A Far Cry from Kensington by Muriel Spark (1988) Mrs Hawkins, the majestic narrator of A Far Cry from Kensington, takes us well in hand, and leads us back to her threadbare years in postwar London. There, as a fat and much admired young war widow, she spent her days working for a mad, near-bankrupt publisher ("of very good books") and her nights dispensing advice at her small South Kensington rooming-house. At work and at home Mrs. Hawkins soon uncovered evil: shady literary doings and a deadly enemy; anonymous letters, blackmail, and suicide. With aplomb, however, Mrs. Hawkins confidently set about putting things to order, little imagining the mayhem which would ensue. Now decades older, thin, successful, and delighted with life in Italy -- quite a far cry from Kensington -- Mrs. Hawkins looks back to all those dark doings, and recounts how her own life changed forever. She still, however, loves to give advice: "It's easy to get thin. You eat and drink the same as always, only half....I offer this advice without fee; it is included in the price of this book."

About the author Muriel Spark was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on February 1, 1918. Educated in Edinburgh, she became editor of Poetry Review, and later published a series of biographies on figures like William Wordsworth, Mary Shelley and Emily Brontë. She is best known for her novels, notablyMemento Mori, The Ballad of Peckham Rye and The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. Spark was made a dame in 1993. She died on April 13, 2006, in Florence, Italy. Originally Muriel Sarah Camberg, writer Muriel Spark was born on February 1, 1918, in Edinburgh, Scotland. She attended the James Gillespie's High School for Girls. There she met educator Christina Kay who became the inspiration for one of Spark's most famous characters. At the age of 19, she married Sydney Oswald "Ossie" Spark. The couple sailed to Africa soon after they wed. The union proved to be a brief and turbulent one. She had a son, Robin, with her husband before the pair split up. For a time, Spark supported herself doing odd jobs. She returned to England during World War II, leaving her son in Africa in the care of some nuns. Back home, Spark became involved in London's literary world. She served as editor of the Poetry Review from 1947 to 1949, and published poetry, short stories and critical biographies of figures like William Wordsworth, Mary Shelley and Emily Brontë. In the 1950s, Spark suffered a nervous breakdown and converted to Catholicism. Her first novel, The Comforters(1957), earned critical acclaim from such established British writers as Graham Greene and Evelyn Waugh.

Other interesting information: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/jul/05/i-lived-with-muriel-spark http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/dame-muriel-spark-474509.html http://www.theguardian.com/books/2000/sep/10/fiction.murielspark

Topics for Discussion: 1. What advice does Mrs Hawkins give about dieting and job-hunting? 2. Does Nancy regret losing her job? 3. In what way could Spark’s novel be considered post-modern? 4. Why is Spark considered a character writer? 5. Discuss the importance of the theme of fate in this book.