Poor Cow - A Virago Modern Classic

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.