Muriel Spark

"Martin Stannard's biography of Muriel Spark-dark queen of postwar British fiction and, for me at least, one of the great writers of all time-is as astonishing as his subject. In his chronicle of her rich, adverse, and inexplicable life and work he has, like a brilliant lepidopterist, managed to catch her and pin her down while preserving her elusive genius as an artist and a woman in the twentieth century." -Jenny McPhee, author of A Man of No Moon "Excellent . . . superbly detailed . . . , patient, affectionate, sometimes funny and . . . very intelligent. It is hard to believe that the work could have been done better." -Frank Kermode, London Review of Books "Will undoubtedly be the standard biography of a writer with perhaps the most distinctive voice . . . in postwar British fiction." -Mark Bostridge, The Observer "This account will not be surpassed." -Bryan Cheyette, The Independent "Gripping, . . . rich, complex . . . well worth the wait. Witty, readable, and well researched, it is about as satisfying as a literary biography can be." -Frances Wilson, Daily Telegraph "[Stannard's] triumph is to have produced an account that . . . revealed [Spark's] vanity and egotism so unmistakably, as well as her courage, vitality and determination." -John Carey, The Times "Stannard is himself now a giant of his genre. . . . [He] brilliantly and sympathetically effaces the self-mythology of Spark's well-known public image . . . a gifted biographer with a fine turn of phrase." Martin McQuillan, Times Higher Education Supplement "A wonderful blend of scholarly fact and juicy storytelling." -Katheryn Hughes, Mail on Sunday "Exceptionally well written and lively." -Robin Baird-Smith, Tablet "A best biography of the year." ?Nicholas Shakespeare, Daily Telegraph