July 2, 2025
If you think you’ve read a good book this year, think again, this is the best book!!
July 3, 2025
Masterpiece of psychological fiction 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
I was sent an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This novel is a revelation. Political, personal, psychological. It is unflinching, jagged, and BRIMMING with emotion.
Set against the unrelenting backdrop of a sleepless London and the cold steeliness of the corporate legal world, Dorothy contrasts external success with internal turmoil. The protagonist, Olivia Adelaide, is fundamentally an anti-heroine - flawed, twisted, but hard not to root for. Her pain, resilience, and moments of quiet defeat are written in intimate prose that I found myself deeply deeply connected to her journey.
The nuanced portrayal of narcissistic abuse is chilling. The balance between corporate ambition and personal collapse creates a tension that is gripping and profoundly moving.
Herson’s prose is perfect....lyrical yet so sharp, delicate and also devastating. Every sentence is obviously meticulously crafted, but the prose flows naturally and at points read a lot like poetry. Herson has an amazing sense of rhythm. The storytelling feels both deeply personal and universally resonant, tackling themes that linger long
If you’re a fan of Sharp Objects, Boy Parts by Eliza Clark, or the darkness of Moshfegh’s work, you wil love The Rag Doll Contract.
I was sent an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This novel is a revelation. Political, personal, psychological. It is unflinching, jagged, and BRIMMING with emotion.
Set against the unrelenting backdrop of a sleepless London and the cold steeliness of the corporate legal world, Dorothy contrasts external success with internal turmoil. The protagonist, Olivia Adelaide, is fundamentally an anti-heroine - flawed, twisted, but hard not to root for. Her pain, resilience, and moments of quiet defeat are written in intimate prose that I found myself deeply deeply connected to her journey.
The nuanced portrayal of narcissistic abuse is chilling. The balance between corporate ambition and personal collapse creates a tension that is gripping and profoundly moving.
Herson’s prose is perfect....lyrical yet so sharp, delicate and also devastating. Every sentence is obviously meticulously crafted, but the prose flows naturally and at points read a lot like poetry. Herson has an amazing sense of rhythm. The storytelling feels both deeply personal and universally resonant, tackling themes that linger long
If you’re a fan of Sharp Objects, Boy Parts by Eliza Clark, or the darkness of Moshfegh’s work, you wil love The Rag Doll Contract.
July 3, 2025
A fierce, unforgettable debut that cuts through the polished veneers of success to reveal the raw psychological cost of so-called greatness.
Dorothy Herson dismantles the myths of corporate prestige, mental illness, and womanhood with intelligence and radical honesty. The protagonist’s breakdown isn’t a subplot or a twist - it’s the structure itself, the reality shaping every sentence.
It was such a relief to finally read a novel set in the corporate world that’s told from the inside, from a woman’s perspective. We’ve had Wolf of Wall Street, American Psycho, Wall Street, Bonfire of the Vanities - brilliant, yes, but all by men, about men. Even Industry was fun but steeped in the same alpha cliché: cocaine, heroin, whisky shots, meaningless sex. The Rag Doll Contract gives us something we’ve rarely seen - it is told through the eyes of a woman, and is about a woman unraveling in these spaces, not sensationalised or pitied.
The novel strips the glossy fiction from ambition and offers something braver: an intimate, psychologicaly forensic excavation of what it really means to disappear inside the machinery of elite corporate power. Breakdown here isn’t failure- it’s presented as one of the only means of escape. Through dissociative narration, lyrical fragments, and unsettling clarity, the book explores mental illness, magical thinking, and obsession from inside the skin. The City of London is not just a setting - it’s a living, hostile organism.
Herson’s background as a lawyer lends the book its precision, but it’s her emotional insight - the moments of shame, jealousy, longing, devastation, rage - and her unflinching portrayal of the environments that breed high-functioning collapse (abuse, narcissism, gaslighting) that make this novel extraordinary. She captures the loneliness of being celebrated for a life that is quietly killing you. Written by someone who lived that world and broke beneath its weight, this novel felt like it held deep truths: about what it costs to survive in a cage you've spent your whole life working for.
Will be recommending!
Dorothy Herson dismantles the myths of corporate prestige, mental illness, and womanhood with intelligence and radical honesty. The protagonist’s breakdown isn’t a subplot or a twist - it’s the structure itself, the reality shaping every sentence.
It was such a relief to finally read a novel set in the corporate world that’s told from the inside, from a woman’s perspective. We’ve had Wolf of Wall Street, American Psycho, Wall Street, Bonfire of the Vanities - brilliant, yes, but all by men, about men. Even Industry was fun but steeped in the same alpha cliché: cocaine, heroin, whisky shots, meaningless sex. The Rag Doll Contract gives us something we’ve rarely seen - it is told through the eyes of a woman, and is about a woman unraveling in these spaces, not sensationalised or pitied.
The novel strips the glossy fiction from ambition and offers something braver: an intimate, psychologicaly forensic excavation of what it really means to disappear inside the machinery of elite corporate power. Breakdown here isn’t failure- it’s presented as one of the only means of escape. Through dissociative narration, lyrical fragments, and unsettling clarity, the book explores mental illness, magical thinking, and obsession from inside the skin. The City of London is not just a setting - it’s a living, hostile organism.
Herson’s background as a lawyer lends the book its precision, but it’s her emotional insight - the moments of shame, jealousy, longing, devastation, rage - and her unflinching portrayal of the environments that breed high-functioning collapse (abuse, narcissism, gaslighting) that make this novel extraordinary. She captures the loneliness of being celebrated for a life that is quietly killing you. Written by someone who lived that world and broke beneath its weight, this novel felt like it held deep truths: about what it costs to survive in a cage you've spent your whole life working for.
Will be recommending!
February 21, 2025
Dorothy has written something brutal & stunning. On the surface, this is a novel about the high-stakes, high-pressure world of corporate law, but beneath that it’s about what happens when ambition collides with the limits of human endurance. It’s about what happens when a mind begins to fracture under the weight of impossible expectations. And it’s about power, the kind that institutions hold, the kind that people wield over each other, and the kind that trauma takes from you, piece by piece.
The writing is hypnotic. Every paragraph is alive, sometimes poetic, sometimes witty, sometimes dreamlike and fragmented, mirroring the protagonist’s slipping grip on reality. At times, it’s almost unbearable to be inside her head, watching her push past exhaustion, past reason, past sanity itself. The novel doesn’t just depict mental unraveling - it makes you feel it. You live it alongside her.
But what surprised me most is how darkly funny it can be. Beneath the horror of overnighters and office politics, there’s wit and observation. Dorothy understands not just suffering, but absurdity - the grotesque, surreal nature of life inside a machine designed to grind people down. That balance of tragedy and biting humour is part of what makes this book so unique.
There are moments in The Rag Doll Contract where I had to stop reading. Not because I wasn’t enjoying it, but because it was too much -too intense, too raw, too painfully recognisable. And yet, I kept coming back. Because as much as this book is about destruction, it is also also about resistance. The refusal to go quietly. The desperate, clawing fight to hold onto something real. unflinching, necessary, and unforgettable. I can’t stop thinking about it, and I don’t think I ever will.
The writing is hypnotic. Every paragraph is alive, sometimes poetic, sometimes witty, sometimes dreamlike and fragmented, mirroring the protagonist’s slipping grip on reality. At times, it’s almost unbearable to be inside her head, watching her push past exhaustion, past reason, past sanity itself. The novel doesn’t just depict mental unraveling - it makes you feel it. You live it alongside her.
But what surprised me most is how darkly funny it can be. Beneath the horror of overnighters and office politics, there’s wit and observation. Dorothy understands not just suffering, but absurdity - the grotesque, surreal nature of life inside a machine designed to grind people down. That balance of tragedy and biting humour is part of what makes this book so unique.
There are moments in The Rag Doll Contract where I had to stop reading. Not because I wasn’t enjoying it, but because it was too much -too intense, too raw, too painfully recognisable. And yet, I kept coming back. Because as much as this book is about destruction, it is also also about resistance. The refusal to go quietly. The desperate, clawing fight to hold onto something real. unflinching, necessary, and unforgettable. I can’t stop thinking about it, and I don’t think I ever will.
February 13, 2025
This is a beautifully written cautionary tale about entering the world of corporate law as a graduate - the first book on this topic which I am aware of. Although instantly recognisable to anyone who has worked in a City law firm, there are many parallels with working as a junior in finance and consulting. Herson perfectly captures so much of the reality of starting a career in such places: the crippling self-doubt, the tenacity required to survive, the camaraderie between peers and the Sisphysean (and at times absurd) nature of tasks given to juniors, where a misplaced comma or an email sent too hastily can be a career-ending mistake.
Equally darkly comic and deeply sad, the narrative tracks the trajectory of the protagonist from university to leaving the law firm which she built her dreams upon. The prose is sharp, incisive and moves fluidly between the lyrical and the spare. There are some incredible passages describing the London cityscape, and equally impressive is the evocative depiction of the deterioration of Olivia’s mental state.
This novel is a highly compelling interrogation of what it means to be a high achiever and the price which people are willing to pay for it. It makes for very compulsive reading - I read it in two sittings - and upon finishing I remained immersed in its world for days on end. I would recommend not only to those starting out in similar fields but to anyone who has questioned what it all really means. A very impressive debut which lingers long after finishing.
Equally darkly comic and deeply sad, the narrative tracks the trajectory of the protagonist from university to leaving the law firm which she built her dreams upon. The prose is sharp, incisive and moves fluidly between the lyrical and the spare. There are some incredible passages describing the London cityscape, and equally impressive is the evocative depiction of the deterioration of Olivia’s mental state.
This novel is a highly compelling interrogation of what it means to be a high achiever and the price which people are willing to pay for it. It makes for very compulsive reading - I read it in two sittings - and upon finishing I remained immersed in its world for days on end. I would recommend not only to those starting out in similar fields but to anyone who has questioned what it all really means. A very impressive debut which lingers long after finishing.
October 28, 2025
The Rag Doll Contract by Dorothy Herson is a razor-sharp, hauntingly intelligent debut that dissects ambition, identity, and the quiet brutality of modern success. Equal parts psychological thriller and corporate satire, it’s a story that peers behind the glass walls of power and exposes the cost of becoming what the world calls “perfect.”
Olivia’s journey from small-town obscurity to the shadowy halls of The Only Circle an elite, almost mythic corporate network is both dazzling and devastating. Her relentless pursuit of greatness pulls readers into a world where ambition is currency, exhaustion is virtue, and the self becomes a commodity to be optimized, polished, and erased. As Herson’s prose unfolds with chilling precision, the novel becomes more than a critique of the corporate machine it becomes a mirror.
Written with the psychological insight of Ottessa Moshfegh and the dark elegance of Donna Tartt, The Rag Doll Contract is a meditation on power, pressure, and the erosion of humanity under perfection’s weight. Herson crafts a world so vivid, so claustrophobic, that readers will feel the fluorescent hum, the sleepless pulse, and the subtle terror of never being enough.
It’s a modern parable of success as intoxicating as it is damning and one that will stay with readers long after the final page.
Olivia’s journey from small-town obscurity to the shadowy halls of The Only Circle an elite, almost mythic corporate network is both dazzling and devastating. Her relentless pursuit of greatness pulls readers into a world where ambition is currency, exhaustion is virtue, and the self becomes a commodity to be optimized, polished, and erased. As Herson’s prose unfolds with chilling precision, the novel becomes more than a critique of the corporate machine it becomes a mirror.
Written with the psychological insight of Ottessa Moshfegh and the dark elegance of Donna Tartt, The Rag Doll Contract is a meditation on power, pressure, and the erosion of humanity under perfection’s weight. Herson crafts a world so vivid, so claustrophobic, that readers will feel the fluorescent hum, the sleepless pulse, and the subtle terror of never being enough.
It’s a modern parable of success as intoxicating as it is damning and one that will stay with readers long after the final page.
May 26, 2025
I absolutely loved reading this book. I'm normally a really slow reader but I finished the second half of this book in a day! The way its written flows absolutely beautifully - building pace and creating the sense of hope, anxiety or defeat that the protagonist is feeling. It's about a promising young Oxford University graduate with an unparalleled work ethic working at an "Only Circle" Law Firm and her experience of the surreal, intense pressure of the workplace; toxic with money and prestige, used like weapons against her. It's also about her attempts to have friendships and relationships throughout this process and I actually found that one of the most enjoyable and relatable aspects of the book. (As someone who has no idea what it's like to work in a big shiny corporate monster building!) The main character is deeply flawed, but completely forgivable, in my opinion - and my heart went out to her. I found the other characters to be distinctive, often entertaining and, sometimes, chilling. There is some real poetry in the writing of this book - but not in a way which slows down the story, if anything it speeds it up a little - giving it rhythm and cadence that prose doesn't always offer. Thinking about this being based on a true story sends shivers down your spine a little - but (without giving any spoilers) I was satisfied with the ending. I highly recommend this book - and will definitely be reading it again myself!
January 27, 2025
Olivia is a trainee lawyer at a top law firm with some serious childhood issues which are explored in the book to explain some of her actions. She is not a particularly nice character, sneaky and devious, but nevertheless the author somehow has you gunning for her and sympathising when she doesn’t get what she wants. The book moves at pace with dark humour and clearly projects the grinding misery of working long hours in stressful environments. The book is very well written with some lovely prose. It provides a thought provoking insight into the minds of high achievers raised up and then crushed by their career choices. A really good read if you enjoy a psychological thriller.
February 25, 2025
Very different to what I normally find myself reading, but once I'd started it was simply impossible to stop.
Olivia is a beguiling, often infuriating protagonist. The world she finds herself in is brutal and uncompromising yet she is relentless in her belief that success is what she wants. What's so interesting here is a window into the mind of someone who defines that success in such rigid parameters. Herson has beautifully crafted a story that really analyses how ambition is fostered, and how it can spiral completely out of control.
Olivia is a beguiling, often infuriating protagonist. The world she finds herself in is brutal and uncompromising yet she is relentless in her belief that success is what she wants. What's so interesting here is a window into the mind of someone who defines that success in such rigid parameters. Herson has beautifully crafted a story that really analyses how ambition is fostered, and how it can spiral completely out of control.
March 1, 2025
I mainly read fantasy and crime fiction (although I dip into other genres here and there) so this was quite the literary departure for me. However I was very keen to read it having followed the author's personal journey for a few years. I was hooked from the first few pages. I found it to be brutally raw, compelling, thought provoking and beautifully written. I can't help but feel that this is an important book, one we could all do with reading, even if the insight it brings is not all that pretty!
May 15, 2025
I got through this book in a matter of days. The Rag Doll Contract is a beautiful, moving and, at times, thrilling story about achievement, identity and belonging seen through the eyes of Olivia and her early career at one of London’s most prestigious and brutal law firms. Aside from being a shocking glimpse into a magic circle-type firm, I found it to be beautifully written and a novel many who have sought comfort in toxic overachievement will identify with.
August 12, 2025
⸻
I came to this book with low expectations, as my best friend (also a trainee at a law firm) hadn’t enjoyed it. But I was so pleasantly surprised - I absolutely loved it. I felt a deep connection to the protagonist, and it was oddly comforting to realise that the way I think, feel, and behave isn’t “wrong” after all. This novel resonated with me in such a personal way, and I’ll be recommending it to everyone I know.
I came to this book with low expectations, as my best friend (also a trainee at a law firm) hadn’t enjoyed it. But I was so pleasantly surprised - I absolutely loved it. I felt a deep connection to the protagonist, and it was oddly comforting to realise that the way I think, feel, and behave isn’t “wrong” after all. This novel resonated with me in such a personal way, and I’ll be recommending it to everyone I know.
September 19, 2025
Original and very good. Bought this because I read an article by the author on being an insecure overachiever which I realised is 100% me and probably the reason for endless people pleasing, burnout and career success but the rest of my life feeling a bit empty. I related to the main protagonist Olivia (even though she infuriated me!) and I was blown away by the writing. Very poetic. After about the halfway mark I couldn’t put it down and stayed up til 4am to find out what happened.
January 30, 2025
This is a rare and important novel. It is a beautifully written, literary book, which is also a page-turner. It follows Olivia, a trainee lawyer, as she deals with the unimaginable pressures some of the largest professional firms place on their employees, and the potentially resulting lifelong damage to their mental health. Highly recommended.
April 3, 2025
This is a fantastic read! As a person who rarely reads now (thanks to audible), I was surprised at how quickly I read this - I couldn’t put it down. The plot is gripping, the characters (in particular Olivia the protagonist) are complex and interesting and the story plunges the reader into the world of corporate law in the City! A must read!
January 21, 2025
I wasn't expecting to enjoy this book so much, finish it in two days!
March 13, 2025
A fascinating expose of the Magic Circle. Loved it. Really gripping. Beautifully written.
May 18, 2025
Masterfully structured, expertly paced, and a poetic voice that soars. Unflinching. Heartbreaking. Exquisite.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews