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The critic and literary biographer Frances Wilson drops by to discuss her exceptional new book, Electric Spark: The Enigma of Dame Muriel. She and Chris talk about the fascinating life and early career of Muriel Spark, including her development as a novelist, tumultuous family life, and journey to religious belief. This is an especially fun conversation about one of the 20th century’s greatest—and slipperiest—novelists.
Show notes:
- Frances’s book, Electric Spark: The Enigma of Dame Muriel
- Chris’s review of Electric Spark for the Washington Examiner
- Some of Chris’s other essays about Spark: The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and The Mandelbaum Gate; (his book, 13 Novels Conservatives Will Love (but Probably Haven’t Read), includes a chapter about another Spark novel).
- Martin Stannard’s authorized biography of Spark
- Spark’s memoir, Curriculum Vitae
Time stamps:
0:34 – Muriel Spark's background and literary style (with a digression about Frances’s and Chris’s favorite Spark novels)
11:00 – Grappling with slippery biographical details
18:07 – Spark's early life and family
28:49 – Doppelgängers and doubling
36:15 – Peculiar day jobs and resulting entanglements
51:05 – Conversion to Catholicism
Opening and closing music: Brendan Benson, “Spit It Out,” used with permission from the artist.
Produced by Sean Doolan and R. Rubin.
Discussion (1)
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I enjoyed the Girls of Slender Means and will have to try another Spark novel. Fascinating character, for sure. Good interview. My question is do we know where T.S. Eliot was the night Nita McEwen died?