A would-be novelist takes inspiration from life - but then finds the tables are mysteriously turned, in Muriel Spark’s entertaining literary joyride.

When Fleur Talbot takes up work for the snobbish Sir Quentin Oliver and the venal members of his Autobiographical Association she is secretly delighted. Here is inspiration for her villain, Warrender Chase. But when Sir Quentin steals the finished manuscript for his own lunatic ends, life begins to imitate art with uncanny - and dangerous - predictability, for more than one of her characters has met an untimely end…

Shortlisted
The Booker Prize 1981
Published by
Bodley Head
Publication date

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Muriel Spark

Muriel Spark

About the Author

Muriel Spark was born in Edinburgh. A poet and novelist, she also wrote children’s books, radio plays, a comedy and biographies.
More about Muriel Spark

Other nominated books by Muriel Spark

The Driver's Seat
The Public Image