"She was, if you believe what you read in the papers: a genius, a survivor, a bad mother, a fickle friend, a closeted lesbian, a tyrant, a loner, an eccentric, a recluse, a gossip, and an arch-manipulator. She would politely encourage you not to believe what you read in the papers."
Muriel Spark was one of literature's great shapeshifters. That mercurial quality is found in her strange, brilliant, cruel novels - with their plots featuring pensioners receiving telephone calls from Death, the devil going clubbing in Peckham and a fascist schoolmistress leading her coterie of girls astray - but it is also true of her as a person.
As sly, nimble and elegant as Spark's own work, Like a Cat Loves a Bird is a thrilling new perspective on a remarkable life and career that spanned much of the twentieth century. From her childhood in Edinburgh to her final years in Tuscany - via South Africa, London, New York and Rome - it traces a light-footed journey around the world and through her strange and magnificent bibliography. It tells an irresistible story of transformation, wit and fierce determination and makes a passionate case for this vital modern artist.
Delving deep into both Muriel Spark's life story and remarkable bibliography, Bailey's effervescent biography captures the essence of the acclaimed writer's singular genius with style and wit.
James Bailey is a writer and researcher from Manchester. He is a Doctor of Literature, and the author of Muriel Spark's Early Fiction (2021) and the co-editor of British Women Short Story Writers (2015). His day job involves working to support the development of other writers, as well as independent publishers, bookshops and literature festivals.
James will be talking to Hannah Trevarthen, Hannah is the Director of Nottingham City of Literature and a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities of Literature Coordination Team. Prior to this, she worked at English PEN in the roles of Events and Partnerships Manager and Interim Director. Between 2019 and 2022, she led Common Currency, English PEN’s centenary celebration. She began her career in the programming team at Edinburgh International Book Festival and serves on advisory boards for Bad Betty Press, New Nottingham Journal, and the Oxford Brookes University Publishing Advisory Board.
