Muriel Spark
Encyclopedia
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 British writers
since 1945".
, the daughter of Sarah Elizabeth Maud (née Uezzell) and Bernard Camberg, an engineer. Her father was Jewish and her mother had been raised a Presbyterian, as was Spark. She was educated at James Gillespie's High School for Girls
(1923 – 1935). The family lived in the Bruntsfield
area of Edinburgh. In 1934–35 she took a course in "Commercial correspondence and précis writing" at Heriot-Watt College. She taught English for a brief time and then worked as a secretary in a department store.
On 3 September 1937 she married Sidney Oswald Spark, and soon followed him to Rhodesia
(now Zimbabwe
). Their son Robin was born in July 1938. Within months she discovered that her husband was manic depressive
and prone to violent outbursts. In 1940 Muriel left Sidney and Robin. She returned to the United Kingdom in early 1944, taking residence at the Helena Club in London; years later the club would be her inspiration for the fictional May of Teck Club in The Girls of Slender Means. She worked in Intelligence
for the remainder of World War II
. She provided money at regular intervals to support her son as he toiled unsuccessfully over the years. Spark maintained it was her intention for her family to set up home in England, but Robin returned to Britain with his father later to be brought up by his maternal grandparents in Scotland
.
and literary criticism
. In 1947 she became editor of the Poetry Review. In 1954 she decided to join the Roman Catholic Church
, which she considered crucial in her development toward becoming a novelist. Penelope Fitzgerald
, a fellow novelist and contemporary of Spark, wrote that Spark "had pointed out that it wasn't until she became a Roman Catholic... that she was able to see human existence as a whole, as a novelist needs to do." In an interview with John Tusa
on BBC Radio 4
, she said of her conversion and its effect on her writing: "I was just a little worried, tentative. Would it be right, would it not be right? Can I write a novel about that — would it be foolish, wouldn't it be? And somehow with my religion — whether one has anything to do with the other, I don't know — but it does seem so, that I just gained confidence…" Graham Greene
and Evelyn Waugh
supported her in her decision.
Her first novel, The Comforters
, was published in 1957. It featured several references to Catholicism and conversion to Catholicism, although its main theme revolved around a young woman who becomes aware that she is a character in a novel.
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1961) was more successful. Spark displayed originality of subject and tone, making extensive use of flashforward
s and imagined conversations. It is clear that James Gillespie's High School was the model for the Marcia Blaine School in the novel.
After living in New York City
for some years, she moved to Rome
, where she met artist and sculptor Penelope Jardine in 1968. In the early 1970s they settled in Tuscany
, in the village of Civitella della Chiana, of which in 2005 Spark was made an honorary citizen. She was the subject of frequent rumours of lesbian relationships from her time in New York onwards, although Spark and her friends denied their validity. She left her entire estate to Jardine, taking measures to ensure that her son receive nothing.
Spark refused permission to publish a biography of her written by Martin Stannard. Penelope Jardine now holds publication approval rights, and the book was published in July 2009. On 27 July 2009 Stannard was interviewed on Front Row
, the BBC Radio 4
arts programme. According to A. S. Byatt
, "She [Jardine] was very upset by the book and had to spend a lot of time going through it, line by line, to try to make it a little bit fairer".
Spark received the James Tait Black Memorial Prize
in 1965 for The Mandelbaum Gate
, the US Ingersoll Foundation T. S. Eliot Award in 1992 and the David Cohen Prize
in 1997. She became Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1993, in recognition of her services to literature. She has been twice shortlisted for the Booker Prize, in 1969 for The Public Image
and in 1981 for Loitering with Intent
. In 2010 Spark was shortlisted for the Lost Man Booker Prize
of 1970 for The Driver's Seat
.
prompted him to petition for his late grandmother to be recognized as Jewish (Spark's maternal grandmother, Adelaide Hyams, had married her maternal grandfather, Tom Uezzell, in a church; it was unclear whether both of Adelaide's parents were Jewish). The devout Catholic Spark reacted by accusing him of seeking publicity to further his career as an artist. During one of her last book signings in Edinburgh
she responded to an enquiry from a journalist asking if she would see her son by saying 'I think I know how best to avoid him by now'.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(1 February 1918 – 13 April 2006) was an award-winning Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
novelist. In 2008 The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
newspaper named Spark in its list of "the 50 greatest British writers
British literature
British Literature refers to literature associated with the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and Channel Islands. By far the largest part of British literature is written in the English language, but there are bodies of written works in Latin, Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Scots, Cornish, Manx, Jèrriais,...
since 1945".
Early life
She was born Muriel Sarah Camberg in EdinburghEdinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, the daughter of Sarah Elizabeth Maud (née Uezzell) and Bernard Camberg, an engineer. Her father was Jewish and her mother had been raised a Presbyterian, as was Spark. She was educated at James Gillespie's High School for Girls
James Gillespie's High School
James Gillespie's High School is a state secondary school in Marchmont, Edinburgh. The school is a comprehensive High School, educating pupils aged 11 to 18 years of age. It has recently celebrated its 200th anniversary, and its campus consists of primarily 1960s buildings alongside the 16th...
(1923 – 1935). The family lived in the Bruntsfield
Bruntsfield
Bruntsfield is an area of Edinburgh, Scotland, about twenty minutes walk south-west of the city centre. In feudal times it fell within the barony of Colinton.-Location:...
area of Edinburgh. In 1934–35 she took a course in "Commercial correspondence and précis writing" at Heriot-Watt College. She taught English for a brief time and then worked as a secretary in a department store.
On 3 September 1937 she married Sidney Oswald Spark, and soon followed him to Rhodesia
Rhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
(now Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
). Their son Robin was born in July 1938. Within months she discovered that her husband was manic depressive
Bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder or bipolar affective disorder, historically known as manic–depressive disorder, is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a category of mood disorders defined by the presence of one or more episodes of abnormally elevated energy levels, cognition, and mood with or without one or...
and prone to violent outbursts. In 1940 Muriel left Sidney and Robin. She returned to the United Kingdom in early 1944, taking residence at the Helena Club in London; years later the club would be her inspiration for the fictional May of Teck Club in The Girls of Slender Means. She worked in Intelligence
Military intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that exploits a number of information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to commanders in support of their decisions....
for the remainder of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. She provided money at regular intervals to support her son as he toiled unsuccessfully over the years. Spark maintained it was her intention for her family to set up home in England, but Robin returned to Britain with his father later to be brought up by his maternal grandparents in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
Writing career
Spark began writing seriously after the war, under her married name, beginning with poetryPoetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
and literary criticism
Literary criticism
Literary criticism is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often informed by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of its methods and goals...
. In 1947 she became editor of the Poetry Review. In 1954 she decided to join the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, which she considered crucial in her development toward becoming a novelist. Penelope Fitzgerald
Penelope Fitzgerald
Penelope Fitzgerald was a Booker Prize-winning English novelist, poet, essayist and biographer. In 2008, The Times included her in a list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945".-Early life:...
, a fellow novelist and contemporary of Spark, wrote that Spark "had pointed out that it wasn't until she became a Roman Catholic... that she was able to see human existence as a whole, as a novelist needs to do." In an interview with John Tusa
John Tusa
Sir John Tusa is a British arts administrator, and radio and television journalist. From 1980 to 1986 he was a main presenter of BBC 2's Newsnight programme. From 1995 until 2007 he was managing director of the City of London's Barbican Arts Centre...
on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
, she said of her conversion and its effect on her writing: "I was just a little worried, tentative. Would it be right, would it not be right? Can I write a novel about that — would it be foolish, wouldn't it be? And somehow with my religion — whether one has anything to do with the other, I don't know — but it does seem so, that I just gained confidence…" Graham Greene
Graham Greene
Henry Graham Greene, OM, CH was an English author, playwright and literary critic. His works explore the ambivalent moral and political issues of the modern world...
and Evelyn Waugh
Evelyn Waugh
Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh , known as Evelyn Waugh, was an English writer of novels, travel books and biographies. He was also a prolific journalist and reviewer...
supported her in her decision.
Her first novel, The Comforters
The Comforters
The Comforters is the first novel by Scottish author Muriel Spark, it drew on her own experiences as a recent convert to Catholicism and a three-month period when she suffered hallucinations whilst taking the appetite suppresent Dexedrine...
, was published in 1957. It featured several references to Catholicism and conversion to Catholicism, although its main theme revolved around a young woman who becomes aware that she is a character in a novel.
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1961) was more successful. Spark displayed originality of subject and tone, making extensive use of flashforward
Flashforward
A flashforward is an interjected scene that takes the narrative forward in time from the current point of the story in literature, film, television and other media. Flashforwards are often used to represent events expected, projected, or imagined to occur in the future...
s and imagined conversations. It is clear that James Gillespie's High School was the model for the Marcia Blaine School in the novel.
After living in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
for some years, she moved to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, where she met artist and sculptor Penelope Jardine in 1968. In the early 1970s they settled in Tuscany
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
, in the village of Civitella della Chiana, of which in 2005 Spark was made an honorary citizen. She was the subject of frequent rumours of lesbian relationships from her time in New York onwards, although Spark and her friends denied their validity. She left her entire estate to Jardine, taking measures to ensure that her son receive nothing.
Spark refused permission to publish a biography of her written by Martin Stannard. Penelope Jardine now holds publication approval rights, and the book was published in July 2009. On 27 July 2009 Stannard was interviewed on Front Row
Front Row (radio)
Front Row is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. The BBC describes the programme as a "live magazine programme on the world of arts, literature, film, media and music." It is broadcast each week day between 7.15 and 7.45 and has a of highlights available for download. Shows usually include...
, the BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
arts programme. According to A. S. Byatt
A. S. Byatt
Dame Antonia Susan Duffy, DBE is an English novelist, poet and Booker Prize winner...
, "She [Jardine] was very upset by the book and had to spend a lot of time going through it, line by line, to try to make it a little bit fairer".
Spark received the James Tait Black Memorial Prize
James Tait Black Memorial Prize
Founded in 1919, the James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are among the oldest and most prestigious book prizes awarded for literature written in the English language and are Britain's oldest literary awards...
in 1965 for The Mandelbaum Gate
The Mandelbaum Gate
The Mandelbaum Gate is a novel written by Scottish author Muriel Spark published in 1965 and winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize that year. The title refers to the Mandelbaum Gate in Jerusalem around which the novel is set...
, the US Ingersoll Foundation T. S. Eliot Award in 1992 and the David Cohen Prize
David Cohen Prize
The David Cohen Prize for Literature is a biennial British literary award given to a writer, novelist, short-story writer, poet, essayist or dramatist in recognition of an entire body of work, written in the English language. The prize is funded by the John S. Cohen Foundation and administered by...
in 1997. She became Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1993, in recognition of her services to literature. She has been twice shortlisted for the Booker Prize, in 1969 for The Public Image
The Public Image
The Public Image is a novel published in 1968 by Scottish author Muriel Spark and shortlisted for the Booker Prize the following year.It is set in Rome and concerns Annabel Christopher, an up-and-coming film actress. Annabel carefully cultivates her image to keep her career on course, managing to...
and in 1981 for Loitering with Intent
Loitering with Intent
Loitering With Intent is a novel by Scottish author Muriel Spark. Published in 1981 by Bodley Head it was short-listed for the Booker Prize that year. It contains many autobiographical references to Spark's early career and was shortlisted for the 1981 Booker Prize...
. In 2010 Spark was shortlisted for the Lost Man Booker Prize
Lost Man Booker Prize
The Lost Man Booker Prize was a special edition of the Man Booker Prize awarded by a public vote in 2010 to a novel from 1970, described by The New York Times as "an act of literary reparation"...
of 1970 for The Driver's Seat
The Driver's Seat (novel)
The Driver's Seat is a novella by Muriel Spark. Published in 1970, it was advertised as "a metaphysical shocker". It is indeed in the psychological thriller genre, dealing with themes of alienation, isolation and loss of spiritual values....
.
Relationship with her son
Spark and her son Robin had a strained relationship. They had a falling out when Robin's Orthodox JudaismJudaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
prompted him to petition for his late grandmother to be recognized as Jewish (Spark's maternal grandmother, Adelaide Hyams, had married her maternal grandfather, Tom Uezzell, in a church; it was unclear whether both of Adelaide's parents were Jewish). The devout Catholic Spark reacted by accusing him of seeking publicity to further his career as an artist. During one of her last book signings in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
she responded to an enquiry from a journalist asking if she would see her son by saying 'I think I know how best to avoid him by now'.
Novels
- The ComfortersThe ComfortersThe Comforters is the first novel by Scottish author Muriel Spark, it drew on her own experiences as a recent convert to Catholicism and a three-month period when she suffered hallucinations whilst taking the appetite suppresent Dexedrine...
(19571957 in literatureThe year 1957 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* Lawrence Durrell publishes the first volume of The Alexandria Quartet. The final of the four volumes will be published in 1960....
) - Robinson (19581958 in literatureThe year 1958 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*August 18 - Vladimir Nabokov's controversial novel Lolita is published in United States.*First volume of The Civil War by Shelby Foote is published....
) - Memento MoriMemento Mori (novel)Memento Mori is a novel written by Scottish author Muriel Spark and published by Macmillan in 1959. The title translates to "Remember you must die" and is the message delivered by a series of insidious phone-calls made to the elderly Dame Lettie Colston and her acquaintances...
(19591959 in literatureThe year 1959 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*April 30 - Theatrical première of Bertolt Brecht's Saint Joan of the Stockyards, originally performed on radio in 1932....
) - The Ballad of Peckham RyeThe Ballad of Peckham RyeThe Ballad of Peckham Rye is a novel written in 1960 by the Scottish author Muriel Spark.It tells the story of a devilish Scottish migrant, Dougal Douglas, who moves to Peckham in London and wreaks havoc amongst the lives of the inhabitants...
(19601960 in literatureThe year 1960 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*November 2 – Penguin Books is found not guilty of obscenity in the Lady Chatterley's Lover case in the United Kingdom....
) - The BachelorsThe Bachelors (novel)The Bachelors is a novel written in 1960 by the Scottish author Muriel Spark.It follows a group of British bachelors whose misogynistic world is shattered when they suddenly find themselves the target of blackmail and fraud....
(1960) - The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (19611961 in literatureThe year 1961 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*First English production of Bertolt Brecht's The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui*Michael Halliday publishes his seminal paper on the systemic functional grammar model....
) - The Girls of Slender MeansThe Girls of Slender MeansThe 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.-Plot introduction:...
(19631963 in literatureThe year 1963 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*First United States printing of John Cleland's 1749 novel, Fanny Hill . The book is banned for obscenity, triggering a court case by its publisher.*Leslie Charteris publishes his final collection of stories...
) - The Mandelbaum GateThe Mandelbaum GateThe Mandelbaum Gate is a novel written by Scottish author Muriel Spark published in 1965 and winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize that year. The title refers to the Mandelbaum Gate in Jerusalem around which the novel is set...
(19651965 in literatureThe year 1965 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-New books:*Lloyd Alexander - The Black Cauldron*J. G. Ballard - The Drought*Ray Bradbury - The Vintage Bradbury*John Brunner...
) - The Public ImageThe Public ImageThe Public Image is a novel published in 1968 by Scottish author Muriel Spark and shortlisted for the Booker Prize the following year.It is set in Rome and concerns Annabel Christopher, an up-and-coming film actress. Annabel carefully cultivates her image to keep her career on course, managing to...
(19681968 in literatureThe year 1968 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* Dean R. Koontz's first novel, Star Quest is published....
) - Shortlisted for Booker Prize - The Driver's SeatThe Driver's Seat (novel)The Driver's Seat is a novella by Muriel Spark. Published in 1970, it was advertised as "a metaphysical shocker". It is indeed in the psychological thriller genre, dealing with themes of alienation, isolation and loss of spiritual values....
(19701970 in literatureThe year 1970 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* Deliverance by American poet James Dickey published...
) - Not to Disturb (19711971 in literatureThe year 1971 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*The Destiny Waltz by Gerda Charles wins the UK's first Whitbread Novel of the Year Award.-New books:*Hiroshi Aramata - Teito Monogatari...
) - The Hothouse by the East River (19731973 in literatureThe year 1973 in literature involved several significant events and the writing of many notable books.-Events:*September 25 - The funeral of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda becomes a focus for protests against the new government of Augusto Pinochet...
) - The Abbess of Crewe (19741974 in literatureThe year 1974 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*The Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics is founded by Allen Ginsberg and Anne Waldman.-New books:*Richard Adams - Shardik*Kingsley Amis - Ending Up...
) - The TakeoverThe Takeover (novel)The Takeover is a novel by the Scottish author Muriel Spark. It was first published in 1976.It is set in Nemi, Italy between 1973 and 1975. The author had moved to Italy as a permanent resident in the late 1960s.-Plot summary:...
(19761976 in literatureThe year 1976 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* Saul Bellow won both the Nobel Prize for Literature and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.-New books:*Kingsley Amis – The Alteration...
) - Territorial Rights (19791979 in literatureThe year 1979 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-New books:*Douglas Adams - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*V.C...
) - Loitering with IntentLoitering with IntentLoitering With Intent is a novel by Scottish author Muriel Spark. Published in 1981 by Bodley Head it was short-listed for the Booker Prize that year. It contains many autobiographical references to Spark's early career and was shortlisted for the 1981 Booker Prize...
(19811981 in literatureThe year 1981 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction given for the first time...
) - Shortlisted for Booker Prize - The Only Problem (19841984 in literatureThe year 1984 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*The book Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell is widely read....
) - A Far Cry From KensingtonA Far Cry From KensingtonA Far Cry From Kensington is a novel by Scottish author Muriel Spark published in 1988. It is narrated by Agnes Hawkins; a young war-widow lodging in a rooming house in South Kensington and working as an editor at a struggling publishing house....
(19881988 in literatureThe year 1988 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-New books:*Margaret Atwood - Cat's Eye*J.G. Ballard - Memories of the Space Age*Iain M...
) - SymposiumSymposium (novel)Symposium is a novel by Scottish author Muriel Spark, published in 1990.-Plot introduction:It is the story of a dinner party and the events leading up to it involving the lives of the five couples attending:...
(19901990 in literatureThe year 1990 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*J. K. Rowling gets the idea for Harry Potter while on a train ride from Manchester to London. She says "I was staring out the window, and the idea for Harry just came. He appeared in my mind's eye, very fully formed...
) - Reality and Dreams (19961996 in literatureThe year 1996 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Harper Lee's novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, is removed from an advanced placement English reading list in Lindale, Texas because it "conflicted with the values of the community."* In the United Kingdom, the first...
) - Aiding and AbettingAiding and Abetting (novel)Aiding and Abetting, is a novel by Muriel Spark published in 2000, six years before her death. Unlike her other novels, it is based partly on a documented occurrence; however, as the author states in a note, she takes liberties with the facts....
(20002000 in literatureThe year 2000 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* February 13 - Final original Peanuts comic strip is published...
) - The Finishing SchoolThe Finishing SchoolThe Finishing School is the last novel written by Scottish author Muriel Spark and published by Viking Press in 2004. It concerns 'College Sunrise', a mixed-sex finishing school in Ouchy on the banks of Lake Geneva near Lausanne in Switzerland....
(20042004 in literatureThe year 2004 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* Canada Reads selects Guy Vanderhaeghe's The Last Crossing to be read across the nation....
)
Other works
- Tribute to Wordsworth (edited with Derek StanfordDerek StanfordDerek Stanford FRSL was a British writer, known as a biographer, essayist and poet. He was educated at Upper Latymer School, Hammersmith, London.As a conscientious objector during World War II he served in the Non-combatant Corps...
) (19501950 in literatureThe year 1950 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Kazuo Shimada wins the "Mystery Writer Of Japan" award for his book Shakai-bu Kisha .*Jack Kerouac has his first novel published....
) - Child of Light (a study of Mary ShelleyMary ShelleyMary Shelley was a British novelist, short story writer, dramatist, essayist, biographer, and travel writer, best known for her Gothic novel Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus . She also edited and promoted the works of her husband, the Romantic poet and philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley...
) (19511951 in literatureThe year 1951 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*E. E. Cummings and Rachel Carson are awarded Guggenheim Fellowships.*Flannery O'Connor is diagnosed with lupus....
) - The Fanfarlo and Other Verse (19521952 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* November — The Group British poetry movement of the 1950s and 1960s began at Downing College, Cambridge University, Philip Hobsbaum along with two friends — Tony Davis and Neil Morris...
) - Selected Poems of Emily Brontë (19521952 in literatureThe year 1952, in literature involved some significant events and new literary publications.-Events:*J. L. Carr takes over as headmaster of Highfields Primary School, Kettering, which will eventually furnish the subject matter for his novel, The Harpole Report.*November 25 - Agatha Christie's play...
) - John Masefield (biography) (19531953 in literatureThe year 1953 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* January 22 - The Crucible, a drama by Arthur Miller, opens on Broadway....
) - Emily Brontë: Her Life and Work (with Derek Stanford) (1953)
- My Best Mary (a selection of letters of Mary ShelleyMary ShelleyMary Shelley was a British novelist, short story writer, dramatist, essayist, biographer, and travel writer, best known for her Gothic novel Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus . She also edited and promoted the works of her husband, the Romantic poet and philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley...
, edited with Derek Stanford) (1953) - The Brontë letters (19541954 in literatureThe year 1954 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Jack Kerouac reads Dwight Goddard's A Buddhist Bible, which will influence him greatly.*John Updike graduates from Harvard with a thesis on George Herbert....
) - Letters of John Henry Newman (edited with Derek Stanford) (19571957 in literatureThe year 1957 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* Lawrence Durrell publishes the first volume of The Alexandria Quartet. The final of the four volumes will be published in 1960....
) - The Go-away Bird (short stories) (19581958 in literatureThe year 1958 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*August 18 - Vladimir Nabokov's controversial novel Lolita is published in United States.*First volume of The Civil War by Shelby Foote is published....
) - Voices at Play (short stories and plays) (19611961 in literatureThe year 1961 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*First English production of Bertolt Brecht's The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui*Michael Halliday publishes his seminal paper on the systemic functional grammar model....
) - Doctors of Philosophy (play) (19631963 in literatureThe year 1963 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*First United States printing of John Cleland's 1749 novel, Fanny Hill . The book is banned for obscenity, triggering a court case by its publisher.*Leslie Charteris publishes his final collection of stories...
) - Collected Poems I (19671967 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:*Cecil Day-Lewis is selected as the new Poet Laureate of the UK....
) - Collected Stories I (1967)
- The Very Fine Clock (children's book, illustrations by Edward GoreyEdward GoreyEdward St. John Gorey was an American writer and artist noted for his macabre illustrated books.-Early life:...
)(1968) - Bang-bang You're Dead (short stories) (19821982 in literatureThe year 1982 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*La Bicyclette Bleue by Régine Deforges becomes France's best selling novel ever.-New books:...
) - Mary Shelley (complete revision of Child of Light) (1987)
- Going Up to Sotheby's and Other Poems (19821982 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:*Final edition of This Magazine published....
) - Curriculum Vitae (autobiography) (19921992 in literatureThe year 1992 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-New books:*Ben Aaronovitch - Transit*Julia Álvarez - How the García Girls Lost Their Accents*Paul Auster - Leviathan*Iain Banks - The Crow Road...
) - Complete Short Stories (20012001 in literatureThe year 2001 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* The film version of J. R. R. Tolkien's classic book, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, is released to movie theaters...
) - All the Poems (20042004 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* April 1 — Foetry.com Web site is launched for the announced purpose of "Exposing fraudulent contests. Tracking the sycophants...
)
External links
- The Muriel Spark Papers at Washington University in St. Louis
- Muriel Spark fonds at University of Victoria, Special Collections
- Guardian obituary
- In their own words BBC interview 03 December 1971 (Video, 30 mins)
- "Chrysalis": a poem by Muriel Spark from TLS, 17 January 2008