Muriel Spark was a Scottish poet, novelist, and literary biographer, best known for her 1961 novel The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. She wrote twenty-two novels, as well as poetry and critical editions of classic writers. Blending the supernatural with the real, and satire with allegory, she reshaped modern fiction. Born in Edinburgh in 1918, she lived widely abroad. Her extensive personal archive is now held by the National Library of Scotland.