The Public Image

by Muriel Spark

Book Overview

Spark chooses Rome, the motherland of sensation, for the setting of her story about movie star Annabel Christopher (known to her adoring fans as The English Lady-Tiger), who has made the fatal mistake of believing in her public image. This error and her embittered husband, and unsuccessful actor, catch up with her. Her final act is only the first shocking climax--further surprises await. Neatly savaging our celebrity culture, Spark rejoices in one...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0811212467
• ISBN13: 9780811212465
• Release Date: April 1993
• Publisher: New Directions Publishing Corporation
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 0.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Behind The Door, Both A Lady & A Tiger

The late Muriel Spark's The Public Image (1968) was the author's second attempt, after the cumbersome The Mandelbaum Gate (1965), to write a successful novel in a radically different style from that of the highly satirical comic style which made her career. Though Spark's early novels, including The Comforters (1957), Memento Mori (1959), The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1961), and The Girls of Slender Means (1963) were both critically and commercially popular, some reviewers came to perceive the novels--and Spark's literary talent--as both "miniaturist" and "twee." After The Girls of Slender Means, Spark embarked on a long series of experimental works, not genuinely returning to her former high style until Loitering with Intent (1981) thirteen long years later. Set in Italy, where Spark was then living, The Public Image is the comparatively simple story of Annabel Christopher, a young actress of average appearance and apparently minor talent who, by some strange cinemagraphic alchemy, transforms into an object of mystery and allure when photographed through the camera of rising Italian film director Luigi Leopardi. Promoted first as a "Cat-Tiger" and then as "the English Lady-Tiger," Annabel eventually becomes internationally famous as "the Lady Tiger" solely on the basis of her unexpected and newly-manifested screen persona. Spark is ruthless in her early depiction of Annabel: not only is Annabel "a puny little thing," "a little slip of a thing," "a little chit of a thing," and "mousy," she is also "stupid," and openly mocked as such by her lazy, frustrated, and pretentious husband, Frederick, who resents her sudden success, and his best friend, perpetual lay-about Billy O'Brien, both of whom continually taunt Annabel even while allowing her to support them in high style. Annabel, who completely lacks the maliciousness of those in her immediate circle, realizes and accepts that she is neither inherently intelligent nor well-educated. However, hard-working Annabel carefully maintains her public image not because she is flattered by it, but because she clearly understands that the deception is essential to her continued success in films. Increasingly practical and imbued with the kind of common sense Frederick and Billy lack, at no time does Annabel come to believe the publicity aggressively put forward about her by the studio. After giving birth to her first child, Annabel quickly comes to realize what is genuinely important in her life, even as the destructive forces around her marshal to precipitate her public humiliation and ruin. Though the meaning of the book's climax and final paragraph have been disputed over the decades, Annabel's fate is essentially a positive one. Annabel, a very unlikely Spark heroine, grows and evolves. Spark maintained meticulous control over her spartan public image throughout her lifetime, and thus it's no wonder that she chose to essay the theme in a full-length work. After the enormous success of her

An Ethical Shocker says Muriel Sparks

"Nobody recognized her as she stood, having moved the baby to rest on her hip, conscious also of the baby in a sense weightlessly and perpetually within her, as an empty shell contains, by its very structure, the echo and harking image of former and former seas." the last sentence, written by Muriel Spark, in this masterpiece of a book. This is a book that so delights, surprises and shocks us. This sentence cries for analysis, and sums up the feelings and sense of "The Public Image". Annabel Christopher is an English movie star, thought by some, and that includes her husband to be vapid and stupid. However, to my mind, Annabel has the street smarts, ingenuity and intelligence needed to make her career soar. As a movie star she is thought of as "The English Tiger-Lady" in bed and out. Her husband, Frederick, a so-so actor who cannot get a job. He is able to write scripts but feels inferior and jealous of his wife. He and his wife build a public image as the perfect couple, which is, of course, the perfect lie. His good friend, Billy O'Brien is the devil incarnate, always looking for easy money from the couple and always looking for the easy way out. He does Frederick's bidding. Both are angry, bitter men who have not been able to build the life they want. Frederick is set to leave his wife, but there is always a reason to stay, that is, until the last time. Annabel, Frederick and their new baby move to Rome where Annabel will shoot a new movie. She has been able to organize the move, rent an apartment, furnish the new flat, and make all the decisions that arise on a day to day to basis. And in the meantime she meets all the neighbors, and gives them a tour of the new apartment. Frederick is out, gone for several days, probably having a fling with a local actress or woman. Billy comes to visit one night and invites people in for a party. Why does Annabel allow this? What does happen and just where is Frederick? A surprising and shocking climax, and for Annabel an unexpected conclusion. Muriel Sparks has written one of her best novels. It constantly keeps your attention, keeps you on your toes trying to guess what comes next. Muriel Sparks has the ability to keep us unnerved, and on the edge of our seats. This is a thriller that is unexpected. I could not put this book down; I started it in a doctor's waiting room and was annoyed when the doctor was ready to see me. Highly recommended, but give yourself time for one sitting. Prisrob

A razor-sharp portrait of male resentment of female success

I am a bit reluctant to express an opinion about this short but deeply satisfying novel, first published in 1968, because it does not seem to me to be a satire. I can see that perhaps _The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie_ is a satire, and _The Abbess of Crewe_ surely is. Most of Spark's work is short and has considerable bit. She herself labeled _The Public Image_ "an ethical shocker," but I'm even less sure of what that means than I am whether the book is intended to satirize or portray a rising film star whose public image is threatened. I also don't agree with the cover description of Annabel having "made the fatal mistake of believing her public image." It seems to me that she knows what that image is and how to maintain it and recognizes the rewards she reaps from it, but that she has not confused her self with her image/typical role. The two main adult female characters are admirably poised and fully ethical. The two main male characters are needy, greedy heels jealous of Annabel's success. There is a harridan female child and some professionally supportive males (a director and a lawyer), so it's not entirely women good men bad, but the bad men are very destructive indeed. The local (Roman) color is amusing and the ending is very satisfying. Also I read the book from cover-to-cover in less time than a recording of Puccini's "Turandot."