The Finishing School

Passionately determined to write his novel whilst running College Sunrise, a finishing school for both sexes and mixed nationalities, Rowland Mahler is assisted by his wife, Nina Parker. This term there is a new star pupil – Chris, seventeen, also determined to write his masterpiece. As Chris’s novel takes shape while his own flounders, Rowland becomes increasingly obsessed and The Finishing School becomes awash with his jealousy and envy. This new novel amply displays Muriel Spark’s extraordinary talent: her cool, biting humour and unique vision of human nature.

Reviews of The Finishing School

"An empress of literary sleight of hand. . . . What grace and beauty she's still displaying during the golden days and starlit nights of her absolutely marvelous career." -"The Washington Post""Ingeniously comic. . . . Spark has packed a multitude of twists and turns into this relatively brief novel, and the action skims along merrily from one surprising revelation to the next." -"Los Angeles Times Book Review"""The Finishing School "has all the ingredients of her best-known fiction." -"The New York Times""Delicious. . . . A deft new comic novel. . . . Spark remains a master of quick-stroke portraiture and trenchant moral investigation." -"The Seattle Times""A youthful academic comedy. . . . Her style . . . remains as sharp, even shocking, as it's always been." -"The New York Times Book Review"