The Girls of Slender Means

London: Macmillan, 1963 . First edition. Cloth. Near Fine/Very Good Indeed. 8" by 5.5". None. An excellent first edition of Muriel Spark's 1963 novella, set in post-war London. The first edition, first impression, in the publisher's original price clipped dust wrapper.This novella marks Scottish novelist Muriel Spark's first publication following the success of her best known work, 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'. This work was selected by Anthony Burgess as one of the ninety-nine best English novels since 1939, and commended by him as 'brilliant, brittle, the production of a fine brain and a superior craft'.Set in 1945 London, during the summer following the end of the Second World War, the focus is on a group of young women taking up residence in lodgings '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'. During a summer of whimsical deprivations, yet full of promise for a peaceful future, the narrative follows these women as they navigate both everyday life and matters of the heart. In the publisher's original cloth binding, with price clipped dust wrapper. Externally, excellent, with bump to spine tail. Light sunning to dust wrapper back strip, with edge wear to back strip head and tail, and a touch of rubbing to fold of rear joint. Small closed tear to back strip head. Internally, firmly bound. Pages clean and bright. Near Fine