A Time to Be Born (1942)

by Dawn Powell

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Mentions
280	7	95,514	(3.83)	8
Set against an atmospheric backdrop of New York City in the months just before America's entry into World War II, A Time To Be Born is a scathing and hilarious study of cynical New Yorkers stalking each other for various selfish ends. At the centre of the story are a wealthy, self-involved newspaper publisher and his scheming, novelist wife, Amanda Keeler.… (more)

all members

▾Members

Recently added by

RoseCityReader, featherbooks, Nicky24, Justwhatiwanted, dom61uk, Bahuvrihi, esighamo, Lemeritus, ominogue, jerfjerf

▾Tags

▾LibraryThing Recommendations

▾Member recommendations

00
Manhattan, when I Was Young by Mary Cantwell (ashleylauren)

▾Lists

The Guardian's 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read (926)

The Atlantic's The Great American Novel (128)

▾Will you like it?

▾Conversations (About links)

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 8 mentions

▾Member reviews

date ▼ | votes

Showing 1-5 of 7 (next | show all)

It’s a masterpiece, plain and simple.

Mark_Feltskog | Dec 23, 2023 |

Now I am left wanting to know what is going to happen to these characters next! Will Amanda be a success?

Very amusing look at the life of an ambitious woman, originally from a small Midwestern town, in New York City in the time just before the United States entered WW2 (1939-1940). (

)

leslie.98 | Jun 27, 2023 |

Set in the 40's in New York City, this is the story of vanity, pride, and greed. A young woman from a small town becomes the famed wife of a famous publisher; her friend from her home town has been jilted by a lover comes to New York and takes a job at the publishing company.

This is basically the story of people using each other. Very dated. (

)

maryreinert | Nov 21, 2022 |

Here's a story that takes place in Manhattan at the Time when people are speculating whether or not the U.S. will enter the war. One of the main characters is a gold-digger who grew up with the protagonist. At the end, we're hopeful that the gold-digger will get her"come-uppance," and the protagonist has a whirlwind marriage with the ex-lover of the gold-digger, so not so hopeful about that. This book is a commentary on the shallowness of those with money, and social climbers, and is really delicious to read for someone who despises both. (

)

burritapal | Oct 23, 2022 |

Liked the New York setting of this book...want to read more by Dawn Powell (

)

TheLoisLevel | Sep 12, 2016 |

date ▼ | votes

Showing 1-5 of 7 (next | show all)

▾Published reviews

no reviews | add a review

▾Other authors

» Add other authors (3 possible)

▾Series and work relationships

Is contained in

Dawn Powell: Novels, 1930-1942 by Dawn Powell

▾Awards and Honors

Notable Lists

The Great American Novels

The Guardian 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read (Comedy)

view history

▾Common Knowledge

You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.

For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.

Canonical title

Original title

Alternative titles

Original publication date

1942

People/Characters

Important places

Important events

Related movies

Epigraph

Dedication

To Coburn Gilman

First words

There was no time to cry over one broken heart. It was no time to worry about Vicky Haven or indeed any other young lady crossed in love, for now the universe, nothing less, was your problem. You woke in the morning with the weight of doom on your head. You lay with eyes shut wondering why you dreaded the day; was it a debt, was it a lost love? - and then you remembered the nightmare. It was a dream, you said, nothing but a dream, and the covers were thrown aside, the dream was over, now for the day. Then, fully awake, you remembered that it was no dream. Paris was gone. London was under fire, the Atlantic was now a drop of water between the flame on one side and the waiting dynamite on the other. -Chapter 1

Quotations

Last words

(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

Blurbers

Vidal, Gore

Original language

Canonical DDC/MDS

813.54

Canonical LCC

PS3531.O936

▾References

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English

None

▾Book descriptions

Set against an atmospheric backdrop of New York City in the months just before America's entry into World War II, A Time To Be Born is a scathing and hilarious study of cynical New Yorkers stalking each other for various selfish ends. At the centre of the story are a wealthy, self-involved newspaper publisher and his scheming, novelist wife, Amanda Keeler.

▾Library descriptions

No library descriptions found.

▾LibraryThing members' description

Book description

From Steerforth reissue (1996):
Set against an atmospheric backdrop of the city in the months just before America's entry into World War II, A Time to be Born is a scathing and hilarious study of cynical New Yorkers stalking each other for various selfish ends. At the center of the story are a wealthy, self-involved newspaper publisher and his scheming, novelist wife, Amanda Keeler. Powell always denied that Amanda Keeler was based uponthe real-life Clare Boothe Luce, until years laters when she discovered a memo she'd written to herself in 1939 that said, 'Why not do novel on Clare Luce?' Which prompted Powell to write in her diary, 'Who can I believe? Me or myself?'

Haiku summary