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poetry in place of the traditional vespers and has the nuns given incantations on electronics. It soon becomes clear that there has been a scandal engulfing the covent and that another senior member of the convent, Felicity, formerly
Alexandra's rival for the position of Abbess, has departed to live with a Jesuit priest.
78:
The narrative switches to before the election of Abbess, to times soon before and soon after the death of the former abbess, Hildegarde. Most of the humour derives from
Alexandra's implacable calm in the face of chaos and her guileful and downright Machiavellian treatment of her rival, Felicity, and
74:
At the beginning of the novel we are introduced to
Alexandra, recently elected Abbess of Crewe, circumnavigating the issue of electronic bugging in the convent, while there is a visible police presence outside the gates. Alexandra is tall and elegant, 'like a tower of ivory'. She recites modern
79:
the rest of the convent population. This includes the continuation of
Hildegarde's video and audio surveillance systems, used to monitor all the nuns' activities, including Felicity's amorous romps in the garden.
102:, a peripatetic nun, only accessible on the telephone at her own convenience. She grants prosaic and indifferent advice to the inner circle and has an apparently godlike awareness of what is said in her absence.
187:. "Groups of females have always been a congenial subject for her, and the nuns...excite her prose to its pristine piquance... pleasing rigor - stylized, sinister, and soothing." -
160:
of the 1970s. That review concluded "Muriel Spark is the first writer to demonstrate that
Watergate and its attendant immoralities are materials not of tragedy, but of farce".
175:. "Here is, of all things, a Watergate book from Muriel Spark. It is funny, stylish, wicked, and delightful, and represents her return to the buoyant and witty precisions of
156:, "theological props point to immorality in politics. The setting, to mention names, is the Abbey of Crewe, the immoralities are those of Watergate.", referring to the
130:, two Jesuit priests who agree to conspire with Alexandra against Felicity when they are given evidence of her romantic trysts with one of their priests.
108:, Alexandra's only real rival for the position of Abbess. Her political strategy is to form sewing collectives among the nuns and preach free love.
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52:, after the death of the former. It exhibits Spark's typical style of crossing seamlessly between temporal points in the narrative.
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120:, the second of Alexandra's main co-conspirators. Also fully aware of the extent of bugging within the convent.
96:, a gullible and manipulable member of Alexandra's inner circle, treated alternately as dogsbody and scapegoat.
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163:"The short dirk in the hands of Muriel Spark has always been a deadly weapon,... never more so than in
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90:, whose mission and calling is to be the next Abbess of Crewe, irrespective of the methods used.
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62:, released in 1977. This book is considered an allegorical treatment of the
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214:
Two More Sparks: The Abbess of Crewe and The
Takeover – Stuck in a Book
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114:, one of the two main supporters and co-conspirators of Alexandra.
270:
https://www.nytimes.com/books/97/05/11/reviews/spark-morality.html
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259:"The Abbess of Crewe - A Modern Morality Tale By Muriel Spark"
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and the political intrigues surrounding the election of a new
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183:. Prime Muriel Spark...mad - and hilarious." -
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140:The Abbess of Crewe - A Modern Morality Tale
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44:. It is centred on a Catholic convent in
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40:is a novella published in 1974 by
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257:Stade, George (20 October 1974).
56:adapted the novel into his film
438:The Hothouse by the East River
146:'s October 20, 1974 review of
1:
390:The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
181:The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
607:
591:Macmillan Publishers books
398:The Girls of Slender Means
486:A Far Cry From Kensington
374:The Ballad of Peckham Rye
344:
31:Cover art by Linnet Gotch
291:, New Directions, 1995,
138:Muriel Spark subtitled
576:Novels set in convents
571:Novels about elections
551:Novels set in Cheshire
541:Novels by Muriel Spark
32:
470:Loitering with Intent
216:Retrieved 2019-05-29.
25:First edition (publ.
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16:1974 Catholic novella
518:The Finishing School
54:Michael Lindsay-Hogg
546:1974 British novels
510:Aiding and Abetting
446:The Abbess of Crewe
406:The Mandelbaum Gate
289:The Abbess of Crewe
227:"Dame Muriel Spark"
165:The Abbess of Crewe
148:The Abbess of Crewe
37:The Abbess of Crewe
581:Fiction about nuns
502:Reality and Dreams
462:Territorial Rights
264:The New York Times
169:The New York Times
153:The New York Times
134:Critical reception
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566:Watergate scandal
528:
527:
422:The Driver's Seat
297:978-0-8112-1296-0
158:Watergate scandal
64:Watergate scandal
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586:British novellas
478:The Only Problem
414:The Public Image
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171:. "Delicious" -
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235:. 16 April 2006
232:The Independent
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430:Not To Disturb
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350:The Comforters
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366:Memento Mori
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338:Muriel Spark
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237:. Retrieved
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70:Plot summary
59:Nasty Habits
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42:Muriel Spark
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34:
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189:John Updike
535:Categories
336:Novels by
239:18 January
201:References
128:Maximilian
83:Characters
494:Symposium
94:Winifrede
88:Alexandra
27:Macmillan
358:Robinson
173:Newsweek
124:Baudouin
118:Walburga
106:Felicity
100:Gertrude
112:Mildred
521:(2004)
513:(2000)
505:(1996)
497:(1990)
489:(1988)
481:(1984)
473:(1981)
465:(1979)
457:(1976)
449:(1974)
441:(1973)
433:(1971)
425:(1970)
417:(1968)
409:(1965)
401:(1963)
393:(1961)
385:(1960)
377:(1960)
369:(1959)
361:(1958)
353:(1957)
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50:abbess
556:Crewe
167:." -
46:Crewe
293:ISBN
241:2017
179:and
126:and
150:in
537::
276:^
261:.
249:^
229:.
197:.
191:,
66:.
329:e
322:t
315:v
267:.
243:.
29:)
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
