Beginning ~ with a fur coat

Leaving Home ~ by Anita Brookner, 2005, fiction (France)

"Suddenly, from the depths of an otherwise peaceful night, a name erupted from the past:  Dolly Edwards, my mother's friend, a smiling woman with very red lips and a fur coat.  I remember the coat because it was not removed for the whole of her visit, which she no doubt intended to be fleeting, having, she implied, much to do."

I'm curious about the coat.  It seems an odd way to start a story.  And who is this Dolly Edwards?

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays.  Click here for today's Mister Linky.