Caroline Rose has a problem. She hears voices and the incessant tapping of typewriter keys, and she seems to be a character in a novel . . . A comedy of errors, a crime novel, a book about books, Spark’s debut remains as otherworldly and mischievous as it was when first published sixty years ago.

The publishers acknowledge investment from Creative Scotland towards the publication of this book.

Supported by the Muriel Spark Society.

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'As I entered my teens, I developed a taste for more arch, snappy writing and discovered the joys of Muriel Spark. Wisdom and wit — ideal for an impressionable youth finding his way in the world'