Ladies and Gentlemen

Muriel Spark had one of the most distinctive voices in twentieth-century writing, was capable of incisive and darkly-comic observation, and won prizes for her writing across the World.

Spark worked as a novelist, dramatist and children's author, but it is perhaps her short stories that best exemplify her sharp eye and beautifully-crafted work, where she coolly probes the idiosyncrasies that lurk beneath veneer of human respectability. The three stories in this series include the wry humour of social comedy 'The Snobs' and the sharp satire of class, aspiration and phobia in 'You Should Have Seen the Mess'.

Here, Muriel Spark enjoys a timely satire on the perils awaiting those who attempt to commit adultery, when a married man runs the terrible risk of taking a walk in the park with his young mistress. Read by Tracy-Ann Oberman.

Producer: David Roper
A Heavy Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.