Muriel Spark: The Biography

'œMartin 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 'œExcellent . . . 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 'œWill undoubtedly be the standard biography of a writer with perhaps the most distinctive voice . . . in postwar British fiction.' '”Mark Bostridge, The Observer 'œThis account will not be surpassed.' '”Bryan Cheyette, The Independent 'œGripping, . . . 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 'œ[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 'œStannard 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.' 'Ž¯Martin McQuillan, Times Higher Education Supplement 'œA wonderful blend of scholarly fact and juicy storytelling.' '”Katheryn Hughes, Mail on Sunday 'œExceptionally well written and lively.' '”Robin Baird-Smith, Tablet 'œA best biography of the year.' 'Ž¯Nicholas Shakespeare, Daily TelegraphStannard, Martin is the author of 'Muriel Spark: The Biography', published 2010 under ISBN 9780393051742 and ISBN 0393051749.