From gladiator admirers to today's Swifties, the author offers a history of "fangirls" that restores virtue and strength to admiration.

"I wish I could’ve been a groupie." Why is it so difficult to admit to your all-consuming love for a singer or a boy band? Groupies (like fans) admire, but they are seen as crazy and hysterical nymphomaniacs. From gladiator supporters to internet-born fangirls, by way of Lisztomania, Sophie Benard shows that they have always existed – and have always been scorned. Creative, funny, and supportive, they now exert real political and economic pressure on the industry and "take the art of being a fan to a higher level."