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Muriel Spark (1918–2006)

Author of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

Includes the names: Muriel Spark, Murial Spark, Muriel Spark, Murial Spark, Murield Spark, Muriels Spark, by Muriel Spark, Мюриэл Спарк, Muriel; Muriel Spark Spark, Schriftstellerin Muriel Spark ... (see complete list), Muriel Spark Illustrated by Beryl Cook, Illustrated by Beryl Cook Muriel Spark, William (Introduction) Muriel ; Boyd Spark, Allan Massie (introduction) (author), Alan Taylor (series editor) Muriel Spark, Zoë Strachan (introduction) (author), Alan Taylor (series editor) Muriel Spark

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Muriel Spark has been called "our most chillingly comic writer since Evelyn Waugh" by the London Spectator, and the New Yorker praised her novel Memento Mori ri (1959) as "flawless." Her fiction is marked by its remarkable diversity, wit, and craftsmanship. "She happens to be, by some rare concatenation of grace and talent, an artist, a serious---and most accomplished---writer, a moralist engaged with the human predicament, wildly entertaining, and a joy to read" (SRSR). She became widely known in the United States when the New Yorker devoted almost an entire issue to The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1961). Set in Edinburgh in the 1930s, this is the story of a schoolteacher, her unorthodox approach to life, and its effect on her select group of adolescent girls. Though their idol turns out to have feet of clay, she leaves an indelible mark on their lives. The Girls of Slender Means (1963), also warmly praised, is a sardonic look at the vivacity of youth and the anxieties of young womanhood. Reviewing The Mandelbaum Gate (1965) for the New Republic, Honor Tracy wrote: "There is an abundance here of invention, humor, poetry, wit, perception, that all but takes the breath away. . . . The story, in fact, is pure adventure, with the suspense as artfully maintained as anywhere by Graham Greene, but this is only one ingredient. There are memorable descriptions of the Holy Land, fascinating insights into the jumble of intrigue and piety surrounding the Holy Places, and penetrating studies of Arabs. . . . In each of [Spark's] novels heretofore one of her qualities has tended to predominate over the others. Here for the first time they are all impressively marshaled side by side, resulting in her best work so far." The daughter of an Englishwoman and a Scottish-Jewish father, Spark was born and educated in Edinburgh. After her marriage in 1938, she lived for some years in Central Africa, a period rarely reflected in her work. During World War II, she returned to Britain, where she worked in the Political Intelligence Department of the Foreign Office after the breakup of her marriage. She has been a magazine editor and written poetry and literary criticism. Spark has lived in London's Camberwell section, the setting of The Ballad of Peckham Rye (1960), but now makes her home in New York. Her novels reflect her conversion to Roman Catholicism. (Bowker Author Biography) Writer Muriel Spark was born in Edinburgh on February 1, 1918. In 1934-1935 she took a course in commercial correspondence and précis writing at Heriot-Watt College. After her marriage in 1937, she lived for some years in Central Africa. During World War II, she returned to Britain, where she worked in the Political Intelligence Department of the Foreign Office after the breakup of her marriage. After the war, she began her literary career. She became General Secretary of the Poetry Society, worked as an editor and wrote studies of Mary Shelley, John Masefield and the Brontë sisters. Her first book of poetry, The Fanfarlo and Other Verse, was published in 1952 and her first novel, The Comforters, was published in 1957. She wrote over twenty books including The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and The Finishing School. She won numerous awards and honors including the 1965 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for The Mandelbaum Gate, the 1992 U. S. Ingersoll Foundation T. S. Eliot Award, the 1997 David Cohen British Literature Prize for Lifetime Achievement, and in 1993 she became Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in recognition of her services to literature. The Scottish Arts Council created the Muriel Spark International Fellowship in 2004. She died on April 13, 2006. (Bowker Author Biography) — biography from The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie… (more)
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Works by Muriel Spark
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie 5,061 copies, 166 reviews
Memento Mori 1,693 copies, 64 reviews
The Girls of Slender Means 1,281 copies, 56 reviews
A Far Cry from Kensington 1,233 copies, 55 reviews
The Driver's Seat 943 copies, 49 reviews
Loitering with Intent 818 copies, 26 reviews
The Ballad of Peckham Rye 718 copies, 21 reviews
Aiding and Abetting 570 copies, 24 reviews
The Finishing School 515 copies, 25 reviews
The Mandelbaum Gate 497 copies, 12 reviews
The Comforters 492 copies, 23 reviews
Symposium 470 copies, 15 reviews
The Abbess of Crewe 457 copies, 15 reviews
The Bachelors 441 copies, 15 reviews
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie / The Girls of Slender Means / The Driver's… 345 copies, 11 reviews
The Public Image 304 copies, 8 reviews
The Only Problem 279 copies, 5 reviews
Not to Disturb 271 copies, 8 reviews
Curriculum Vitae: A Volume of Autobiography 265 copies, 6 reviews
Territorial Rights 262 copies, 4 reviews
Robinson 234 copies, 12 reviews
Reality and Dreams 232 copies, 10 reviews
Mary Shelley 214 copies, 4 reviews
The Takeover 211 copies, 10 reviews
The Hothouse by the East River 196 copies, 9 reviews
The Stories of Muriel Spark 122 copies, 1 review
The Portobello Road And Other Stories 121 copies
All the Stories of Muriel Spark 120 copies, 1 review
The Complete Short Stories 111 copies, 3 reviews
The Go-Away Bird and Other Stories 92 copies, 1 review
The Snobs (Pocket Penguins 70's) 84 copies
The Ghost Stories of Muriel Spark 64 copies, 2 reviews
Muriel Spark Omnibus 1 64 copies, 2 reviews
Muriel Spark Omnibus 2 58 copies, 1 review
Open to the Public: New & Collected Stories 46 copies
The Informed Air: Essays 37 copies, 2 reviews
Voices at Play 36 copies
The Collected Stories of Muriel Spark 35 copies
All the Poems of Muriel Spark 32 copies, 3 reviews
Memento mori, and The ballad of Peckham Rye 27 copies
The Essence of the Brontës 26 copies
Selected Stories (Pocket Classics) 25 copies, 1 review
Emily Brontë: her life and work 25 copies
A Muriel Spark trio: The comforters, The ballad of Peckham Rye, Memento… 21 copies, 1 review
Memonto Mori and The Girls of Slender Means 21 copies
The Very Fine Clock 20 copies, 2 reviews
Aiding and Abetting & The Go-Away Bird 18 copies
Doctors of Philosophy: A Play 18 copies, 2 reviews
The Golden Fleece 18 copies
Bang-bang You're Dead and Other Stories 17 copies, 1 review
MURIEL SPARK Collected Stories I. 14 copies, 1 review
Muriel Spark Omnibus 1 & 2 13 copies
Modern Short Stories 2: 1940-1980 (Contributor) 12 copies
Memento Mori; The Girls of Slender Means; A Far Cry From Kensington 11 copies
John Masefield 10 copies
Complete Poems 10 copies
A good comb: the sayings of Muriel Spark 10 copies
Two by Muriel Spark: The ballad of Peckham Rye. The bachelors 10 copies
Walking on Air (Sylph Cahiers No. 2) 9 copies
Muriel Spark Omnibus 4 9 copies, 1 review
Novelists' Theatre: Penguin Plays (Playwright, some editions) 8 copies
The Brontë Letters (Editor) 8 copies
Collected Poems 7 copies
Muriel Spark Omnibus 3 6 copies, 1 review
Spark's Satire 6 copies, 1 review
Going Up to Sotheby's and Other Poems (Panther Books) 5 copies
The Hanging Judge 5 copies
De zwarte Madonna en andere verhalen 4 copies
Spark's Europe 4 copies, 1 review
Hundertundelf Jahre ohne Chauffeur 4 copies
Tribute to Wordsworth: a Miscellany of Opinion for the Centenary of the… (Editor) 3 copies
The Fanfarlo & Other Verse 3 copies
The Seraph and the Zambesi 2 copies
The Portobello Road [short story] 2 copies
My Best Mary: The Selected Letters of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley 2 copies
Memento mori. Miss Jean Brodie oma parimas eas 2 copies
You Should Have Seen the Mess 2 copies
Rose di Scozia 2 copies
The Young Man Who Discovered the Secret of Life & Other Stories 2 copies
The Observing Eye: The Sayings of Muriel Spark 2 copies
Chimes 1 copy
The quest for lavishes ghast 1 copy
Winter's Tales: New Series Three 1 copy
The Young Man Who Discovered the Secret of Life 1 copy
The Curtain Blown by the Breeze (England Versus England) 1 copy
 Spark Muriel 1 copy
The Letters of the Brontës; a Selection 1 copy
Madam X 1 copy
Miss Pinkerton's Apocalypse 1 copy
The Leaf-Sweeper 1 copy
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Also by Muriel Spark
The Penguin Book of Modern British Short Stories (Contributor) 420 copies, 2 reviews
Christmas Stories 241 copies, 1 review
First Fiction: An Anthology of the First Published Stories by Famous… (Contributor) 181 copies, 1 review
The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women (Contributor) 162 copies, 3 reviews
The Pan Book of Horror Stories (Contributor) 151 copies, 2 reviews
Murder & Other Acts of Literature (Contributor) 144 copies, 2 reviews
The Penguin Book of Horror Stories (Contributor) 139 copies, 2 reviews
The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories (Contributor) 122 copies, 1 review
Mistresses of the Dark [Anthology] (Contributor) 118 copies, 3 reviews
The Second Penguin Book of English Short Stories (Contributor, some editions) 115 copies
The Penguin Book of Women's Humour (Contributor) 114 copies
The Penguin Book of First World War Stories (Contributor) 103 copies
The Oxford Book of Scottish Short Stories (Contributor) 99 copies
The Penguin Book of Modern Women's Short Stories (Contributor) 98 copies
7th Annual Edition: The Year's Best S-F (Contributor) 89 copies
The Treasury of English Short Stories (Contributor) 81 copies
The Literary Ghost: Great Contemporary Ghost Stories (Contributor) 74 copies, 1 review
The Mammoth Book of Twentieth-Century Ghost Stories (Contributor) 73 copies
Women and Fiction: Volume 2 (Contributor) 72 copies
The Ecco Book of Christmas Stories (Contributor) 71 copies, 2 reviews
The New Penguin Book of Scottish Short Stories (Contributor) 69 copies, 1 review
The Oxford Book of Twentieth-Century Ghost Stories (Contributor) 68 copies
The Penguin Book of Scottish Short Stories (Contributor) 66 copies
Nightshade: 20th Century Ghost Stories (Contributor) 64 copies, 2 reviews
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie [1969 film] (Original book) 61 copies
The Smiles of Rome: A Literary Companion for Readers and Travelers (Contributor) 57 copies, 2 reviews
Ghosts of Christmas Past: A chilling collection of modern and classic… (Contributor) 52 copies, 4 reviews
Mystery for Christmas (Contributor) 49 copies
The Norton Book Of Ghost Stories (Contributor) 49 copies, 1 review
Revenge: Short Stories by Women Writers (Contributor) 49 copies
An Omnibus of 20th Century Ghost Stories (Contributor) 45 copies
65 Great Murder Mysteries (Contributor) 41 copies
Sunless Solstice: Strange Christmas Tales for the Longest Nights (Contributor) 35 copies, 2 reviews
Haunting Women (Contributor) 35 copies
Great Tours and Detours: The Sophisticated Traveler Series (Contributor) 34 copies, 1 review
Partisan Review: The 50th Anniversary Edition (Contributor) 33 copies, 1 review
The Secret Self: A Century of Short Stories by Women (Contributor) 32 copies
Realizations: Newman's Own Selection of His Sermons (Foreword) 27 copies
Studies in Fiction (Contributor) 22 copies, 1 review
Letters of John Henry Newman: A Selection Edited and Introduced by Derek… (Editor) 21 copies
Classic Detective Stories (Contributor) 21 copies, 3 reviews
New Writing 13 (Contributor) 18 copies
Modern Women Poets (Contributor) 13 copies
Women Writing: An Anthology (Contributor) 11 copies
The Other voice : Scottish women's writing since 1808 : an anthology (Contributor) 9 copies
Cats: Fifteen Complete Stories and Poems (Contributor) 5 copies
Personal Choice (Contributor) 3 copies
The Teaching Experience: An Introduction to Education Through Literature (Contributor) 1 copy
Stories of Adolescence (Contributor) 1 copy
Modern Choice 2 (Contributor) 1 copy
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Canonical name
Legal name
Spark, Muriel Sarah
Other names
Camberg, Muriel Sarah (birth)
Spark, Dame Muriel Sarah
Stanford, Muriel Sarah Spark
Cavallo, Evelyn
Date of birth
1918-02-01
Date of death
2006-04-13
Burial location
Saint Andrea of the Apostle Churchyard, Oliveto, Tuscany, Italy
Gender
female
Nationality
UK
Country (for map)
Birthplace
Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
Place of death
Florence, Tuscany, Italy
Cause of death
Places of residence
Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
Rhodesia
Rome, Italy
Civitella della Chiana, Tuscany, Italy
New York, New York, USA
Education
James Gillespie's High School for Girls
Heriot Watt College
Occupations
novelist
poet
literary critic
essayist
editor
Relationships
Taylor, Alan F. (friend)
Jardine, Penelope (Companion)
Agents
Bruce Hunter (David Higham Associates) - Estate (David Higham Associates)
Organizations
Royal Society of Edinburgh
American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters
Society of Authors
Authors Guild
PEN
Awards and honors
Royal Society of Literature Companion of Literature
David Cohen Prize (1997)
Order of the British Empire (Officer, 1967 | Dame Commander, 1993)
American Academy of Arts and Letters ( [1978])
L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, France (1988)
Short biography
Disambiguation notice

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4 1589
4.5 198
5 727

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