The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie - Muriel Spark

"Little girls! I am in the business of putting old heads on young shoulders, and all my pupils are the crème de la crème. Give me a girl at an impressionable age and she is mine for life." Miss Jean Brodie is a woman the prime of her life and she seeks to share the knowledge she has learned over the years with her pupils at the Marcia Blaine School for girls in Edinburgh. She hand picks six pupils to be part of her inner circle of trust and these girls Sandy, Rose, Eunice, Monica, Jenny and Mary become known as The Brodie Set. Jean Brodie lost her fiancé in the First World War but unlike other spinsters of her time she has devoted her life ...  Read the complete review

In my more youthful days (OK so they weren't that long ago) I took part in a lot of plays. I won't bore you with a reminiscent tale of my days as an actress but I will say that there was one particular play where I played a Scottish school teacher. My Scottish accent was complimented many times - I sometimes think too many.... Anyway, the point of the story is that Alex Went, who directed me in my many performances, commented that I would be first in line to play Miss Brodie if he were ever to produce a play of the novel. Having never read the book I never knew whether to take this as a compliment or not. Having now read the book, I am still ...  Read the complete review

"Sandy, please try to do as I say and not as I do. Remember, you are a child, Sandy, and far from your prime." Dame Muriel Spark was born in 1918 and is the author of over twenty books. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie is her best known work and has been adapted for theatre, television and film. It was first published in 1961. I first read and enjoyed this book at a similar age to the 'creme de la creme' in the book, and was most interested in the sex and love aspect to the story but also old enough to appreciate the humour. Re reading it as an adult was a completely different experience, but still an enjoyable and rewarding ...  Read the complete review