SPARK, Muriel. The Bachelors.

SPARK, Muriel. The Bachelors. London: Macmillan & Co. 1960.

8vo. Publisher’s red cloth lettered in gilt to spine, illustrated dust-jacket by Victor Reinganum priced at 16s to front flap; pp. [vi], 240, [2]; edges of jacket slightly worn, a small chip to top-edge of front panel (c. 5 x 10mm), very minor toning to edges of text-block; near fine.

A bright first edition, first impression of Spark’s fifth novel, a darkly comic and sharply observed satire of English manners described by Evelyn Waugh as ‘the cleverest and most elegant of all Mrs Spark's clever and elegant books.’

Set in West London, The Bachelors centres on the impending trial of Patrick Seton, a fraudulent spiritualist and extortionist accused of forgery. His prosecution throws a group of unmarried men into varying states of anxiety, obsession and emotional disturbance.

Published in 1960, a year before The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie brought Spark international recognition, The Bachelors displays the full range of the author’s mordant wit, formal control and psychological acuity. The striking jacket is illustrated by Victor Reinganum.

SKU: 2126010