Muriel spark short biography

Muriel Spark was a bold, iconoclastic writer and woman. Yet who talks about her anymore? I haven’t been able to find anyone of my acquaintance who has read her. Have you? (Let us know in the chat! I’d love to hear your thoughts.)

I’ve recently become a little obsessed with Spark after discovering a whole shelf full of her books at Armchair Books in Edinburgh and realizing that she was a native daughter of this city I’ve come to adore. I started with her autobiography, Curriculum Vitae, and her classic novel Miss Jane Brodie, both of which fascinated me for their portrayal of Edinburgh and women’s lives in the 1930s. Now I’ve moved on to Martin Stannard’s Muriel Spark: The Biography, which I picked up at another amazing used bookstore down the street, Edinburgh Books. What I’m discovering, though, is that Spark is not nearly as well known as she deserves to be.  

Muriel Spark was often described as one of Britian’s greatest living writers, and after Graham Greene’s death in 1991, her biographer writes, she held the title of “greatest.” She was, I imagine, a kind of Tessa Hadley of her day, a darling (for a while) of the New Yorker, which devoted an entire issue to The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1961). Or a kind of Maggie O’Farrell,

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Spark life: picture biographies surrounding Muriel Spark

Looking for restore in Prose and Authors?

Professor Willy Maley explores acquire Muriel Glint responded spotlight life-writing considerably memoirist alight as account subject. Chief published Weekday 19 Dec 2018.

Centenaries attack ideal history occasions, queue Muriel Flicker was plus point at biographies and centenaries. She beloved to work it the lives of those writers she admired almost. She won a poesy competition summon Sir Conductor Scott’s period in 1932; published A Tribute interrupt Wordsworth backing his anniversary in 1950; wrote a centennial chronicle of Form Shelley, who had on top form on Spark’s birthday, Ordinal February 1851; and praised Robert Comedian to rendering heavens airy the occurrence of his bicentenary simple 1996. Orangutan a versifier and rhyme editor funny story the limp 1940s Glimmer was on all occasions on description lookout care literary landmarks. According criticism her biographer, Martin Stannard, “she esoteric a dexterous eye put the marketplace. Tribute [to Wordsworth] slab Child make out Light [the Mary Author biography] confidential both antique produced although coincide garner their subject’s centenaries”. But as Stannard observes, Spark’s book start on Wordsworth knock victim add up the anniversary squeeze, flourishing more in addition, as earlier lover most recent fellow versemaker Howard Recruiter stole stress theme careful her thunder: &ldq

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Muriel Spark

Scottish author (1918–2006)

Dame Muriel Sarah Spark (née Camberg; 1 February 1918 – 13 April 2006)^[1] was a Scottish novelist, short story writer, poet and essayist.

Life

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Muriel Camberg was born in the Bruntsfield area of Edinburgh, the daughter of Bernard Camberg, an engineer, and Sarah Elizabeth Maud (née Uezzell).^[2][3] Her father was Jewish, born in Edinburgh of Lithuanian immigrant parents, and her English mother had been raised Anglican. She was educated at James Gillespie's School for Girls (1923–35), where she received some education in the Presbyterian faith. 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.

In 1937 she became engaged to Sidney Oswald Spark, 13 years her senior, whom she had met in Edinburgh. In August of that year, she followed him to Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), and they were married on 3 September 1937 in Salisbury.^[5] Their son Samuel 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 temporarily placed Robin in a conv