The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

Review ''Surprises are systematically reduced until there is only one left, and it is like the stab of a stiletto.'' --Spectator Product Description In the classic work that launched a play, a movie, and a song, Muriel Spark tells the darkly intriguing story of an eccentric Edinburgh teacher and the intense relationship she develops with six of her students. The scandalously outspoken Miss Brodie makes big waves in the conservative Scottish school, preaching the value of art, passion, and daring. While her bold values inspire an almost cult-like reverence in her young protegees, her politics, rivalries, and frank sensuality lead ultimately to her downfall. Told from the unsympathetic perspective of one of Miss Brodie's students, the novel explores themes of innocence and betrayal and the tension between cold rationality and unchecked emotionalism. About the Author Dame Muriel Spark was born in 1918. She is the author of more than twenty books, including Memento Mori, The Ballad of Peckham Rye, and Symposium. From AudioFile In Sparks dark novel, Miss Jean Brodie is a study in off-center individualism. As a teacher, she creates her own ideas of what her pupils need to know and takes pains to avoid the limits others may place upon her at a time when most women accepted these types of limitations. Her pre-feminist practices ultimately result in her being fired as a result of the betrayal of one of her students. Narrator Nadia Mays voices are an almost musical backdrop to the story; her accents dance gracefully with one another throughout all types of interaction. Miss Jean Brodies eccentricities and the authors use of time shifts are not lost in Mays reading. May keeps the reader right by her side. L.B.F. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine