Archive

The Muriel Spark archive is unique among the National Library of Scotland's collections of papers of Scottish writers. No other author so deliberately and carefully preserved a record of their life.

The earliest papers date from the 1940s, when Muriel Spark made a decision to keep all kinds of documentary evidence.

The early sparse records of wartime poverty that chart the struggles of an unknown author are joined by scores of diaries, numerous accounts and cheque books, and tens of thousands of letters, growing in number as her fame has risen.

Muriel used the collection extensively to write her autobiography, 'Curriculum Vitae', and it was after the publication of this book in 1992 that the first consignment of papers arrived in the Library. Regular additions are still being made to the archive, and detailed cataloguing work is in progress.

Details of several major additions to the Muriel Spark archive are published in a series of inventory documents, available as PDF files:

  • Accession 10607 Includes personal papers 1929-1992, with diaries, cheque books, photos, etc.
    (48 pages; 150 KB)
  • Accession 10989 Includes literary manuscripts, research material used for critical works and autobiography
    (20 pages; 127 KB)
  • Accession 11231 Awards and certificates from school to the present day
    View Acc.11231 PDF (3 pages; 51.8 KB)
  • Accession 11620 Letters from Robin Spark (restricted access to this collection)
    (2 pages; 47.2 KB)

Contact us

If you would like to find out more about the Muriel Spark archive at the National Library of Scotland, please email us at manuscripts@nls.uk