“[Spark] knew what the world thought of women like her, who prioritize their artistic and intellectual development over marriage, men and motherhood. She had known this, in fact, years before she herself became an object of public scrutiny. It is all there in the work she fought so fiercely to create, right from the beginning.”
—James Bailey on Muriel Spark’s eternal pursuit of the literary life – via @literaryhub
https://lithub.com/an-intellectual-monster-why-muriel-spark-never-married/
“It’s Lister who decides…” #nottodisturb #murielspark
Over the years; I've read a lot of Muriel Spark's novels; mostly pre-blog although some have appeared here on the Ramblings. However, I'm aware that there are still a good number of her titles I've not read and recently an Instagram reel on the subject of Scottish Gothic books sent me off in the direction of a novella of hers first published in 1971 - …
“The similarities between Spark & Schiaparelli are striking: both were witty, satirical. Both were artists depicting female desire & aspiration with a critical eye”
—via @literaryhub – Lilian Pizzichini looks for a dress from Muriel Spark’s THE GIRLS OF SLENDER MEANS
https://lithub.com/sciaparelli-and-spark-on-the-fashion-of-the-girls-of-slender-means/
#Scottish #literature #womenwriters #20thcentury #fashion #MurielSpark #Schiaparelli
Bang-Bang You’re Dead by Muriel Spark
via BBC Sounds
Sybil’s friends begin to see her in a new light when they watch film footage, peppered with hippos, poets & shooting affairs, taken during her time in Africa. First published 1958. Dramatised by Gowan Calder.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002tzst
#Scottish #literature #20thcentury #MurielSpark #womenwriters #radiodrama
On BBC Radio 4 Extra, 13 April, 3pm BST & on BBC Sounds thereafter
Drama by Sarah Wooley, based on Muriel Spark’s wartime work creating “Black Propaganda” for MI6. Her job was to produce what she called “a tangled mixture of damaging lies, flattering & plausible truths”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09k8v3t
#Scottish #literature #MurielSpark #WW2 #propaganda #MI6 #20thcentury #novelist #radiodrama
Where to start with: Muriel Spark
Today, 13 April, marks 20 years since the death of the novelist, short story writer, poet & essayist Muriel Spark. She was best known for her 22 novels – uncanny, astute & witty – beginning with her 1957 debut The Comforters. James Bailey, the author of a new biography, Like a Cat Loves a Bird: The Nine Lives of Muriel Spark, guides readers through her oeuvre.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/apr/09/where-to-start-with-muriel-spark
Revering both cats and the work of Muriel Spark (there are many parallels…), and when I saw its cover, I couldn’t pass up on James Bailey’s new biography of the writer, Like a Cat Loves a Bird: The Nine Lives of Muriel Spark.
Great to visit the Portobello Bookshop today, too, maybe my favourite independent bookshop within easy reach of home.
#MurielSpark #LikeACatLovesABird #TheNineLivesOfMurielSpark #JamesBailey #PortobelloBookshop #Biography #ScottishWriters #Books #Bookstodon #AlwaysJudgeABookByTheCover @bookstodon
Assoc for Scottish Literature
Bubbles
kaggsy59
Brian Lavelle
Christopher Lovegrove