James Bailey
@drjamesbailey.bsky.social
Writer who lives in Manchester. Rep’d by Creative Artists Agency. LIKE A CAT LOVES A BIRD, my biography of Muriel Spark, is out in April 2026 🐈⬛
https://lnk.to/LikeaCatLovesaBird
Instagram.com/drjamesbailey
https://lnk.to/LikeaCatLovesaBird
Instagram.com/drjamesbailey
News! On 16 April (same day my book comes out) I'll be chatting with @jennashworth.bsky.social at @blackwellsmcr.bsky.social
We'll be talking all about LIKE A CAT LOVES A BIRD: THE NINE LIVES OF MURIEL SPARK, and I’d love it if you could join us. Tickets here! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/like-a-cat...
We'll be talking all about LIKE A CAT LOVES A BIRD: THE NINE LIVES OF MURIEL SPARK, and I’d love it if you could join us. Tickets here! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/like-a-cat...
LIKE A CAT LOVES A BIRD: James Bailey in conversation with Jenn Ashworth
Join us to celebrate the publication of James Bailey's illuminating biography of Muriel Spark
www.eventbrite.co.uk
November 18, 2025 at 8:25 PM
News! On 16 April (same day my book comes out) I'll be chatting with @jennashworth.bsky.social at @blackwellsmcr.bsky.social
We'll be talking all about LIKE A CAT LOVES A BIRD: THE NINE LIVES OF MURIEL SPARK, and I’d love it if you could join us. Tickets here! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/like-a-cat...
We'll be talking all about LIKE A CAT LOVES A BIRD: THE NINE LIVES OF MURIEL SPARK, and I’d love it if you could join us. Tickets here! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/like-a-cat...
Reposted by James Bailey
Oh gosh! I adore Muriel Spark, I shall definitely need to get this when it comes out. 😍
Here’s the cover for LIKE A CAT LOVES A BIRD: THE NINE LIVES OF MURIEL SPARK, out 16 April with @sceptrebooks.bsky.social
Preorder here: lnk.to/LikeaCatLove...
Please share! The book doing well means I can write another (and fulfil my dream of owning a pizza oven), so it’s pretty serious
🐈⬛ 🐈⬛ 🐈⬛
Preorder here: lnk.to/LikeaCatLove...
Please share! The book doing well means I can write another (and fulfil my dream of owning a pizza oven), so it’s pretty serious
🐈⬛ 🐈⬛ 🐈⬛
November 2, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Oh gosh! I adore Muriel Spark, I shall definitely need to get this when it comes out. 😍
Reposted by James Bailey
As one who has come late in life to a passionate admiration for Spark’s novels & the intelligence behind them, I look forward very much to reading this. I mean, just look at that photo.
Here’s the cover for LIKE A CAT LOVES A BIRD: THE NINE LIVES OF MURIEL SPARK, out 16 April with @sceptrebooks.bsky.social
Preorder here: lnk.to/LikeaCatLove...
Please share! The book doing well means I can write another (and fulfil my dream of owning a pizza oven), so it’s pretty serious
🐈⬛ 🐈⬛ 🐈⬛
Preorder here: lnk.to/LikeaCatLove...
Please share! The book doing well means I can write another (and fulfil my dream of owning a pizza oven), so it’s pretty serious
🐈⬛ 🐈⬛ 🐈⬛
November 2, 2025 at 9:01 PM
As one who has come late in life to a passionate admiration for Spark’s novels & the intelligence behind them, I look forward very much to reading this. I mean, just look at that photo.
Reposted by James Bailey
This looks wonderful!
Here’s the cover for LIKE A CAT LOVES A BIRD: THE NINE LIVES OF MURIEL SPARK, out 16 April with @sceptrebooks.bsky.social
Preorder here: lnk.to/LikeaCatLove...
Please share! The book doing well means I can write another (and fulfil my dream of owning a pizza oven), so it’s pretty serious
🐈⬛ 🐈⬛ 🐈⬛
Preorder here: lnk.to/LikeaCatLove...
Please share! The book doing well means I can write another (and fulfil my dream of owning a pizza oven), so it’s pretty serious
🐈⬛ 🐈⬛ 🐈⬛
November 2, 2025 at 7:19 PM
This looks wonderful!
Reposted by James Bailey
This perfect duffer is trying out for the role of spokesmodel for this wonder by @drjamesbailey.bsky.social which I’m so looking forward to reading
November 2, 2025 at 1:24 PM
This perfect duffer is trying out for the role of spokesmodel for this wonder by @drjamesbailey.bsky.social which I’m so looking forward to reading
Reposted by James Bailey
My brilliant friend @drjamesbailey.bsky.social has written a book about Muriel Spark. It’s sharp, warm and funny. A joy to read (and ready for pre-order).
🐈⬛
🐈⬛
October 30, 2025 at 8:30 PM
My brilliant friend @drjamesbailey.bsky.social has written a book about Muriel Spark. It’s sharp, warm and funny. A joy to read (and ready for pre-order).
🐈⬛
🐈⬛
Reposted by James Bailey
#CoverReveal : We're obviously always delighted to celebrate one of our (very!) local literary stars, Muriel Spark, and Hodder has James Bailey's Like a Cat Loves a Bird, "a spiky and delicious new literary biography", coming next April.
#books #livres #MurielSpark #Edinburgh #Edimbourg
#books #livres #MurielSpark #Edinburgh #Edimbourg
October 29, 2025 at 2:29 PM
#CoverReveal : We're obviously always delighted to celebrate one of our (very!) local literary stars, Muriel Spark, and Hodder has James Bailey's Like a Cat Loves a Bird, "a spiky and delicious new literary biography", coming next April.
#books #livres #MurielSpark #Edinburgh #Edimbourg
#books #livres #MurielSpark #Edinburgh #Edimbourg
Here’s the cover for LIKE A CAT LOVES A BIRD: THE NINE LIVES OF MURIEL SPARK, out 16 April with @sceptrebooks.bsky.social
Preorder here: lnk.to/LikeaCatLove...
Please share! The book doing well means I can write another (and fulfil my dream of owning a pizza oven), so it’s pretty serious
🐈⬛ 🐈⬛ 🐈⬛
Preorder here: lnk.to/LikeaCatLove...
Please share! The book doing well means I can write another (and fulfil my dream of owning a pizza oven), so it’s pretty serious
🐈⬛ 🐈⬛ 🐈⬛
November 2, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Here’s the cover for LIKE A CAT LOVES A BIRD: THE NINE LIVES OF MURIEL SPARK, out 16 April with @sceptrebooks.bsky.social
Preorder here: lnk.to/LikeaCatLove...
Please share! The book doing well means I can write another (and fulfil my dream of owning a pizza oven), so it’s pretty serious
🐈⬛ 🐈⬛ 🐈⬛
Preorder here: lnk.to/LikeaCatLove...
Please share! The book doing well means I can write another (and fulfil my dream of owning a pizza oven), so it’s pretty serious
🐈⬛ 🐈⬛ 🐈⬛
Proofs are in! A huge thank you to @sceptrebooks.bsky.social for sending these my way. LIKE A CAT LOVES A BIRD: THE NINE LIVES OF MURIEL SPARK will be out in April, and these proofs will be going out into the world imminently. Terrifying! Exciting! Mostly terrifying!
October 21, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Proofs are in! A huge thank you to @sceptrebooks.bsky.social for sending these my way. LIKE A CAT LOVES A BIRD: THE NINE LIVES OF MURIEL SPARK will be out in April, and these proofs will be going out into the world imminently. Terrifying! Exciting! Mostly terrifying!
Reposted by James Bailey
Nancy By Ernie Bushmiller
August 26,1946
August 26,1946
October 8, 2025 at 4:38 PM
Nancy By Ernie Bushmiller
August 26,1946
August 26,1946
Reposted by James Bailey
Beautiful everyday Ladybird things.
The Trimphone
(How it Works: The Telephone, 1972)
Artist: BH Robinson
The Trimphone
(How it Works: The Telephone, 1972)
Artist: BH Robinson
October 7, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Beautiful everyday Ladybird things.
The Trimphone
(How it Works: The Telephone, 1972)
Artist: BH Robinson
The Trimphone
(How it Works: The Telephone, 1972)
Artist: BH Robinson
I love this photo because it looks like it belongs in a life insurance brochure, which is all I’ve ever really wanted, to be honest.
October 7, 2025 at 5:19 PM
I love this photo because it looks like it belongs in a life insurance brochure, which is all I’ve ever really wanted, to be honest.
Reposted by James Bailey
Now I’m falling asleep and she’s calling a cob
October 7, 2025 at 1:11 PM
Now I’m falling asleep and she’s calling a cob
Reposted by James Bailey
Reposted by James Bailey
Francesca Wade examines how Gertrude Stein’s “desire to wring every ounce of meaning from a limited set of words” made the expatriate writer famous in her own country.
Inventing Gertrude Stein, Literary Cubist
Near the beginning of The Making of Americans, Gertrude Stein breaks off abruptly to address her reader—“but truly,” she adds, “I never feel it that there ever can be for me any such a creature, no…
buff.ly
October 7, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Francesca Wade examines how Gertrude Stein’s “desire to wring every ounce of meaning from a limited set of words” made the expatriate writer famous in her own country.
Very sad to hear of the death of Patricia Routledge, although I’m now laughing at the memory of first moving in with my boyfriend, and finding out that he owned a copy of Hyacinth Bucket’s Book of Etiquette: For the Socially Less Fortunate 💜
October 3, 2025 at 10:35 AM
Very sad to hear of the death of Patricia Routledge, although I’m now laughing at the memory of first moving in with my boyfriend, and finding out that he owned a copy of Hyacinth Bucket’s Book of Etiquette: For the Socially Less Fortunate 💜
Some days I’m doing okay, but on others I recall the time I accidentally submitted a recipe for orange-scented peach cobblers instead of my CV when applying for my first graduate job
September 29, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Some days I’m doing okay, but on others I recall the time I accidentally submitted a recipe for orange-scented peach cobblers instead of my CV when applying for my first graduate job
Reposted by James Bailey
Morning! And what a beautiful one it is. Here are a couple of #iPhone15Pro shots takes from the moving train :)
September 29, 2025 at 6:38 AM
Morning! And what a beautiful one it is. Here are a couple of #iPhone15Pro shots takes from the moving train :)
Reposted by James Bailey
He thinks he’s a potato.
September 17, 2025 at 5:10 PM
He thinks he’s a potato.
Reposted by James Bailey
He's filed himself
September 17, 2025 at 2:23 PM
He's filed himself
Reposted by James Bailey
Georgia O'Keeffe carrying her canvas in the desert, c.1920
(via FB) #WomensArt
(via FB) #WomensArt
September 17, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Georgia O'Keeffe carrying her canvas in the desert, c.1920
(via FB) #WomensArt
(via FB) #WomensArt
Here's a photo of me, looking quite sleep-deprived as I clutch a very early copy of my book, LIKE A CAT LOVES A BIRD: THE NINE LIVES OF MURIEL SPARK. It isn’t out until April, but a few of these bind-ups are making their way through the world, and I wanted one as a memento. The book is written!
August 11, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Here's a photo of me, looking quite sleep-deprived as I clutch a very early copy of my book, LIKE A CAT LOVES A BIRD: THE NINE LIVES OF MURIEL SPARK. It isn’t out until April, but a few of these bind-ups are making their way through the world, and I wanted one as a memento. The book is written!
I miss Caroline Aherne - watching an old episode of The Mrs Merton Show, and she’s just asked whether “we should save the environment, or can we live without it?”
August 5, 2025 at 9:06 PM
I miss Caroline Aherne - watching an old episode of The Mrs Merton Show, and she’s just asked whether “we should save the environment, or can we live without it?”