Poor Cow

THE BESTSELLLING CLASSIC OF SIXTIES LONDON

''Touching, truthful and fresh - a tour de force'' MARGARET DRABBLE
''Hilarious, heartbreaking'' PARIS REVIEW
''Her art is ignited by voice'' ALI SMITH, GUARDIAN
''Exuberantly alive'' SUNDAY TIMES

To think when I was a kid I planned to conquer the world and if anyone saw me now they''d say, ''She''s had a rough night, poor cow.''

Joy - twenty-one, bleach-blonde, a head full of dreams - walks down Fulham Broadway in a maternity dress and high suede shoes, carrying her week-old baby. Her husband Tom is a thief and on the proceeds of a job they move to a luxury flat in Ruislip, all new lino and fitted carpets. Then Tom is sent to prison, leaving Joy to move in with Auntie Emm - and to grapple with motherhood, modelling and unreliable men. Exuberant, earthy and tender, Poor Cow was a revelatory portrait of sixties London life.

INTRODUCED BY MARGARET DRABBLE