The Bachelors (novel)  The Bachelors is a novel written in 1960 by the Scottish author Muriel Spark, referred to by "The New York Times" as "the most gifted and innovative British novelist". It follows a group of British bachelors whose misogynistic world is shattered when they suddenly find themselves the target of blackmail and fraud. The main characters, the bachelors, are: a barrister, a "priest", a detective, a love-seeking Irishman, a handwriting expert, and a mastermind of a spiritual medium. In this story they arc from complete contentment, sitting cozily about in their London clubs and shopping on Oxford Street, to be troubled by various causes, ranging from fraud to blackmail. They all end up involved in a court case, a criminal prosecution for forgery and fraud, with the trial being the climax of the action. In the centre of the story stands the main character, the pale Patrick Seton, the medium, while the other bachelors are tormented by every cause — epileptic fits, forgeries, malignant spiritualism and, last but not least, murder.