Published in 2011 (first published 1961)
150 pages
4 hours and 45 minutes
Dame Muriel Spark (1918-2006) was born and educated in Scotland. She worked for Britain’s Foreign Office during World War II, served as general secretary of the Poetry Society and editor of The Poetry Review, and, before turning to fiction, published a series of critical biographies of literary figures. She wrote more than twenty books, including The Comforters, Memento Mori, The Girls of Slender Means, and Symposium. She was named a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1993.
What is this book about?
“You girls are my vocation… I am dedicated to you in my prime.”
So says Miss Jean Brodie, a teacher unlike any other. She is proud and cultured. A romantic, with progressive, sometimes shocking ideas and aspirations for the girls in her charge. When she decides to transform a select group of pupils into the ‘crème de la crème’ at the Marcia Blaine School they become the Brodie set. In exchange for their undivided loyalty, the girls earn a special place of honour and privilege within the school. Yet they are also introduced to a startling new world of adult games and intrigues, and as boundaries are crossed so the difficulties start to unfold.
Miriam Margolyes, one of Britain’s finest character actors, gives a highly accomplished performance; rediscover this classic on the 100th anniversary of Muriel Spark’s birth.
