First published in 1961, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie could be considered Muriel Spark's most famous novel. Spark was born and spent her childhood and early adulthood in Scotland, and The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, her sixth novel, is set on home turf, in Edinburgh more specifically, in the 1930s.
The novel tells the story of the central character, Jean Brodie, a school teacher whose beliefs and practices are unique amongst teachers at the school, and the experience of a group of female students who have her as their teacher in their adolescent years. Miss Brodie's emphasis on her students being the "creme de la creme" angers other teachers and, at the same time, makes her students feel special in the school.
With strongly defined individual characters, the novel explores themes such as control, the purpose of education and femininity. In recent years, critics have also begun to discuss the place of sexuality in the novel, analyzing the relationships between teacher and students through the lens of lesbianism.
A unique novel in the history of Scottish literature, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie has been adapted successfully for stage and screen in the years since its publication. Thanks to Muriel Spark's skill, meeting Miss Brodie, however much you might disagree with her political views, is an unforgettable experience for the reader of this novel.
