After striking up a friendship with his subject, journalist Alan Taylor meets Muriel Spark's Tuscan social circle and tackles head-on rumours about the author and her long term companion, sculptor Penelope Jardine.

When Alan Taylor travelled to the Italian town of Arezzo to interview Muriel Spark, it was the beginning of a friendship which would last for years. Accompanying the author as she visited literary festivals across Europe and rediscovered old haunts in New York, Taylor gained a unique insight into the character of this fascinating artist.
This vibrant portrait of one of the twentieth century's great writers was abridged by Laurence Wareing and is read by Paul Higgins.
Producer: Eilidh McCreadie. Show less