THE first permanent memorial to Dame Muriel Spark will be installed at Edinburgh's answer to Poets' Corner next spring – coinciding with what would have been her 90th year.

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It has been revealed that the memorial stone will be inscribed with a phrase from the Edinburgh-born writer's best-known book, the Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.

The simple stone slab marking the author's life and work will feature the words "The Transfiguration of the Commonplace" after a book written by Sandy Stranger, one of the main characters in the novel.

Members of the Muriel Spark Society, which is behind the memorial plans, took a vote on what the inscription should say earlier this year.

They believe the phrase best sums up the author. It has the backing of her close friend Penelope Jardine, with whom the writer lived in Tuscany until her death in April last year.

The Society applied for permission to include the tribute in Makar's Court, next to the Scottish Writers' Museum in Lady Stair's Close, several months ago after securing a "generous donation" from an anonymous donor to pay for the plaque.

This week, it received confirmation that the application has been approved.

Society president Gail Wylie said: "We decided on The Transfiguration of the Commonplace because that's what Muriel Spark did in her writing.

"I have told Penelope Jardine what is happening and she said that she is delighted it's going ahead and is very happy with the inscription.

"It will probably happen either in April or May, during Muriel's 90th year. I don't know what the arrangements will be for that day, but we will try to have a little celebration because she is very worthy of a place there."

Dame Muriel will take her place alongside Robert Burns, Robert Louis Stevenson and Sir Walter Scott, who are also celebrated with inscriptions outside the city's Writers' Museum.

The slab is thought to be the first memorial to the great writer. There is a plaque at the old James Gillespie's School, which is now student flats, which was erected during her lifetime.

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City culture leader Deidre Brock said:
"Muriel Spark was a great Scottish woman whose work entertained millions. It will be fantastic to see her legacy commemorated in the city of her birth."

Dame Muriel was most famous for her novel The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, based on her experiences at Gillespie's.

The Society has been planning a tribute to the author since her death, but had struggled to find funds this year.

Writer Dame Muriel Spark (1918-2006) [5]