Sir Ian Rankin display highlights Spark PhD

A display at the National Library of Scotland includes his PhD proposal and research cards on Muriel Spark. Rankin apparently donated his archive to the Library to reside beside that of his literary heroine. This is timely as members of the Muriel Spark Society visit the Library today to view items from the Spark Archive. The Rankin display is free and runs until April.

Poetic Licence: paintings of Scottish writers and poets

An exhibition of paintings of Scottish writers and poets by Greg Moodie includes 2 portraits of Muriel Spark. it is on at The Scottish Poetry Library in Edinburgh until October 12.

Happy Platinum Jubilee with Muriel Spark

The Girls of Slender Means has been chosen to represent one year of the seventy of the Queen's Reign, another Royal honour for Dame Muriel Spark. The Big Jubilee Read has been compiled by The Reading Agency and the BBC. Excellent choice!

Robinson Crusoe and Miss Brodie …

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie has been included in the list of the greatest novels of impact sine Robinson Crusoe. Great news, but should they have chosen Robinson?!

Afterwords: Muriel Spark

Radio 3 will present a programme of readings and views on Muriel Spark on Sunday June 12 at 18.45. Reflections on Spark's life and work through audio archive and those who knew her. 44 minutes.

The Muriel Spark Society AGM

The Muriel Spark Society Annual General Meeting will take place on 7 June 2022 at 6pm in The Saltire Society, 22 High Street, Edinburgh. We hope as many members as possible can join us.

Miss Blaine’s Prefect and the Weird Sisters Olga Wojtas

Olga publishes her 3rd Brodie-inspired novel on March 17, with the intriguing title above. Macbeth perhaps ...? She has also recoded the novel for Audible which sounds like great fun. Olga will be speaking to the Society after the lunch on April 24, and will also hold an event at Toppings Books in Edinburgh on March 30 at 8pm. See you there!

Patricia Highsmith, Muriel Spark and the cat …

Patricia Highsmith's diaries were published late last year and there are references to her friend Muriel Spark and the cat, Spider, that passed between them. There is also reference to a review Highsmith wrote on The Hothouse by the East River - intriguing. I must check that out. Highsmith is pictured holding a cat on the cover - was that Spider I wonder?

The Muriel Spark Society Spring Lunch

The Society will hold a Spring Lunch this year on Sunday 24 April at 12.30-1pm at the Bruntsfield Hotel in Edinburgh. We are delighted to welcome members and guests back after a hiatus caused by the pandemic. Join us for a welcome glass of fizz, three courses with wine, and coffee. There will be raffle, quiz on The Piblic Image and a talk by novelist Olga Wojtas. Guests are welcome. Please contact our Membership Secretary, Lorna Statham, if you would like to join us.

The Crooked Dividend: essays on Muriel Spark - free online event

The National Library of Scotland is hosting a free online event on this book of essays to be publushed by the Association of Scottish Literary Studies next month. The event is on the 17th March at 5pm. Please register a place at the National Library of Scotland website events section.

Birthday Thoughts ….

Today would have been Muriel Spark's 104th Birthday and so is an opprtune moment to wish all members of the Society a happy new year. We had to postpone the Birthday Lunch this year, but we still hope to have a Spring Lunch near Easter. The Committee met recently to discuss plans for the autumn lecture and AGM. We can't wait to see you all again. i hope you are all keeping well. Oh and we haven't given up on Venice ...

Happy 60th Birthday Miss Jean Brodie!

On this day in 1961 Macmillan published the first edition of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, a novel that would become a classic of 20th Century literature. Soon afterwards, the novel would appear in its entirety in The New Yorker. The Muriel Spark Society is celebrationg by holding a free online lecture today at 5pm. Norma Allan, a James Gillespie's girl like Muriel Spark, will give us some of the history behind the Brodie myth. Please head to the website of the National Library of Scotland - events if you would like to join us: www.nls.uk/events

Sar-sgeoil The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie in Gaelic

BBC Alba recently aired a documentary on Muriel and The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie in Gaelic. Subtitles are provided. Filmed at Gillespies, in Morningside and in Abercorn Cemetery, where they failed to find Miss Kay's headstone. Our member Olga Wojtas appears, and your lockdown hair looked fine Olga! Available on iPlayer.

Ali Smith’s favourite literary heroine

Ali Smith recently chose Fleur Talbot from Loitering with Intent as her favourite literary heroine. A wonderful choice and she also qouted Fleur's unforgettable credo, "Everything happens to an artist, time is always redeemed, nothing is lost and wonders never cease" Defoe's Moll Flanders comes a very disreputable second choice.Check out the Guardian online from 1 May.

Richard Osman’s cultural highlights

Muriel Spark has never been short of prominent admirers, and here is another for that distinguished list: Richard Osman. The Pointless host and best selling author chose Dame Muriel in the book section of his list of cultural highlights in last Saturday's Guardian. Now, I wonder if he's free to speak to the Society ...

60 Years of MIss Jean Brodie ...

2021 marks the 60th anniversary of the publication of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie in 1961. I am delighted to announce the Muriel Spark Society will be marking the event with a lecture hosted by the National Library of Scotland on October 5. Presently we are planning an online event at 5pm, but who knows, perhaps we may all be able to meet? Our speaker will be Norma Allan, who recnetly published a history of her alma mater, James Gillespie's High School in Edinburgh. Her book, "Box Hats and Blue Stockings" was published in 2019. I will post more details as they are firmed up.

Muriel Spark's Early Fiction: literary subversion and experiments with form ...

Dr James Bailey has kindly been in touch to announce his reent book on Dame Muriel's fiction,published at the end of last month by Edinburgh University Press. Here is the information from his publisher: A compelling reappraisal of Spark’s approach to literary experimentation Offers a distinctive reappraisal of Spark’s fiction, which challenges the rigid critical framework that has long been applied to her writing Interrogates how Spark’s literary innovations work to facilitate moments of subversive satire and gendered social critique Presents nuanced re-readings of some of Spark’s major works, as well as lesser-discussed texts such as her only stage play, Doctors of Philosophy, and early short stories Draws upon detailed archival research to offer a unique insight into the social contexts and personal preoccupations that informed Spark’s writing This book presents a detailed critical analysis of a period of significant formal and thematic innovation in Muriel Spark’s literary career. Spanning the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s, it identifies formative instances of literary experimentation in texts including The Comforters, The Driver’s Seat and The Public Image, with an emphasis on metafiction and the influence of the nouveau roman. As the first critical study to draw extensively on Spark’s vast archives of correspondence, manuscripts and research, it provides a unique insight into the social contexts and personal concerns that dictated her fiction. I have invited Dr Bailey to speak to the Society, and will post details when we can arrange a date.

Happy Birthday Lorna #2!

Lorna had a fab birthday as you can see. Thanks to Hugh for the lovely pic.

Happy Birthday Lorna!

Lorna a very happy birthday from all your friends in The Muriel Spark Society. we can't wait to raise a glass with you! thank you for all your generosity, support and for being just great fun.