A Time to Be Born by Powell, Dawn

A Time to Be Born (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781805333265)

Vendor: Dawn Powell
Product type: Books
Format: Paperback
$17.95
$17.95
$17.95
Subtotal: $17.95
A Time to Be Born by Powell, Dawn

A Time to Be Born

$17.95
A Time to Be Born by Powell, Dawn

A Time to Be Born

$17.95
Format: Paperback
Description
Description
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A gorgeous new paperback of Dawn Powell's razor-sharp comedy of manners, following a glittering tale of ambition and betrayal in prewar New York City.

"Few books have so bitingly and energetically captured the hunger for status and success that animate the city and enrage so many." -- The New York Times

Deemed "wittier than Dorothy Parker, [and able to] dissect the rich better than F. Scott Fitzgerald" (The New York Times Book Review), Dawn Powell earns her place as one of America's great novelists with this biting satire of a wealthy, self-involved publisher and his scheming novelist wife.

Amanda Keeler has clawed her way out of the backwaters of Ohio and into the affections of Julien Evans, New York's most powerful newspaper tycoon. With his ex-wife vanquished, Amanda reigns over their Fifth Avenue mansion, publishing wildly successful (ghostwritten) novels, charming guests at martini-soaked parties and furiously fending off Julien's pesky advances.

That's until the past comes knocking in the form of Vicky Haven, a timid school friend desperate for reinvention. Ever the strategist, Amanda lands Vicky a job in listings and a studio apartment--perfect for Amanda's daytime trysts with old flame, Ken Saunders. But matters of the heart rarely follow orders. When Vicky begins to wise up to her scheme, and sets her own sights on Ken, she ignites a love triangle that threatens to topple Amanda's carefully constructed empire.

Scathingly funny and irresistibly glamorous, A Time to be Born is a timeless portrait of social climbing, set in a 1940s Manhattan rife with backstabbing charm, brittle friendships and women who always land on their feet - heels first. Reissued in a stunning new package, it is the perfect introduction to Dawn Powell's wicked wit and unsparing eye, guaranteed to delight both established fans and new readers alike.

Author: Dawn Powell
ISBN-10: 1805333267
ISBN-13: 9781805333265
Publisher: Pushkin Press Classics
Language: English
Published: 06/02/2026
Pages: 336
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.81lbs
By Dawn Powell
By Dawn Powell
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Dawn Powell was born in Ohio in 1896, the second of three daughters. After enduring great cruelty at the hands of her stepmother, Dawn ran away at the age of thirteen and arrived at the home of her aunt, who served hot meals to travellers emerging from the train station across the street. Powell worked her way through college and made it to New York. Powell referred to herself as a "permanent visitor" in her adopted Manhattan and brought to her writing a perspective gained from her upbringing in Middle America. She knew many legendary writers of her time, and Diana Trilling famously said it was Dawn 'who really says the funny things for which Dorothy Parker gets credit.' Ernest Hemingway called her his 'favorite living writer.' She died in 1965 she was buried in New York's Potter's Field.

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