About the Author

Muriel Spark (1918-2006) was a prolific Scottish novelist, short story writer, and poet whose darkly comedic voice made her one of the most distinctive writers of the twentieth century. Spark grew up in Edinburgh and worked as a department store secretary, writer for trade magazines, and literary editor before publishing her first novel in 1957. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1961), considered her masterpiece, was made into a stage play, a TV series, and a film. Spark became a Dame of the British Empire in 1993.

Reviews

"Takes the breath away . . . Pure adventure . . . Suspense as artfully maintained as anything by Graham Greene." --The New Republic
"Spark's powers of invention are apparently inexhaustible." --Commonweal