'It never really occurred to her that literary men, if they like women at all, do not want literary women but girls.'

The May of Teck Club 'exists for the Pecuniary Convenience and Social Protection of Ladies of Slender Means below the age of Thirty Years'. Nevertheless, and though there is a war on, they find the time between elocution lessons to jostle one another over suitors (some more suitable than others) and a single Schiaparelli gown. But can a love of literature, fine clothes and amorous young men save these young ladies from the horrors of the real world?

'Unsettling and exhilarating' William Boyd, Daily Telegraph

'An enduring genius' Guardian

One of Muriel Spark's best loved and greatest novels, now an Essential.

About the Author
Muriel Spark's many novels include Memento Mori, The Girls of Slender Means, A Far Cry From Kensington, The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie (adapted for film and theatre), Aiding And Abetting and her final novel, The Finishing School. She was elected C. Litt in 1992 and awarded the DBE in 1993. Dame Muriel Spark received many awards, including the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, the FNAC Prix Etranger, the Saltire Prize, the Ingersoll T. S. Eliot Award and the David Cohen British Literature Prize in recognition of a lifetime's literary achievement. Dame Muriel Spark died in 2006.

Reviews
One of this century's finest creators of the comic-metaphysical entertainment * The New York Times *
Muriel Spark's novels linger in the mind as brilliant shards, decisive as a smashed glass is decisive' -- John Updike



Book Information
ISBN 9780241989128
Author Muriel Spark
Format Paperback
Page Count 144
Imprint Penguin Books Ltd
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 83g
Dimensions(mm) 181mm * 111mm * 8mm