[22] Dame Muriel Spark 1918-2006

Dame Muriel Spark, one of Scotland’s greatest and best-loved writers, died this week at the grand old age of 88. Muriel is best known for her novel The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie which was largely based on her own schooldays at James Gillespie High School in Edinburgh. The book was made into a successful movie starring Maggie Smith in the title role. I remember seeing the film back in the early 70s and rushing out the following day to buy the book, which I held on to for more than twenty years, before losing it while moving house.

I had the honour of meeting Muriel a few years ago when she appeared at the Edinburgh Book Festival, where she read some of her work, including Jean Brodie. It was a veritable joy to hear her recite those famous words: “If only you small girls would listen to me, I would make of you the crème de la crème."

Muriel Spark was principally a poet turned novelist, and was very successful at both, turning out more than 20 books. She was also an authority on Emily Bronte and Mary Shelley. Muriel spent the last years of her life in her adopted home in the Tuscan village of Civitella della Chiana, where she passed away peacefully on Thursday after a short illness.
Muriel Spark