The Girls of Slender Means
Encyclopedia
The Girls of Slender Means is a novella
written in 1963 by Scottish
author Muriel Spark
. It was included in Anthony Burgess
's 1984 book Ninety-Nine Novels: The Best in English since 1939 — A Personal Choice
.
between VE Day and VJ Day in 1945. The frame story
, set in 1963, concerns the news that Nicholas Farringdon, an anarchist
intellectual turned Jesuit, has been killed in Haiti
. Journalist Jane Martin, a former inhabitant of the Club, wants to research the backstory of the priest's martyrdom. The bulk of the novella is taken up by flashback
s to 1945, concerning Farringdon and the Club. The narrative slowly builds up to the unfolding of a tragedy that killed one girl and led to Farringdon's conversion through the evil heartlessness he perceived in another person's behaviour.
, starring among others Patricia Hodge
, Miriam Margolyes
and Suzy Mandel
.
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
written in 1963 by Scottish
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
author Muriel Spark
Muriel Spark
Dame Muriel Spark, DBE was an award-winning Scottish novelist. In 2008 The Times newspaper named Spark in its list of "the 50 greatest British writers since 1945".-Early life:...
. It was included in Anthony Burgess
Anthony Burgess
John Burgess Wilson – who published under the pen name Anthony Burgess – was an English author, poet, playwright, composer, linguist, translator and critic. The dystopian satire A Clockwork Orange is Burgess's most famous novel, though he dismissed it as one of his lesser works...
's 1984 book Ninety-Nine Novels: The Best in English since 1939 — A Personal Choice
Ninety-nine Novels
Anthony Burgess's book Ninety-Nine Novels: The Best in English since 1939 — A Personal Choice covers a 44-year span between 1939 and 1983. Burgess was a prolific reader, in his early career reviewing more than 350 novels in just over two years for the Yorkshire Post...
.
Plot introduction
It is set in 'The May of Teck Club', 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". It concerns the lives and loves of its disparate residents amongst the deprivations of immediate post-war KensingtonKensington
Kensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...
between VE Day and VJ Day in 1945. The frame story
Frame story
A frame story is a literary technique that sometimes serves as a companion piece to a story within a story, whereby an introductory or main narrative is presented, at least in part, for the purpose of setting the stage either for a more emphasized second narrative or for a set of shorter stories...
, set in 1963, concerns the news that Nicholas Farringdon, an anarchist
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
intellectual turned Jesuit, has been killed in Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
. Journalist Jane Martin, a former inhabitant of the Club, wants to research the backstory of the priest's martyrdom. The bulk of the novella is taken up by flashback
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
s to 1945, concerning Farringdon and the Club. The narrative slowly builds up to the unfolding of a tragedy that killed one girl and led to Farringdon's conversion through the evil heartlessness he perceived in another person's behaviour.
Film adaptation
In 1975, the book was adapted for television by Ken TaylorKenneth Taylor (scriptwriter)
Kenneth Heywood Taylor FRSA was an Award-winning English screenwriter, credited as Ken Taylor.-Life:...
, starring among others Patricia Hodge
Patricia Hodge
Patricia Ann Hodge is an English actor.-Early life:The daughter of the Royal Hotel owner/manager Eric and his wife Marion , Hodge attended Wintringham Girls' Grammar School on Weelsby Avenue in Grimsby and then St...
, Miriam Margolyes
Miriam Margolyes
Miriam Margolyes, OBE is an English actress and voice artist. Her earliest roles were in theatre and after several supporting roles in film and television she won a BAFTA Award for her role in The Age of Innocence .-Early life:...
and Suzy Mandel
Suzy Mandel
Suzy Mandel is the stage name of an ex-actress and model best known for her roles in such 1970’s British sex comedies as Confessions of a Driving Instructor , Come Play with Me , and The Playbirds , and for her appearances on The Benny Hill Show.-Biography:Born in London, Mandel grew up on the...
.