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The Girls of Slender Means by Muriel Spark is the best of the three novels I have read by this author, the first two falling a bit flat.

We follow the lives, loves and dramas of a group of young girls residing in a house in London in 1945 �� just after the end of WWII. This house was opened during WWI for women of “slender means�� who needed to relocate to London to work. This group had the name “May of Tuck Club,�� some reference to the person who created the place.

There is a second timeline involved involving a man called Nicholas Farringdon �� and he does add a bit of interest to the story (he was also a frequent visitor to the May of Tuck Club in 1945. He loved Seline (who is described as some sort of beautiful, purring lolling thing), but Jane loves him too �� you know, the usual story. There are other girls worth knowing such as Jane, who works for a publisher and was given the job of getting to know and influence author Farringdon, Nancy Riddle who was inflicted with a Midlands accent (I can say that because I am from the Midlands of the UK �� it is often said “Silence is a better accent than a Midlands accent), there’s also a mad girl called Pauline Fox �� and quite a few other young ladies.

The dynamics between the girls was what you’d expect �� loves and romances, also arguments and a bit of bitching (about things like wallpaper). There were also some funny interchanges with the three old spinsters of the group �� who have ‘stayed on�� and ‘stayed single.�� “Greggie�� the bossiest one was an interesting sort.

The issue I have had with Spark’s previous (and this) work is the humour. Yes, it’s amusing but to me �� not terribly hilarious. As I explained to my buddy readers, Jennifer, and Lisa �� I find the old (60’s, 70’s) UK humour a bit corny by and large. This was written in 1963 (my birth year incidentally, in both normal time and spacetime), and I remember the classic comedies of the time. The “Carry on Movies�� and the like �� just a but light, lacking satire, darkness, and wickedness. The stuff makes me really laugh out loud �� think Sedaris, Gervais, Larry David etc.

But what made this book for me, as compared to the previous two, was the drama. We have significant drama and it aint all pleasant. There was suspense and sadness. So, I liked that �� and I am still thinking about the book �� so it says something.

Oh, and there was also Seline, this was my mind’s eye of this beautiful woman. Often said to be ‘lolling�� around or referring to one quote “Selina, furled like a long soft sash, in her chair, came to Nicholas in a gratuitous flow��



I know this is a picture of the stunning Joanna Lumley from the 1960s �� but you get the picture? Why wouldn’t Nick Farringdon be besotted by her?

I noticed Spark made reference to the skinniness, stoutness or fatness of the girls �� it seemed to be a running theme - maybe that was easy to talk about in the 1960s. I also believe the title has a triple meaning (but telling you my thoughts on that would be a spoiler �� oh, and I might be wrong!).

Lisa’s review: /review/show...

Jennifer’s review: /review/show...


4 Stars