A Far Cry From Kensington

London: Constable, 1988 0094682909. VG. Hardback. No DW. 189 pages. Reprint in year of original publication. Very attractive coloured bookplate on front end page. Excellent gilt lettering on spine. No annotations. "Mercurially funny, playful and mischievous" Ali Smith. "I was in heaven reading this book. I think she writes like an angel . . . just blissful" Stephen Fry: "A novel of pure delight." Claire Tomalin. By the author of 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'. Rich and slim, the celebrated author Nancy Hawkins takes us in hand and leads us back to her threadbare years in postwar London, where she spends her days working for a mad, near-bankrupt publisher (of very good books) and her nights dispensing advice at her small South Kensington rooming house. Everywhere Mrs. Hawkins finds evil: with aplomb, however, she confidently sets about putting things to order, to terrible effect. .As a young publishing assistant and war widow Mrs Hawkins crosses swords with writer Hector Bartlett the repercussions are swift. Set in postwar literary London, 'A Far Cry from Kensington' is a mischievous and stylish tale of the cost of telling the truth. This is one of the 22 novels written by Muriel Spark in her lifetime. .