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

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