The Abbess of Crewe

The Abbess of Crewe / Muriel Spark
NY: New Directions, 1995, c1974.
106 p.

This story of an enclosed community is quite different to other, nice stories about convents and spiritual living. This convent, led by the aristocratic Abbess Alexandra, is a hothouse of gossip and politicking. Just because all the voters in this particular election are nuns, it doesn't keep the campaigning from getting very dirty. 

The Abbess is made of stern stuff, and has rallied a group of toadies around her to keep her place as the new Abbess -- there were perhaps some questions about it. But she is nothing if not modern -- she's bugged the convent and rigged the election. Is she getting too confident in her corruption? As leaks begin and mistakes are made, the Abbess is faced with a Vatican Inquiry. And it starts with a thimble...

This second book by Muriel Spark that I have tried has not yet convinced me that I get along with her too well as a writer. I'll give her another go and see. But just like The Symposium, I found this one so very, very clever -- almost too so. I read that this slim novella is a satire on the Watergate scandal, and I can see how it was contemporaneously fascinating to readers. Sadly, the scandals of today would fit right on top of this story as well, and also likely make it look innocent and old-fashioned in comparison.

If only all scandals like this one would be uncovered by hubris and the uncovering of small details. 

What I did enjoy about it were the personalities, and the description of sisterly routines of cooking, sewing, and so forth, and then the sudden juxtaposition of recording devices hidden away and criminals hired and such like. 

The women were extremes but also recognizable in some way, and the way that the whole enterprise crumbles on the crux of a missing thimble, well. It made for a quick and acidic read. If you like Spark, be certain to pick this one up. If you're not sure, or haven't yet read her, I'd say start with another of her more well known titles and then move on to this. I'm planning on trying one of the better known ones myself next. Then I'll see if I can mesh with her style a little more.