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Sunday, August 13, 2023

571. The Girls of Slender Means

The Girl of Slender Means
Muriel Spark
1963
Around 180 pages



















Thank, Muriel, for the welcome interruption. Yes, 1963 has been a tough year. No, you're lovely!

Ahem, anyway, I really needed this. This novel concerns the fictitious May of Teck Club, which was established "for the Pecuniary Convenience and Social Protection of Ladies of Slender Means below the age of Thirty Years, who are obliged to reside apart from their Families in order to follow an Occupation in London." Quite a title.  Present day, Jane Wright, a former resident of the club, wants to do a story on the recent death of Nicholas Farringdon, an anarchist recently killed in Haiti. We get flashbacks to the 1945, when Farringdon was a frequent visitor of the Club.

I would love to see a television series that focused on these ladies during their residency. I still like the story we got though, Spark is very efficient with her use of language. I'm glad she gets her fair share of entries on the List.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

In 2022, it was included on the "Big Jubilee Read" list of 70 books by Commonwealth authors, selected to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II.

UP NEXT: The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by John le Carre

1 comment:

Diana said...

This sounds great! I am always intrigued by women making it in the 40s and 50s.