Next week will commemorate two decades since the passing of Muriel Spark, the celebrated Scottish author known for her novels, short stories, poetry, and essays. Spark gained recognition for her 22 novels, characterized by their sharp wit and insightful observations, starting with her 1957 work, The Comforters. In this context, James Bailey, who has recently penned a biography titled Like a Cat Loves a Bird: The Nine Lives of Muriel Spark, offers insight into her literary contributions.<\/p>\n
Generally, Spark’s novels follow a distinctive pattern that captivates readers. She typically begins by establishing a close-knit community\u2014be it nuns, schoolgirls, or castaways on a deserted island\u2014filled with intrigue, deception, and both trivial and serious conflicts. Into this setting, she introduces a dramatic element, such as a murder or a scandal, or even an actual bomb, showcasing her audacious storytelling style. She then observes how the characters respond as chaos ensues.<\/p>\n
For those unfamiliar with Spark’s narrative style, a recommended starting point is her 1959 novel, Memento Mori, which blends dark humor with thought-provoking themes. It features a group of quarrelsome elderly individuals who receive unsettling anonymous phone calls, each delivering the same ominous message: “Remember you must die.” This raises questions about whether the awareness of mortality frees us from our fears and petty disputes or whether such burdens remain with us until the end.<\/p>\n
In early 1954, Spark was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Struggling with hunger, poverty, and workload, she resorted to using the stimulant dexedrine to suppress her appetite and write through the night. Reflecting on her experience, she noted, \u201cIt made you less hungry, but it also made you dotty.\u201d Under its influence, she became convinced that secret messages were hidden within the books she read and that T.S. Eliot was watching her while disguised as a window cleaner.<\/p>\n
Fortunately, Spark overcame this difficult period and channeled her experiences into her remarkable debut, The Comforters. In this novel, the main character, a writer named Caroline Rose, begins to lose her grip on reality. Caroline believes she can hear the typewriter of a mysterious entity known as the Typing Ghost, whose whims influence the course of her life. Determined not to yield, she engages in a conflict with this entity in a narrative that combines elements of the supernatural, diamond smuggling, and characters who occasionally seem to vanish. Spark wrote in the Observer a year after its release that “it is always a joyful thing when a novelist breaks the obvious rules of fiction and gets away with it,” indicating that she was just beginning her literary journey.<\/p>\n
In her most famous work, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Spark introduces the character Jean Brodie, who declares, \u201cGive me a girl at an impressionable age and she is mine for life,\u201d when addressing her selected group of six schoolgirls, known as the “Brodie set.” This statement, among others that resonate with familiarity, immerses readers into the world of Brodie’s exclusive circle. Spark skillfully crafts this narrative of favoritism, authoritarianism, and the allure of belonging, making the outside world appear dull by comparison. Brodie ominously warns a girl who fails to meet her expectations, \u201cYou will end up as a Girl Guide leader in a suburb like Corstorphine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Spark regarded The Driver\u2019s Seat as her most significant work, citing its unsettling nature as a reason for her admiration. This 1970 novel, part of a series of tightly written pieces such as The Public Image and Not to Disturb, unfolds like a disassembled and grotesquely rearranged holiday romance. The protagonist, Lise, embarks on a journey in a lovely new dress, excited to meet her dream man, but readers must navigate the unsettling depths of her aspirations, revealing a darker narrative reminiscent of Shirley Jackson.<\/p>\n
With a keen eye for portraying narcissism and self-deception, Spark was intrigued by the disparity between one’s glamorous public persona and the reality that exists in its shadow\u2014a theme that would undoubtedly resonate in today’s social media landscape.<\/p>\n
Her 1968 novel, The Public Image, written during the era of rising celebrity culture in Rome, explores the struggles of a film star striving to repair her tarnished reputation, which her equally self-absorbed husband seeks to destroy. As she navigates this artifice-laden world, the protagonist loses touch with her true identity.<\/p>\n
In the 1958 short story, The Portobello Road, the ghostly narrator Needle reflects, \u201cHe looked as if he would murder me and he did.\u201d Having found her voice, Needle returns to confront her killer and deliver her story, exemplifying the many restless spirits that populate Spark’s short fiction. These ghostly tales, a significant part of her Complete Short Stories, merit further exploration.<\/p>\n
Many of Spark\u2019s spectral figures are remarkably ordinary, riding buses and managing their rented homes. They revisit old rivalries and engage in ill-advised romances, while also maintaining family traditions, such as visiting a beloved aunt during the holidays. Occasionally, they even visit their creator. Harper and Wilton, the main characters of an unremarkable short story Spark released in 1953, return in a 1996 revision, demanding that Spark write them a better conclusion. This blend of eerie and playful elements encapsulates Spark\u2019s unique literary style.<\/p>\n
James Bailey\u2019s Like a Cat Loves a Bird: The Nine Lives of Muriel Spark is available from Sceptre. To support the Guardian, consider ordering your copy through the Guardian Bookshop.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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