The Girls of Slender Means

 (copyright Marc Marnie)

To celebrate the publication of The Girls of Slender Means 50 years ago, and to coincide with Aye Write! last weekend in Glasgow here is a link to Stellar Quines' visionary production in 2010 on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Mary Shelley

Click here for a Guardian review of Muriel Spark's clear-eyed biography of Mary Shelley.   There are also some interesting related links on the right-hand side of the page.

Aye Write! 2013 and The Girls of Slender Means

 To celebrate 50 years since the publication of The Girls of Slender Means, NLS are sponsoring an event at the  Aye Write! Festival on 13 April and here is an edited extract  from the introduction, by
A L Kennedy, to a new publication of The Girls of Slender Means  by The Folio Society

Celebrate Scotland...

...celebrate Muriel Spark's birthday on this page and here is an interesting DVD review from blogcritics.org of the television series The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1978) starring Geraldine McEwan..

Birthday Lunch reminder

If you would like to go to the lunch on Sunday 3 February, but haven't yet booked, please contact Christine Selkirk at cmselkirk@o2.co.uk

Book at Bedtime

Radio 4's Book at Bedtime at 10.45 pm  from Monday to Friday next week (21 - 25 January) is The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, adapted by Sally Marmion and read by Gerda Stevenson

This year's Birthday Lunch...

...is on Sunday 3 February in the Cardoon Suite at the Bruntsfield Hotel (12.30 for 1 pm).   Please contact Christine Selkirk - cmselkirk@o2.co.uk - by 24 January if you would like to come along.   The cost of the lunch is £26.50 for members and £28.50 for guests.   The book for this year's quiz is the intriguing and supernatural The Ballad of Peckham Rye.

A Far Cry from Kensington

With many thanks to a Society member for this link to an article by Maud Newton in The Awl concerning the tricky issue of advice-giving... and a certain Mrs Nancy Hawkins.  

From the Central Standard Times..."A view from the middle of America"

It may be a bit of a scroll down the page to find mention of Muriel Spark but this is an intriguing article on A Second Front in the Culture War     An interesting debate.

And the winner...

...of the James Tait Black 'best of the best' prize (awarded to celebrate the 250th anniversary of English Literature studies at Edinburgh University) is Angela Carter's Nights at the Circus - a story about winged circus performer Sophie Fevvers, published in 1984.

Just a reminder...

...that Muriel in Italy,  the Society's annual lecture given by Gail Wylie, is next Tuesday (13 November) at 6 pm at the National Library of Scotland on George IV Bridge.   The event is full but for anybody who is interested in coming along but hasn't made a booking, please contact NLS on the day (0131 623 3734) as there may be  returns available..

The Mandelbaum Gate...

... by Muriel Spark, published in 1965,  has been shortlisted alongside works by James Kelman, Graham Greene, Cormac McCarthy, Caryl Phillips and Angela Carter in a contest to find 'The Best of the Best'.   This is a one-off award by the James Tait Black Prize which will honour the best novel to have won the prize since it was first awarded in 1919 and which celebrates the 250th anniversary of the study of English Literature at the University of Edinburgh.

Regius Professor Greg Walker, Chair of the James Tait Black Prizes, said: "This best of the best award is a wonderful opportunity to revisit some of the best writers in the literary canon. It is fitting in the year of celebration of 250 years of study of English literature at the University of Edinburgh that we recognise the wonderful contribution this prize makes to honouring great literature."

The shortlist was selected by scholars and students of literature at the University.

Girls of Slender Means...

...read by Juliet Stevenson has been uploaded by Canongate Books onto soundcloud.com - sounds good.

And in the meantime...

...the 15th century Italian Renaissance artist Piero della Francesca, born in Tuscany, was Muriel Spark's favourite artist.   Click here to see the National Gallery's web-page which has a short biography and features three of his paintings including The Nativity where the Tuscan hills can be seen in the background.

Muriel in Italy

The Society's Annual Lecture will be given by Gail Wylie and will take place at the National Library of Scotland on George IV Bridge at 6 pm on Tuesday 13 November 2012.   For further information and booking please go to www.nls.uk/events or phone 0131 623 3734.

Censorship

Here is an intriguing link to an article on  WalesOnline which looks at the literary texts that are still in their censored form in Spain including The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.

City of Words

The streets are quieter...the Festival is nearly over - but check out this continuing exhibition City of Words at The University of Edinburgh library in George Square.

Kapka Kassabova on Muriel Spark...

...in The List yesterday.    It's an article where the 2012 Edinburgh Book Festival reflects on the 1962 Edinburgh World Writers' Conference.   As Kapka Kassabova says... a propos Muriel Spark - "Read her and be changed".

Curriculum Vitae...

...is Harriett Gilbert's own choice on A Good Read on BBC Radio4, Tuesday 26 June at 4.30 pm.

And on a slightly different note...

...John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten) says in this interview that his favourite book is The Public Image by Muriel Spark - a much less well known book than The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie but worth a look?

 Available second-hand from www.amazon.co.uk