# Event Details - **Event Name**: Francesca Wade and James Bailey ON SPARK AND STEIN - **Event Start and End Date**: Mon, 27 Apr, 2026 at 05:30 pm – Mon, 27 Apr, 2026 at 06:30 pm (+01:00) - **Event Description**: Join biographers Francesca Wade and James Bailey as they discuss their respective biographies of two literary heavyweightsAbout this EventGertrude Stein : An Afterlife'Think of the Bible and Homer think of Shakespeare and think of me,' wrote Gertrude Stein in 1936. Admirers called her a genius, sceptics a charlatan: she remains one of the most confounding - and contested - writers of the twentieth century.In this literary detective story, Francesca Wade delves into the creation of the Stein myth. We see her posing for Picasso's portrait; at the centre of Bohemian Parisian life hosting the likes of Matisse and Hemingway; racing through the French countryside with her enigmatic companion Alice B. Toklas; dazzling American crowds on her sell-out tour for her sensational Autobiography - a veritable celebrity.This is Gertrude Stein as she was when nobody was watching: captivating, complex and human.Francesca WadeFrancesca Wade is the author of Square Haunting: Five Women, Freedom and London Between the Wars (2020) and Gertrude Stein: an Afterlife (2025). She has held fellowships at the Leon Levy Center for Biography, the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library, and the Harvard Radcliffe Institute. Her writing has appeared in the New York Review of Books, London Review of Books, Paris Review, Granta and other places. Like a Cat Loves a BirdMuriel Spark was one of literature's great shapeshifters. That mercurial quality is found in her strange, brilliant, cruel novels - with their plots featuring pensioners receiving telephone calls from Death, the devil going clubbing in Peckham and a fascist schoolmistress leading her coterie of girls astray - but it is also true of her as a person.As sly, nimble and elegant as Spark's own work, Like a Cat Loves a Bird is a thrilling new perspective on a remarkable life and career that spanned much of the twentieth century. From her childhood in Edinburgh to her final years in Tuscany - via South Africa, London, New York and Rome - it traces a light-footed journey around the world and through her strange and magnificent bibliography. It tells an irresistible story of transformation, wit and fierce determination and makes a passionate case for this vital modern artist.James BaileyJames Bailey is a writer and researcher from Manchester, England. He holds a PhD in English Literature and has published academic books and articles on contemporary fiction and experimental writing. His next book, Like a Cat Loves a Bird: The Nine Lives of Muriel Spark, focuses on the life and work of Muriel Spark - **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/oxford/francesca-wade-and-james-bailey-on-spark-and-stein/100001981943185420 - **Event Categories**: art, literary-art, sports - **Interested Audience**: - total_interested_count: 0 ## Ticket Details - **Ticket Price Range**: min: 6, max: 6, currency: GBP ## Event venue details - **city**: Oxford - **state**: EN - **country**: United Kingdom - **location**: Blackwell's Bookshop - **lat**: 51.7546303 - **long**: -1.2554723 - **full address**: Blackwell's Bookshop, 48-51 Broad Street, Oxford, United Kingdom ## Event gallery - **Alt text**: Francesca Wade and James Bailey ON SPARK AND STEIN - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events8/banners/3077eb6e74b164c36f28f8a28e1b8b8bcb6a79a5549a384a6ba77a7af038e26b-rimg-w1200-h675-dcc3c0bc-gmir.jpg?v=1769728521 ## FAQs - **Q**: When and where is Francesca Wade and James Bailey ON SPARK AND STEIN being held? - **A:** Francesca Wade and James Bailey ON SPARK AND STEIN takes place on Mon, 27 Apr, 2026 at 05:30 pm to Mon, 27 Apr, 2026 at 06:30 pm at Blackwell's Bookshop, 48-51 Broad Street, Oxford, United Kingdom. - **Q**: How much do tickets cost for Francesca Wade and James Bailey ON SPARK AND STEIN? - **A:** Tickets for Francesca Wade and James Bailey ON SPARK AND STEIN are priced at GBP 6 per person. Here's a full breakdown of available ticket types:Ticket TypePriceAvailabilityGeneral AdmissionGBP 6Available - **Q**: Who is organizing Francesca Wade and James Bailey ON SPARK AND STEIN? - **A:** Francesca Wade and James Bailey ON SPARK AND STEIN is organized by Blackwell's, Broad Street Oxford. - **Q**: Who is this event for? Is it right for me? - **A:** Francesca Wade and James Bailey ON SPARK AND STEIN is ideal for art lovers, collectors, creatives, and anyone inspired by visual arts, installations, and exhibitions. Whether you're a first-time attendee or a longtime enthusiast in Oxford, this event is thoughtfully curated to deliver a standout experience worth every moment. 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