Borrowed Finery (Text Only‪)‬

One of the most powerful memoirs of recent times.

Shortly after Paula Fox’s birth in 1923, her hard-drinking Hollywood screenwriter father and her glamorous mother left her in a Manhattan orphanage. Rescued by her grandmother, she was passed from hand to hand, the kindness of strangers interrupted by brief and disturbing reunions with her darkly enchanting parents. In New York, Paula lives with her Spanish grandmother; in Cuba, she wanders about freely on a sugarcane plantation owned by a wealthy relative; in California she finds herself cast away on the dismal margins of Hollywood where famous actors and literary celebrities – John Wayne, Buster Keaton, Orson Welles – glitteringly appear and then fade away.

A moving and unusual portrait of a life adrift. Paula Fox gives us an unforgettable appraisal of just how much – and how little – a child requires to survive.

Reviews

‘“Borrowed Finery” is like being let into a living diary, full of glittering scenes that, as you turn to them, suddenly begin to move. It is a more humane, even-handed and entertaining book than many of the people involved had any right to expect.’ The Times

‘It is with amazement, approaching incredulity, that I read Paula Fox’s account of being abandoned by her parents. Gripping and shocking.’ Sunday Times

‘I highly recommend this tart, poignant tale.’ Sarah Dunant, Books of the Year, Independent on Sunday

‘In less poised hands, this story could turn to self-pitying melodrama. Fox’s telling, however, is as sharp and clean as a whiplash, piquing the reader’s curiosity.’ Herald

About the author

Paula Fox is the author of six novels, including Desperate Characters, The Widow’s Children, and Poor George. She is also a Newbery Award-winning children’s author. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.