The Life and Times of Muriel Spark 1940 Muriel’s marriage to Sydney ends Winston Churchill becomes the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom France fails to the Germans 1918 Muriel Sarah Camberg is born in Edinburgh, Scotland The vote is awarded to women over 30 years old The Spanish flu pandemic kills over 30 million people Armistice Day, signalling the end of World War One 1922 Mussolini marches his Fascist Party to power in Italy 1923 Muriel starts her education at James Gillespie’s School for Girls 1927 The first ‘talkie’ feature film, The Jazz Singer, is released 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1929 The first ever Academy awards ceremony The Wall Street Crash 1932 American Vogue places its first colour photograph on the cover 1937 Muriel marries Sydney Oswald Spark Muriel moves to Rhodesia, Africa (Now Zimbabwe) Pablo Picasso completes Guernica 1938 Muriel gives birth to her only son, Samuel Robin Spark Germany annexes the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia 1939 Introduction of Nylon revolutionises the sale of stockings World War Two is declared 1935 Muriel finishes her schooling Adolf Hitler introduces the Nuremberg Laws, removing citizenship from Jews 1941 The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour brings the US into the Second World War 2000 Publication of Aiding and Abetting 2003 Saddam Hussein is ousted as leader of Iraq 2001 Publication of Complete Short Stories Terrorists attack the World Trade Centre in New York 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2004 Publication of The Finishing School Publication of All The Poems 2005 Pope John Paul II dies Hurricane Katrina destroys New Orleans 2006 Muriel Spark dies in Tuscany, Italy 1967 Publication of Collected Poems and Collected Stories Muriel receives an OBE and moves to Rome Israel captures the Gaza Strip in the Six-Day War The first colour television broadcasts in the UK 1971 Publication of Not To Disturb 1966 An adaptation of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie premieres in London’s West End, starring Vanessa Redgrave The Moors Murderers, Ian Brady and Myra Hindley are sent to prison for their crimes 1944 Muriel returns to Britain, moving to London Muriel joins British Intelligence to work in their war propaganda division 1946 The bikini is first modelled in Paris 1945 Germany surrenders in Europe The US drops the first atomic bomb in Hiroshima, Japan Japan surrenders in the South-East 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1961 Publication of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie Publication of Voices at Play, a collection of plays and short stories Construction of the Berlin Wall begins 1960 Publication of The Ballad of Peckham Rye Publication of The Bachelors Penguin Books is found not guilty of obscenity in the case of DH Lawrence’s novel Lady Chatterley’s Lover 1962 Muriel moves to New York Marilyn Monroe dies The Cuban Missile Crisis 1963 Publication of The Girls of Slender Means Publication of Doctors of Philosophy, a play The Profumo Affair scandalises Britain JFK assassinated 1957 Publication of Muriel’s first novel, The Comforters Publication of Letters of John Henry Newman (edited by Muriel with Derek Stanford) 1964 The Beatles appear on the Ed Sullivan show Nelson Mandela is sentenced to life imprisonment on Robben Island The death penalty is abolished in Britain 1947 Muriel becomes the editor of the Poetry Review 1948 The US’s House of Un- American Activities Committee begins its investigation into Communist sympathisers in Hollywood 1950 Publication of Tribute to Wordsworth (edited by Muriel with Derek Stanford) South Africa passes the Group Areas Act, formally segregating the races in Apartheid Britain formally recognises Israel 1951 Publication of Muriel’s study on Mary Shelley, Child of Light Muriel wins the Observer newspaper award for her first short story, The Seraph and the Sambesi 1952 Publication of Muriel’s first poetry collection, The Fanfarlo and Other Verse Publication of Selected Poems of Emily Bronte (edited by Muriel) Queen Elizabeth II is crowned at St James’s Palace 1953 Publication of John Masefield: A Biography Publication of Emily Bronte: Her Life and Work (written by Muriel with Derek Stanford) Publication of My Best, Mary, a collection of letters from Mary Shelley (edited by Muriel with Derek Stanford Josef Stalin dies 1954 Muriel converts to Catholicism Publication of The Bronte Letter (edited by Muriel) Food rationing in the UK ends 1956 The Suez Canal Crisis 1958 Publication of Robinson Publication of her first collection of short stories, The Go-Away Bird Bertrand Russell launches the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament 1959 Publication of Memento Mori 1965 Publication of The Mandelbaum Gate, which won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize Assassination of Malcolm X in New York City 1968 Publication of The Public Image Publication of The Very Fine Clock, a childrens’ book illustrated by Edward Gorey My Lai Massacre in the Vietnam War 1969 Premiere of the film adaptation of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, starring Maggie Smith Neil Armstrong is the first man to walk on the moon The first ever Booker Prize for fiction goes to P H Newby’s Something to Answer For, Muriel Spark’s The Public Image is shortlisted 1970 Publication of The Driver’s Seat The Miss World beauty pageant in London’s Royal Albert Hall is disrupted by Women’s Liberation protesters 1994 The Channel Tunnel opens 1998 Muriel receives the Golden PEN Award The Good Friday Agreement is signed between the British and Irish governments and Northern Irish political parties 1966 Publication of Symposium Nelson Mandela is released 1972 The Munich Massacre takes place during the Olympics 1974 Publication of The Abbess of Crewe Release of Indentkit, a film adaptation of The Driver’s Seat, starring Elizabeth Taylor Richard Nixon resigns as the US President after the Watergate Scandal 1973 Publication of The Hothouse by the East River 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 1993 Muriel is awarded a Damehood 1984 Publication of The Only Problem The miners’ strike begins 1975 Muriel moves to Tuscany 1976 The Publication of The Takeover The first commercial Concorde flight takes off 1977 Release of Nasty Habits, a film adaptation of The Abbess of Crewe, starring Glenda Jackson Elvis Presley dies 1979 Publication of Territorial Rights Margaret Thatcher becomes the first female Prime Minister of Great Britain 1980 The first 24 News channel CNN is launched John Lennon is shot dead in New York City 1981 Publication of Loitering With Intent, which is shortlisted for the Booker Prize Assassination attempts on US President, Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II Diana Spencer marries Charles, Prince of Wales Muhammed Ali retires from boxing 1982 Publication of Bang-Bang You’re Dead, a collection of short stories Publication of Going Up to Sotheby’s, a collection of poems The Falklands War 1986 Chernobyl Disaster 1988 Publication of A Far Cry From Kensington The Lockerbie Disaster 1991 Dissolution of the Soviet Union 1992 Publication of Muriel’s autobiography, Curriculum Vitae Muriel receives the US Ingersoll Foundation TS Eliot Award 1995 Muriel receives the David Cohen Prize Princess Diana dies in a car crash in Paris 1996 Publication of Reality and Dreams Dolly the Sheep, the first mammal to be successfully cloned, is born in Scotland 1970 The Scottish Parliament is officially opened 1989 Ayatollah Khomeini issues a Fatwa on author Salman Rushdie on the publication on his novel The Satanic Verses The Communist regimes in Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria and Romania crumble The Berlin Wall falls 1936 Edward VIII abdicates the throne