''The Girls of Slender Means'' is a

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) facts ...

written in 1963 by British author Muriel Spark. It was included in Anthony Burgess's 1984 book '' Ninety-Nine Novels: The Best in English since 1939 — A Personal Choice''. In 2022, it was included on the " Big Jubilee Read" list of 70 books by

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

authors, selected to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II.

Plot

The book centres on 'The May of Teck Club', a fictional institution said to have been established by Princess May of Teck during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

"for the Pecuniary Convenience and Social Protection of Ladies of Slender Means below the age of Thirty Years, who are obliged to reside apart from their Families in order to follow an Occupation in London". It concerns the lives and loves of its desperate residents amongst the deprivations of immediate post-war

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

between VE Day and VJ Day in 1945. The story is framed by the news, in 1963, that Nicholas Farringdon, an

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...

intellectual turned

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

, has been killed in

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

. Journalist Jane Wright, a former inhabitant of the Club, wants to research his story. The bulk of the novella is taken up by flashbacks to 1945, concerning Farringdon and the Club, to which he had been a frequent visitor before his conversion. The narrative climaxes with a tragedy.

Adaptations

In May 1975, the book was adapted for BBC television by Ken Taylor, broadcast in 3 episodes on

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

Produced by Martin Lisemore and Directed by Moira Armstrong. Philip Hinchcliffe handled most of the pre-production and casting, but had to leave the series when he was appointed producer of

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

in 1974. Episodes were broadcast on Saturdays, followed by a Tuesday repeat. The series was repeated again on BBC2 in August 1976. The cast included: Patricia Hodge,

Miriam Margolyes Miriam ( he, מִרְיָם ''Mīryām'', lit. 'Rebellion') is described in the Hebrew Bible as the daughter of Amram and Jochebed, and the older sister of Moses and Aaron. She was a prophetess and first appears in the Book of Exodus. The Tora ...

Mary Tamm Mary Tamm (22 March 1950 – 26 July 2012) was a British actress, who appeared in many British TV drama series and serials, and is best known for her role as Romana I in the BBC's science fiction on television, science fiction television s ...

Tina Heath Tina Heath (born 1953) is a British actress and former television presenter. She and husband Dave Cooke have two children. Early career Her first television appearance was in 1969, when she appeared in ''Broaden Your Mind'' on BBC Two, BBC 2 alon ...

Valerie Lush Valerie Lush (24 December 1918 – 14 May 2016) was a British actress who appeared in many British television programmes. She is best known for playing Auntie Flo in '' ...And Mother Makes Three'' (1971–1973) and '' ...And Mother Makes Five'' (19 ...

, Jack Shepherd,

Jeffrey Segal Jeffrey Segal (1 August 1920 – 5 February 2015) was an English actor and scriptwriter. He made his first screen appearance, as an extra, in the film '' Jew Süss'' (1934). From the early 1960s onwards he appeared in many British TV series, ...

, Judith Paris and

Suzy Mandel Suzy Mandel (born 6 March 1953) is a former actress and model best known for her roles in such mid-1970s British sex comedies as ''Intimate Games'' (1976), ''Confessions of a Driving Instructor'' (1976), '' Come Play with Me'' (1977), ''The Pl ...

, with narrator

Marjorie Westbury Marjorie Westbury (18 June 1905 – 16 December 1989) was an English radio actress and singer. Her career lasted for more than fifty years. Born in Oldbury, Worcestershire, she studied Voice at the Royal College of Music in London between 1927 a ...

. A BBC Radio adaptation followed on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

on 1 August 1998 as part of ''The Saturday Play'' series. Adapted by Colin Davis, it featured Amanda Root,

Joanna Monro Joanna Monro (born 1956) is a British actress and former television presenter who, in the 1980s, appeared on the BBC show ''That's Life!'' with Esther Rantzen. In 1974 she appeared in the ''Doctor Who'' story ''Planet of the Spiders'', followed by ...

Abigail Docherty Abigail () was an Israelite woman in the Hebrew Bible married to Nabal; she married the future David, King David after Nabal's death (Books of Samuel, 1 Samuel ). Abigail was David's second wife, after Saul and Ahinoam's daughter, Michal, ...

, Christopher Wright, Charles Simpson, Jack Ellis, Caroline Strong, Frances Jeater, Richenda Carey and Geoffrey Whitehead. Directed by Marion Nancarrow.

References

External links

Guardian review
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Girls Of Slender Means, The 1963 British novels British novellas Novels by Muriel Spark Novels set in London Fiction set in 1945 Alfred A. Knopf books British novels adapted into films