The Very Fine Clock - by Muriel Spark (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Two stars team up--Muriel Spark and Edward Gorey--to bring the charming tale of Ticky the clock to life in this children's classic.

Once there was a very fine clock named Ticky, who lived with Professor Horace John Morris and kept perfect time. Each night, at fourteen minutes past ten, his time was used to set the rest of the clocks in the house. When the professor's friends suggest that Ticky be made a professor, too, he explains what really happens during the quiet hours of the day when the professor is out, when all the rooms have been cleaned and dusted, and the clocks talk to one another and tell the stories of their lives.

No artist is better suited to capture Ticky's quiet stateliness and grace than Edward Gorey, who brings this tale masterfully to life through his characteristic pen and ink drawings. Full of wit, wisdom, and affairs of the heart, The Very Fine Clock is a very fine picture book.

Review Quotes

"A quiet study in snobbery... The Very Fine Clock is meant for clever children. For those too young to appreciate Spark's dry humor, the story is enhanced by Edward Gorey's pleasantly unsettling illustrations."--The Wall Street Journal

"One of Edward Gorey's very best efforts in Children's Book illustration."--Gregory Hischak, director and curator of The Edward Gorey House

"Full of tiny details and overwhelming personality....[The Very Fine Clock is] a must for the Gorey shelves."--School Library Journal

"A work of melancholy, humor, and unmatchable charm from two celebrated artists."--Foreword Reviews, Starred Review

"The charm of [The Very Fine Clock] is in Gorey's memorable illustrations, which are a little less macabre than usual, as well as Spark's literary style. It's an intriguing book that will appeal to a discerning child and, better yet, can introduce all kids to the artistry of Edward Gorey."--Cyrisse Jaffee, The Arts Fuse

About the Author

Muriel Spark (1918-2006) was the author of dozens of novels, including The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Memento Mori, A Far Cry from Kensington, The Girls of Slender Means, The Ballad of Peckham Rye, The Driver's Seat, and many more. She became Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1993.

Edward Gorey (1925-2000) was born in Chicago. In 1953 Gorey published The Unstrung Harp, the first of his more than one hundred books. In addition to illustrating his own stories, Gorey provided drawings for many books for both children and adults. Of these, New York Review Books has published The Haunted Looking Glass, a collection of Gorey's favorite ghost stories; The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells; Men and Gods by Rex Warner; The Unrest-Cure and Other Stories by Saki; and Three Ladies Beside the Sea by Rhoda Levine. He cowrote the NYRB Kids book Fletcher and Zenobia with Victoria Chess.