Another Muriel Spark review today! Aiding and Abetting is based on real life. It’s about Lord Lucan, the seventh Earl of Lucan, who disappeared on the 7th of November 1974. It’s also about Dr Hildegard Wolf, a psychiatrist who used to be a fraudulent stigmatic, with the real name of Beate Pappenheim.

Walker and Lucky turn up at Dr Wolf’s clinic at around the same time, both claiming to be Lucan, presumed dead. Suddenly, they’re blackmailing her. This spirals into an adventurous section of the book – Hildegard disappears, leaving her long-term lover Jean-Pierre worried from the loss of contact. They quickly reunite, and the Lucans are whisked off the Africa to tutor the sons of a chief.

For Hildegard, the book begins and ends the same way – except for Jean-Pierre’s knowledge of her past. However, this doesn’t make any considerable difference as he’s non-judgemental and doesn’t seem to care much.

This book was good, but not amazing or unputdownable. I rate it 3/5. It’s definitely not my favourite Muriel Spark book – so far I favour ‘The Finishing School’. Click here to go to my review of that, or here for my short review of ‘The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie’.

Happy reading!