As someone whose only prior dealings with the works of Muriel Spark came from a forced reading of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie many years ago, I was far from sure that I was going to like A Far Cry from Kensington. However, the book came as a pleasant surprise. The story follows the Read More
There is nothing lukewarm about Muriel Spark. In her writing she displays all the extravagance of an eccentric mind. Her eighth novel is set in Jerusalem in 1961, when the Mandelbaum Gate segregated Jerusalem into Jordan and Israel. As Gabriel Josipovici explains in his fine introduction to the 2018 Birlinn edition, this novel is Spark’s Read More
I use “mad” of course in the colloquial sense. In the way that we’re all mad, you know. A little crazy, you know. Amongst ourselves, I mean – the intelligentsia are all a little mad and, my dear Caroline, that’s what makes us so nice. The sane are not worth noticing. It may not be Read More
“Do not lose hold of the name Hildegard Wolf,” warns narrator and renowned author Muriel Spark as she twists legend into a tale of stolen and recreated identities. With these words, Spark adeptly begins to deconstruct the relationship between detective and criminal in conventional murder mysteries. With its cast of unorthodox characters, Aiding and Abetting Read More
Annabel was entirely aware of the image-making process in every phase. She did not expect this personal image to last long in the public mind, for she intended to play other parts than that of the suppressed tiger, now that she was becoming an established star. Muriel Spark’s The Public Image was shortlisted for Read More
As the centenary of Dame Muriel Spark’s birth approaches, we begin to revisit the wonderful work of one of Scotland’s finest writers. Muriel Spark 100, a year-long literary programme of events, will be taking place throughout the UK, in celebration of Spark’s life and revered writing. To mark the occasion, Polygon recently republished her twenty-two Read More
“Shadowed by her shadow she walks across the carpet.” Elsa Hazeltt’s shadow casts in the wrong direction. She wears secret codes from the Second World War on the bottoms of the shoes she buys on Madison Avenue. She, or her husband, Paul, or both, may or may not be insane. There is a chance that Read More
In her last published novel, The Finishing School, Muriel Spark throws open the doors of College Sunrise, a “mobile” finishing school run by aspiring novelist Rowland Mahler and his wife Nina Parker, near Lausanne in Switzerland. Alongside Nina’s comme il faut etiquette tuition, the young men and women are taught a number of artistic subjects Read More
Histories of the 20th century are numerous and, for those of us interested in understanding the present moment, fascinating. There is a commonplace schoolroom telling of developments, wars and upheaval, but there are also endless personal stories: journeys through the recent past that bring more emotional engagement to their setting, or look directly at events Read More
Pale with a title etched in a sombre serif on the spine, Beast lies waiting for you. The front cover features only the blood-red outline of a man lying on, or perhaps falling through empty space; the back says, in that same copperplate font: “Come to a place like this… and you will understand soon Read More