The first minister has joined with two bestselling authors to call for a statue to commemorate Muriel Spark, regarded by many critics as the finest Scottish novelist of the 20th century.
Nicola Sturgeon said the honour would be fitting in the author’s centenary and would go some way towards acknowledging the often overlooked genius of women in many fields.
She said: “It’s important we remember women in history and I’ve long supported calls for there to be more statues commemorating the significant contribution so many have made.
“While it’s not a decision for the Scottish government, I’m sure a statue of Muriel Spark in her birth city would be welcomed by Edinburgh people and her many fans worldwide.”
Ms Sturgeon joins the novelists Ian Rankin and Alexander McCall Smith in a celebration of Spark’s life this evening at Usher Hall in Edinburgh, where she will read to an audience of 2,000 from The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, the author’s best-known work.
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Edinburgh’s statues are chiefly of men. There are only two of named women — Queen Victoria and Helen Crummy, a community worker — but three of famous animals: Greyfriars Bobby, Wojtek the bear and Bum the dog.
The balance should soon shift. Plans are being laid for a statue of Elsie Inglis, the doctor and suffragist, and literary supporters rallied to the Spark cause too. McCall Smith said he would contribute to any fundraising appeal.
“People like statues,” he said. “They very much like the Robert Fergusson statue on Edinburgh’s Canongate, which engages with the passer-by.
“I wonder, whether the statue might be of Jean Brodie. I suspect the people of Edinburgh would like that and there are precedents for statues of literary characters honouring their creators. Sandy Stoddart’s statue of Alan Breck and David Balfour [ from Robert Louis Stevenson’s Kidnapped] is an example.”
A sculptor of Stoddart’s ability would be able to capture the essence of Jean Brodie, McCall Smith suggested, “with that slight look of disapproval that is typically Edinburgh”.
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Rankin said that Bruntsfield would be a suitable location for new work. As a child, Spark crossed Bruntsfield Links every day on her way to and from James Gillespie’s school. She died in 2006. Rankin added: “A Scottish banknote in her honour would be amazing. She was a world-class writer and more people should know her name.”
The scale of the Usher Hall event is almost unprecedented in Scottish literary history, according to Alan Taylor, who co-hosts tonight’s event.
Taylor’s memoir of his friendship with Spark was published at Christmas. He said: “She is a marvellous example to creative artists of any generation.”