Poor Cow
A Virago Modern Classic
Published on 1. August 2013
Book
Paperback/Softback
160 pages
978-1-84408-981-9 (ISBN)
Description
THE BESTSELLING NOVEL BY NELL DUNN
'Her art is ignited by voice . . . as you hear it, is unquestionable' ALI SMITH, GUARDIAN
'Touching, truthful and fresh' MARGARET DRABBLE
'Nell Dunn's hilarious, heartbreaking Poor Cow, about a single mother in sixties London' PARIS REVIEW
Joy - also called Blossom, Sunshine and Blondie by the men in her life - walks down Fulham Broadway carrying her week-old baby, Jonny. She is twenty-one with bleached hair, high suede shoes and a head full of dreams. Her husband Tom is a thief and on the proceeds of a job they move to a luxury flat - 'the world was our oyster and we chose Ruislip'. Then Tom is sent to prison, leaving Joy and Jonny to move in with Auntie Emm. This is Joy's story: an exuberant, pink-lipsticked, tale of London life, love and young motherhood in the sixties . . .
Poor Cow explores the life of a young working-class girl in the swinging sixties as she navigates the consequences of her decisions.
Nell Dunn's 1967 novel was also made into a film directed by Ken Loach.
'Her art is ignited by voice . . . as you hear it, is unquestionable' ALI SMITH, GUARDIAN
'Touching, truthful and fresh' MARGARET DRABBLE
'Nell Dunn's hilarious, heartbreaking Poor Cow, about a single mother in sixties London' PARIS REVIEW
Joy - also called Blossom, Sunshine and Blondie by the men in her life - walks down Fulham Broadway carrying her week-old baby, Jonny. She is twenty-one with bleached hair, high suede shoes and a head full of dreams. Her husband Tom is a thief and on the proceeds of a job they move to a luxury flat - 'the world was our oyster and we chose Ruislip'. Then Tom is sent to prison, leaving Joy and Jonny to move in with Auntie Emm. This is Joy's story: an exuberant, pink-lipsticked, tale of London life, love and young motherhood in the sixties . . .
Poor Cow explores the life of a young working-class girl in the swinging sixties as she navigates the consequences of her decisions.
Nell Dunn's 1967 novel was also made into a film directed by Ken Loach.
Reviews / Votes
Her art is ignited by voice, especially by voice more usually given no societal, literary or aesthetic power or space but whose authority, as you hear it, is unquestionable -- Ali Smith * Guardian * It was Nell's interest in the women of the working class that made her work truly radical * Independent * Touching, truthful and fresh . . . written with an unselfconscious elegance that conceals its craft . . . A tour de force -- Margaret Drabble Nell Dunn's hilarious, heartbreaking Poor Cow, about a single mother in sixties London * Paris Review *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Little, Brown Book Group
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 123 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
134 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-84408-981-9 (9781844089819)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Nell Dunn (1936) is an English playwright, screenwriter and author. She was educated at a convent which she left at the age of fourteen.
She shot to fame with Poor Cow (1967) and Up the Junction (1963), both of which became successful films. Up the Junction won the John Llewellyn Rhys prize.
She shot to fame with Poor Cow (1967) and Up the Junction (1963), both of which became successful films. Up the Junction won the John Llewellyn Rhys prize.