37-537: Doors Open is a 2008 novel by crime writer Ian Rankin . It was his first stand-alone thriller in over 10 years. The story was originally published as a serial in The New York Times Magazine . Mike Mackenzie is a software entrepreneur who has sold his company for a substantial amount of money, but is now bored and looking for a new thrill. His new-found wealth has funded a genuine interest in art so when his friend Professor Robert Gissing presents him with
74-530: A Quick Reads title. Edited anthology Recordings Graphic novels Graphic novella Opera Short stories Other Muriel Spark Dame Muriel Sarah Spark ( née Camberg ; 1 February 1918 – 13 April 2006) was a Scottish novelist , short story writer, poet and essayist. Muriel Camberg was born in the Bruntsfield area of Edinburgh , the daughter of Bernard Camberg, an engineer, and Sarah Elizabeth Maud (née Uezzell). Her father
111-888: A bedsit at 13 Baldwin Crescent, Camberwell , south-east London. After living in New York City for some years, she moved to Rome, where she met artist and sculptor Penelope Jardine in 1968. In the early 1970s, they settled in Tuscany , in the village of Oliveto, near to Civitella in Val di Chiana , of which in 2005 Spark was made an honorary citizen. She was the subject of frequent rumours of lesbian relationships from her time in New York onwards, although Spark and her friends denied their validity. She left her entire estate to Jardine, taking measures to ensure that her son received nothing. Spark died in 2006 and
148-437: A Roman Catholic ... that she was able to see human existence as a whole, as a novelist needs to do". In an interview with John Tusa on BBC Radio 4 , she said of her conversion and its effect on her writing that she "was just a little worried, tentative. Would it be right, would it not be right? Can I write a novel about that – would it be foolish, wouldn't it be? And somehow with my religion – whether one has anything to do with
185-728: A convent school, as children were not permitted to travel during the war. Spark returned to Britain in early 1944, taking residence at the Helena Club in London. She worked in intelligence for the remainder of World War II . She provided money at regular intervals to support her son. Spark maintained it was her intention for her family to set up a home in England, but Robin returned to Britain with his father later to be brought up by his maternal grandparents in Scotland. Between 1955 and 1965 she lived in
222-525: A draft by William McIlvanney , a prequel telling the story of an early case of McIlvanney's fictional detective Jack Laidlaw. McIlvanney, whom Rankin admires, had died in 2015 leaving the manuscript unfinished. It was published under the name The Dark Remains . In 2022, Rankin signed a deal with publisher Orion to write two new John Rebus novels. Later that same year, he received a Knighthood from HM Queen Elizabeth II for services to literature and charity as part of her Birthday Honours List. Rankin
259-546: A group of ten book sculptures were deposited around Edinburgh as gifts to cultural institutions and the people of the city. Many of the sculptures made reference to the work of Rankin, and an eleventh sculpture was a personal gift to him. In 2019, Rankin donated his personal archives to the National Library of Scotland after moving to his flat in the Quartermile. The Library planned an exhibition for 2021 of highlights from
296-713: A little bit fairer". Spark received the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 1965 for The Mandelbaum Gate , the Ingersoll Foundation T. S. Eliot Award for Creative Writing in 1992 and the David Cohen Prize in 1997. She became an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1967 and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1993 for services to literature. She was twice shortlisted for
333-565: A novelist. Before becoming a full-time novelist, he worked as a grape picker, swineherd , taxman, alcohol researcher, hi-fi journalist, college secretary and punk musician in a band called the Dancing Pigs. Rankin did not set out to be a crime writer . He thought his first novels, Knots and Crosses and Hide and Seek , were mainstream books, more in keeping with the Scottish traditions of Robert Louis Stevenson and even Muriel Spark . He
370-746: A number of years in the Merchiston / Morningside area, near the authors J. K. Rowling , Alexander McCall Smith and Kate Atkinson , before moving to a penthouse flat in the former Edinburgh Royal Infirmary building in Quartermile in Lauriston . The couple also own a house in Cromarty in the Scottish Highlands . Rankin appears as a character in McCall Smith's 2004 novel, 44 Scotland Street . In 2011,
407-537: A plan for the perfect crime. With a vast collection but limited wall space, the National Gallery has many more valuable works of art in storage than it could ever display. The plan is to stage a heist at the Granton storage depot on "Doors Open Day" during which a selected group of paintings will be "stolen". The gang will then give the appearance of having panicked and fled without the works of art, but will have switched
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#1732852078569444-640: A secretary in a department store. In 1937 she became engaged to Sidney Oswald Spark, 13 years her senior, whom she had met in Edinburgh. In August of that year, she followed him to Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe ), and they were married on 3 September 1937 in Salisbury . Their son Samuel Robin was born in July 1938. Within months she discovered that her husband was manic depressive and prone to violent outbursts. In 1940 Muriel left Sidney and temporarily placed Robin in
481-511: A story "Herbert in Motion" (originally published 1996-1997). Its plot is also concerned with the theft of undisplayed works of art from the storage facilities of a major gallery by a curator, and their replacement with high quality forgeries to mask the crime. This article about a thriller novel of the 2000s is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . See guidelines for writing about novels . Further suggestions might be found on
518-560: A strained relationship. They had a falling out when Robin's Orthodox Judaism prompted him to petition for his late great-grandmother to be recognised as Jewish. (Spark's maternal grandparents, Adelaide Hyams and Tom Uezzell, had married in a church. Tom was Anglican. Adelaide's father was Jewish, but her mother was not; Adelaide referred to herself as a "Jewish Gentile.") Spark reacted by accusing him of seeking publicity to advance his career as an artist. Muriel's brother Philip, who himself had become actively Jewish, agreed with her version of
555-418: A total of £1,850, to a book sale in aid of Christian Aid . Rankin was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2002 for services to literature and knighted in the 2022 Birthday Honours for services to literature and charity. As of 2024 , Rankin has published 25 novels, two short-story collections, one original graphic novel, one novella, and a non-fiction book. He has also written
592-513: A trade. Encouraged by his English teacher, he persisted and graduated in 1982 from the University of Edinburgh , where he also worked on a doctorate on Muriel Spark but did not complete it. He has taught at the university and retains an involvement with the James Tait Black Memorial Prize . He lived in Tottenham , London, for four years and then rural France for six while he developed his career as
629-581: Is a character in a novel. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1961) was even more successful. Spark displayed originality of subject and tone, making extensive use of flashforwards and imagined conversations. It is clear that James Gillespie's High School was the model for the Marcia Blaine School in the novel. Her residence at the Helena Club was the inspiration for the fictional May of Teck Club in The Girls of Slender Means published in 1963. In
666-760: Is a regular contributor to the BBC Two arts programme Newsnight Review . His three-part documentary series on the subject of evil was broadcast on Channel 4 in December 2002. In 2005 he presented a 30-minute documentary on BBC Four called Rankin on the Staircase , in which he investigated the relationship between real-life cases and crime fiction. It was loosely based on the Michael Peterson murder case, as covered in Jean-Xavier Lestrade's documentary series Death on
703-651: Is buried in the cemetery of Sant'Andrea Apostolo in Oliveto. Spark began writing seriously, under her married name, after World War II , beginning with poetry and literary criticism . In 1947 she became editor of the Poetry Review . This position made Spark one of the few female editors of the time. Spark left the Poetry Review in 1948. In 1953 Muriel Spark was baptized in the Church of England but in 1954 she decided to join
740-686: The American University of Paris in 2005; and Honorary Doctor of Letters degrees from the Universities of Aberdeen , Edinburgh , London , Oxford , St Andrews and Strathclyde . In 2008, The Times ranked Spark as No. 8 in its list of "the 50 greatest British writers since 1945". In 2010, Spark was posthumously shortlisted for the Lost Man Booker Prize of 1970 for The Driver's Seat . Spark and her son Samuel Robin Spark at times had
777-590: The Booker Prize , in 1969 for The Public Image and in 1981 for Loitering with Intent . In 1998, she was awarded the Golden PEN Award by English PEN for a "Lifetime's Distinguished Service to Literature". Spark received eight honorary doctorates including Doctor of the University degree (Honoris causa) from her alma mater, Heriot-Watt University in 1995; a Doctor of Humane Letters (Honoris causa) from
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#1732852078569814-501: The Earth collection. In 2009 Rankin stated on BBC Radio 5 Live that he would start work on a five- or six-issue run on the comic book Hellblazer , although he may turn the story into a stand-alone graphic novel instead. The Vertigo Comics panel at WonderCon 2009 confirmed that the story would be published as a graphic novel , Dark Entries , the second release from the company's Vertigo Crime imprint. In 2013, Rankin co-wrote
851-583: The Roman Catholic Church , which she considered crucial in her development toward becoming a novelist. She was formally instructed by Dom Ambrose Agius, a Benedictine monk of Ealing Priory, whom she had known from her Poetry Society days, and was received into the Roman Catholic Church on 1st May 1954 by Dom Ambrose. Penelope Fitzgerald , a fellow novelist and contemporary of Spark, wrote that Spark "had pointed out that it wasn't until she became
888-409: The tartan noir genre. Thirteen of the novels—plus one short story—were adapted as a television series on ITV, starring John Hannah as Rebus in series 1 and 2 (4 episodes) and Ken Stott in that role in series 3–5 (10 episodes). In 2009, Rankin donated the short story "Fieldwork" to Oxfam 's Ox-Tales project, four collections of UK stories written by 38 authors. Rankin's story was published in
925-422: The 1940s Spark began to keep a record of her professional and personal activities that developed into a comprehensive personal archive containing diaries, accounts and cheque books and tens of thousands of letters. Spark used her archive to write her autobiography, "Curriculum Vitae", and after its publication in 1992 much of the material was deposited at National Library of Scotland . Spark refused permission for
962-495: The Staircase . The same year, Rankin collaborated with folk musician Jackie Leven on the album Jackie Leven Said . In 2007, Rankin appeared in programmes for BBC Four exploring the origins of his alter-ego character, John Rebus . In these, titled "Ian Rankin's Hidden Edinburgh" and "Ian Rankin Investigates Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde," Rankin looks at the origins of the character and the events that led to his creation. In
999-521: The TV show Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations , he takes a trip through Edinburgh with writer/cook Anthony Bourdain . He appeared in The Amber Light , a 2019 documentary film about Scotch whisky. Rankin is the singer in the six-piece band Best Picture, formed by journalists Kenny Farquharson ( The Times ) and Euan McColl ( The Scotsman ) in 2017, and featuring Bobby Bluebell on guitar. They released
1036-479: The archive, which includes research notes, newspaper clippings and manuscripts. Rankin has donated a considerable portion of his earnings to charity. In 2007, he and his wife set up a trust to support charities in the fields of health, art and education. In 2020, it was reported that he had donated around £1 million to the trust in the previous five years, with £200,000 being donated in 2019. In 2022, he donated rare first editions of three of his early works, valued at
1073-668: The article's talk page . Ian Rankin Sir Ian James Rankin OBE DL FRSE FRSL FRIAS (born 28 April 1960) is a Scottish crime writer and philanthropist, best known for his Inspector Rebus novels. Rankin was born in Cardenden , Fife. His father, James, owned a grocery shop, and his mother, Isobel, worked in a school canteen. He was educated at Beath High School , Cowdenbeath . His parents were horrified when he then chose to study literature at university, as they had expected him to study for
1110-507: The book has been produced, starring Douglas Henshall as Mike Mackenzie, Ken Collard as Allan Cruickshank and Stephen Fry as Robert Gissing. Filming started in Edinburgh in April 2012, and the programme was aired on Boxing Day on ITV. The adaptation switches the location of the heist from the National Gallery to a Scottish bank. Rankin's 2002 short story collection Beggars Banquet includes
1147-411: The other, I don't know – but it does seem so, that I just gained confidence." Graham Greene , Gabriel Fielding and Evelyn Waugh supported her in her decision. Her first novel, The Comforters , was published to great critical acclaim in 1957. It featured several references to Catholicism and conversion to Catholicism, although its main theme revolved around a young woman who becomes aware that she
Doors Open - Misplaced Pages Continue
1184-670: The play Dark Road with Mark Thomson, the artistic director of the Royal Lyceum Theatre . The play, which marked Rankin's play-writing debut, premiered at the Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh , in September 2013. In 2005, Rankin became the tenth best-selling writer in Britain, accounting for 10% of all crime fiction sold. He also wrote three non-Rebus crime novels in 1993-95 under the pseudonym Jack Harvey. In 2021, Rankin helped finish
1221-510: The publication of a biography of her by Martin Stannard. Penelope Jardine holds publication approval rights, and the book was posthumously published in July 2009. On 27 July 2009 Stannard was interviewed on Front Row , the BBC Radio 4 arts programme. According to A. S. Byatt , "she [Jardine] was very upset by the book and had to spend a lot of time going through it, line by line, to try to make it
1258-415: The real paintings with high quality forgeries good enough to convince anyone investigating the matter that no theft has been committed. Intrigued, Mike willingly helps set that plan in motion. As they begin to it out, it becomes clear that they need some "professional assistance" and a chance encounter with Chib Calloway, a local gangster who Mike went to school with, fulfils that need. A television film of
1295-690: The single "Isabelle" on Oriel Records in October 2017. They made their live debut at the Kendal Calling music festival on 28 July 2018. He lives in Edinburgh with his wife, Miranda ( née Harvey), whom he met at university and married in 1986, and their two sons: John Morgan "Jack" Harvey-Rankin (born 1992) and Christopher Connor "Kit" Harvey-Rankin (born 1994). He has acknowledged the assistance they get from Forward Vision in Edinburgh in looking after Kit and other young adults with special needs. They lived for
1332-457: Was Jewish, born in Edinburgh of Lithuanian immigrant parents, and her English mother had been raised Anglican. She was educated at James Gillespie's School for Girls (1923–35), where she received some education in the Presbyterian faith. In 1934–35 she took a course in "commercial correspondence and précis writing" at Heriot-Watt College . She taught English for a brief time and then worked as
1369-410: Was disconcerted by their classification as genre fiction. The Scottish novelist Allan Massie , who tutored Rankin while Massie was writer-in-residence at the University of Edinburgh, reassured him by saying, "Do you think John Buchan ever worried about whether he was writing literature or not?" Rankin's Inspector Rebus novels are set mainly in Edinburgh. They are considered major contributions to
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