In Muriel Spark's novels the brevity is only equalled by the brilliance. This collection of four stories, each a miniature masterpiece, illustrates her development over four decades. Despite the seriousness of their themes, all are fantastic comedies of manners, bristling with wit. Her most famous book, The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie, has been made into a play and a film. It explores the perils of personal and political infatuation among schoolgirls and their teachers. Salvation is the theme of The Girls Of Slender Means, which vividly evokes the life of postwar London. The Driver's Seat, made into a film starring Elizabeth Taylor, charts the heroine's descent into madness. The Only Problem is a witty fable about suffering, which brings the Book of Job to bear on contemporary terrorism.

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