A short story. Alice Long is an English Catholic spinster who cares for her aging father and has the responsibility for the upkeep of a huge estate. People say of her, "Alice Long has only got her dogs. And all that upkeep." Mamie, age 8, who lives in The House even though her father no longer works on the estate, is missing her dancing lesson at the convent in order to...
A short story. Alice Long is an English Catholic spinster who cares for her aging father and has the responsibility for the upkeep of a huge estate. People say of her, "Alice Long has only got her dogs. And all that upkeep." Mamie, age 8, who lives in The House even though her father no longer works on the estate, is missing her dancing lesson at the convent in order to...
Muriel Spark's novel may be about the various physical and mental afflictions of old age, but far from being depressing or morbid, it is a wonderfully funny and exhilarating read.
Muriel Spark's novel may be about the various physical and mental afflictions of old age, but far from being depressing or morbid, it is a wonderfully funny and exhilarating read.
Muriel Spark's novel may be about the various physical and mental afflictions of old age, but far from being depressing or morbid, it is a wonderfully funny and exhilarating read.
January Marlow, a heroine with a Catholic outlook of the most unsentimental stripe, is one of three survivors out of twenty-nine souls when her plane crashes, blazing, on Robinson's island. Presumed dead for months, the three survivors must wait for the annual return of the pomegranate boat. Robinson, a determined loner, proves a fair if misanthropic host to his uninvited...
A Modern Morality Tale. An election is held at the abbey of Crewe and the new lady abbess takes up her high office with implacable serenity. This is a satirical fantasy about ecclesiastical and other kinds of politics. The author has also written The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and Girls of Slender Means.
A Modern Morality Tale. An election is held at the abbey of Crewe and the new lady abbess takes up her high office with implacable serenity. This is a satirical fantasy about ecclesiastical and other kinds of politics. The author has also written The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and Girls of Slender Means.
A Modern Morality Tale. An election is held at the abbey of Crewe and the new lady abbess takes up her high office with implacable serenity. This is a satirical fantasy about ecclesiastical and other kinds of politics. The author has also written The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and Girls of Slender Means.
First found contentedly chatting in their London clubs and shopping at Fortnum's, the cozy bachelors (as any Spark reader might guess) are not set to stay cozy for long. Soon enough, the men are variously tormented - defrauded or stolen from; blackmailed or pressed to attend horrid s ances - and then plunged, all together, into the nastiest of lawsuits. At the center of that...
First found contentedly chatting in their London clubs and shopping at Fortnum's, the cozy bachelors (as any Spark reader might guess) are not set to stay cozy for long. Soon enough, the men are variously tormented - defrauded or stolen from; blackmailed or pressed to attend horrid s ances - and then plunged, all together, into the nastiest of lawsuits. At the center of that...
First found contentedly chatting in their London clubs and shopping at Fortnum's, the cozy bachelors (as any Spark reader might guess) are not set to stay cozy for long. Soon enough, the men are variously tormented - defrauded or stolen from; blackmailed or pressed to attend horrid s ances - and then plunged, all together, into the nastiest of lawsuits. At the center of that...
A reissue of the 1960 novel which revolves around Dougal Douglas, evil genius and charmer who turns an entire South London community on its head. Murial Spark is the author of more than 15 novels including "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" and "Girls of Slender Means".
A reissue of the 1960 novel which revolves around Dougal Douglas, evil genius and charmer who turns an entire South London community on its head. Murial Spark is the author of more than 15 novels including "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" and "Girls of Slender Means".
This collection, which contains all her published short stories together with some previously unpublished work, amply displays Muriel Spark's extraordinary talent; her cool, biting humour and unique vision of human nature. Ghosts and judges, priests, murder and French chateaux: all the trademark Spark obsessions are here, and much more besides. Muriel Spark is 'a wholly...
This collection, which contains all her published short stories together with some previously unpublished work, amply displays Muriel Spark's extraordinary talent; her cool, biting humour and unique vision of human nature. Ghosts and judges, priests, murder and French chateaux: all the trademark Spark obsessions are here, and much more besides. Muriel Spark is 'a wholly...
This collection, which contains all her published short stories together with some previously unpublished work, amply displays Muriel Spark's extraordinary talent; her cool, biting humour and unique vision of human nature. Ghosts and judges, priests, murder and French chateaux: all the trademark Spark obsessions are here, and much more besides. Muriel Spark is 'a wholly...
The Girls of Slender Means is a novella written in 1963 by Scottish author Muriel Spark. It was included in Anthony Burgess's 1984 book Ninety-Nine Novels: The Best in English since 1939 — A Personal Choice. Dame Muriel Spark, DBE (1 February 1918 – 13 April 2006) was an award-winning Scottish novelist. In 2008 The Times newspaper named Spark in its list of "the 50 greatest...
In 1973 Paul and Elsa are living in New York. In 1944 they were both involved in intelligence work in England, and with the arrival in New York of Helmut Kiel, one-time German POW and lover of Elsa, their past returns to haunt them. Muriel Spark (1918-2006) was a prolific Scottish novelist, short story writer, and poet whose darkly comedic voice made her one of the most...
In 1973 Paul and Elsa are living in New York. In 1944 they were both involved in intelligence work in England, and with the arrival in New York of Helmut Kiel, one-time German POW and lover of Elsa, their past returns to haunt them. Muriel Spark (1918-2006) was a prolific Scottish novelist, short story writer, and poet whose darkly comedic voice made her one of the most...
In 1973 Paul and Elsa are living in New York. In 1944 they were both involved in intelligence work in England, and with the arrival in New York of Helmut Kiel, one-time German POW and lover of Elsa, their past returns to haunt them. Muriel Spark (1918-2006) was a prolific Scottish novelist, short story writer, and poet whose darkly comedic voice made her one of the most...
First Published: 1958. Type of Plot: Ghost story. Time of Work: 1930-1950. Setting: London, rural Great Britain, and the British colonies in Africa. Characters: Needle, Kathleen, John (Skinny), George. Genres: Short fiction, Ghost story. Subjects: Values, Love or romance, Interracial relationships, Religion, Catholics or Catholic Church, Life and death. This episodic story...
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie is a novel by novelist Muriel Spark, the best known of her works. It first saw publication in The New Yorker magazine and was published as a book by Macmillan in 1961. The character of Miss Jean Brodie brought Spark international fame and brought her into the first rank of contemporary Scottish literature. In 2005, the novel was chosen by Time...
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