The Bachelors (novel)

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The Bachelors
TheBachelors.JPG
First edition cover
Author Muriel Spark
Cover artist Victor Reinganum
LanguageEnglish
Publisher Macmillan
Publication date
1960
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint (Hardback & Paperback)
OCLC 41211640
823/.914 21
LC Class PR6037.P29 B29 1999

The Bachelors is a novel written in 1960 by the Scottish author Muriel Spark, [1] [2] [3] [4] referred to by The New York Times as "the most gifted and innovative British novelist".[ citation needed ] It follows a group of British bachelors whose misogynistic world is shattered when they suddenly find themselves the target of blackmail and fraud.

Contents

Story

The main characters, the bachelors, are a barrister, a "priest", a detective, a love-seeking Irishman, a handwriting expert, and a mastermind of a spiritual medium. In this story they arc from complete contentment, sitting cozily about in their London clubs and shopping on Oxford Street, to be troubled by various causes, ranging from fraud to blackmail. They all end up involved in a court case, a criminal prosecution for forgery and fraud, with the trial being the climax of the action. In the centre of the story stands the main character, the pale Patrick Seton, the medium, while the other bachelors are tormented by every cause — epileptic fits, forgeries, malignant spiritualism and, last but not least, murder.

Principal characters

References

  1. "The Bachelors". Kirkus Reviews . 1 March 1961. Retrieved 20 March 2025.
  2. "Such Characters!". Evening Standard . 18 October 1960. p. 21. Retrieved 20 March 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  3. Hodgson, Rose Marie (4 November 1960). "Farrago of Fiction". Long Eaton Advertiser. p. 4. Retrieved 20 March 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  4. O'Hearn, Walter (24 December 1960). "The Malicious Irony of Muriel Spark". The Montreal Star . p. 26. Retrieved 20 March 2025 via Newspapers.com.