A Far Cry from Kensington

Muriel Spark

Wickedly and adroitly executed.

The New York Times

The fraying fringes of 1950s literary London

A Far Cry from Kensington

Fiction by Muriel Spark

Nancy Hawkins, the majestic narrator of A Far Cry From Kensington, takes us by the hand and leads us back to her threadbare years in postwar London, where 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 boarding house. She found evil everywhere: shady literary doings and a deadly enemy; anonymous letters; blackmail; and suicide.

Looking back on those years from her new perch in Italy, Mrs. Hawkins recounts how that time changed her life forever, using the novel as a platform for advice. “It’s easy to get thin,” she says. “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.”

Paperback(published May, 27 2014)

ISBN
9780811223027
Price US
15.95
Price CN
17
Page Count
176

Ebook(published May, 27 2014)

ISBN
9780811220149
Price US
15.95

Paperback(published Sep, 01 2000)

ISBN
9780811214575
Price US
12.95
Trim Size
5x8
Page Count
192

Ebook(published Sep, 01 2000)

ISBN
9780811220149
Price US
12.95
Portrait of Muriel Spark

Muriel Spark

20th century Scottish novelist, poet and essayist

Wickedly and adroitly executed.

The New York Times

Muriel Spark was a major 20th-century writer, an extraordinary and unique talent: her gifts were unusual — a piercing eye; an acute ear; an incisive, often caustic wit; a voice so distinctive; and a style so inimitable.

The Chicago Tribune

Outstanding: an effortless, translucent grasp on the spirit of the period.

Observer

A 1950s Kensington of shabby-genteel bedsitters, espresso bars—irradiated with the sudden glows of lyricism she can so beautifully effect.

The Sunday Times (London)

Mercurially funny, playful and mischievous.

Ali Smith, The Guardian

The divine Spark is shining at her brightest—pure delight.

Claire Tomlin, The Independent

Far Cry is, among other things, a comedy that holds a tragedy as an egg-cup holds an egg.

Philadelphia Inquirer