First published in Great Britain by MacGibbon and Kee Ltd in 1967, the copy I read was a `print on demand book` by Virago Press in 2004.Written by Nell Dunn ,priced at £10.00 (brought from Waterstones). I decided to buy this book because I have enjoyed reading other books by Virago Modern Classics I also enjoy reading books and watching films about life in Britain in the 1960`s .

**The Story**
This story is about a young mother called Joy , married to Tom who is a thief ,and has a young son called Jonny. Before Tom gets caught they are enjoying life in their lovely home but when Tom gets caught and sent to prison for 2 years, life for Joy and Jonny has to change.
Joy and Jonny go to live with her Aunty Emm who drives Joy up the wall.Before long Joy starts dating Dave (one of Toms thieving friends) and they fall in love.However Dave also gets caught and sent to jail for 12 years. Joy says she will wait for Dave and get divorced from Tom in the meantime.
So she is soon back living with Aunty Emm who looks after Jonny while Joy works as a barmaid in the local pub.Although she is waiting for Dave she still has a good time with the men who are locals in the pub, even sleeping with some of them for fun and money in some cases.Joy is blossoming with enjoying her freedom , buying new clothes , she is a good looking young woman and one of her friends introduces her to a photographer who pays her good money to do glamour work.
Joy is a dreamer, all she really wants is security and a nice home for herself and Jonny ,whom she loves very much. But what does the future hold for Joy with Dave in prison and Tom soon to be released?

**My Opinion**
This is a good story although not for the faint hearted in some places as the language and subject matter can sometimes be quite `colourful`, but on the whole I did enjoy reading it.



**Useful webpages**

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nell_Dunn Wikipedia page for Nell Dunn

http://www.sixtiescity.com/Mbeat/mbfilms55.htm Learn more about Nell Dunn and her books

http://www.virago.co.uk/ Virago Modern Classics books