This scathing 8220comedy of manners8221 set in the 1940s 8220steers us through the lives of women who come to New York for love, money, opportunity, and a good time8221 (New York Times) At the center of this 1942 novel are a wealthy, selfinvolved newspaper publisher and his scheming, novelist wife, Amanda Keeler8212who ensnares Ohioan Vicky Haven in her social and romantic manipulations Author Dawn Powell always denied Amanda Keeler was based upon the reallife Clare Boothe Luce until years later when she discovered a memo she8217d written to herself in 1939 that said, 8220Why not do a novel on Clare Luce?8221 Which prompted Powell to write in her diary, 8220Who can I believe? Me or myself?8221 Set against an atmospheric backdrop of New York City in the months just before America8217 s entry into World War II, A Time of Be Born is a scathing and hilarious study of cynical New Yorkers stalking each other for various selfish ends