Like a Cat Loves a Bird - The Nine Lives of Muriel Spark

'Utterly charming. A book as elegant, sharp-witted and mischievous as its subject'
CLARE POLLARD, author of Delphi

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.

'You don't have to be a Muriel Spark fan to enjoy the sharp wit of Like a Cat Loves a Bird, a fascinating and nuanced exploration of the sacrifices some make to focus on their art'
LUKE TURNER, author of Out of the Woods

'Vital, fun and immediate . . . full of engaging and astute literary analysis of Spark's work as well as scintillating, vivid biography'
FRANCESCA REECE, author of Glass Houses

'A readable and fascinating book, about an under-appreciated literary giant
LUCINDA HAWKSLEY, author of The Mystery of Princess Louise