Poor Cow

Author: Nell Dunn

Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)

Published on 22^nd January 2026 by Little, Brown Book Group (Virago Press Ltd) in the United Kingdom as part of the 'Virago Modern Classics' series.

Paperback / softback | 160 pages
196mm x 126mm | 134g

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 TIMESTo 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