For most of us, any formative teachers we may have had were people whose influence on us was in the classroom, where their inspiration was related to learning about the world. In Muriel Spark's The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, however, things are different. The titular Ms. Brodie cultivates a group of girls at their school in Scotland, seeming to be one of those "inspirational" teachers often idealized in books and film: she believes that what happens outside of the classroom can be just as important if not more so than what happens inside of it. She invites them (brainy Monica, pretty Jenny, sporty Eunice, sultry Rose, observant Sandy, and the poor scapegoat, Mary) to her home, takes them on cultural outings. But along with art and history, Ms. Brodie is also a big fan of fascism. And her interest goes beyond just being a role model for her girls...as they grow up, she begins to manipulate them.

Ms. Brodie is a single woman, and falls in love with Mr. Lloyd, the married art teacher. Their mutual affection is never consummated, so even while Ms. Brodie carries on a relationship with the bachelor singing teacher Mr. Lowther, she schemes to get one of her girls to have an affair with Mr. Lloyd in her stead, confiding in Sandy about her plans. While Rose is her intended proxy, it is Sandy who winds up sleeping with him, and who adopts his Catholic faith and becomes a nun. It is from the convent that she is recounting her youth and the role Ms. Brodie played in her life.

This is a brief work, only about 150 pages. As such, many of the characters are flat, even most of the "Brodie set" outside of Sandy. But generally speaking, it paints a vivid portrait of a time, and a place, and the people involved. Jean Brodie is a character who soars off the page, complex and interesting and so deeply flawed. For all her bluster and bravado and determination to avoid pity, she's ultimately a pitiful figure. And one who's careless of the damage she causes, inspiring a student to run away to fight for Franco, which leads to her death. On a lesser level, Sandy's assignation with her art teacher does not leave her without damage.

I was of two minds about the length. On the one hand, I wish there had been more time to develop the other girls, and the relationships between them as well their connection to Ms. Brodie. On the other hand, I don't know that the plot would have the same power, the same feeling of a drive toward the inevitable conclusion, if it had to persist over a longer period of time. This is a solid book, and an unusual twist on the stories about teachers who change lives. I'd recommend it for a quick, engaging read. ( )

I've had this novel on my list for years and since I am having problems figuring out what I'm actually in the mood to read, I thought I'd finally dive in.

For those not familiar with the story, Miss Jean Brodie is what would have been considered a teacher with progressive ideas during the 1930s. She mentors a small group of elite students, taking them on field trips, inviting them to her house and confiding all types of details about her personal life. (I think presently, Miss Brodie's actions would be construed as a severe breach of personal/professional
boundaries.) As events unfold, Miss Brodie insists that she is in her prime and has chosen to dedicate her life to her students. In exchange, there is an unsaid expectation of loyalty from her curated "Brodie Group." Of course Miss Brodie's teaching tactics do not sit well with the other more conventional teachers and the headmistress.

The thing that struck me about Miss Brodie was she often employed the same tactics some of the other teachers used, which was telling students what to think, instead of teaching students critical thinking skills. At one point Miss Brodie states, "Who is the greatest Italian painter?" "Leonardo da Vinci, Miss Brodie." "That is incorrect. The answer is Giotto, he is my favourite." What a load of baloney thought I, as this is a completely subjective opinion not based on any fact or scientific methodology of assessment. Yes, Miss Brodie often introduced the students to unconventional subjects but she either filled in the blanks with her opinions (presented as facts) or she really didn't provide any deeper understanding of a subject, leaving the students to fill in the missing details with all sorts of conjecture. By the end of the book, I didn't really have much respect for Miss Brodie and I thought most of the students were a bunch of spoiled brats.

Mural Spark did present a thought provoking and well crafted story wrapped up in a short book. She lost me a few times with the random flash-forward scenes, until I figured out what was going on. Not a masterpiece in my opinion, but a classic worthy of reading. It does make one think, especially given how schools in certain states are currently trying to prevent teachers from addressing a whole host of subjects and are continuing to ban books that don't mesh with their warped myopic views based on some alternative reality.
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Sharp and pitiless, a jewel with a razor's edge. Constant shifting perspectives under the deceptive appearance of an omniscient narrator make it impossible to fall into comfortable assumptions about the characters' motivations and their ethical stance. The story that takes shape is more the story of two jungle beasts devouring each other in turns, than anything else.
Weeks after reading, the perfect economy of the style still stays with me - not one word too many, nothing left unsaid but what needed to be left unsaid. ( )

Thoroughly recommend Miriam Margolyes' narration of this classic novel, don't think I would have got through it otherwise. Margolyes made the humour really stand out and added depth that I wouldn't have got from the page as I think the novel has dated since 1961. ( )

"Give me a girl at an impressionable age, and she is mine for life." The unconventional Miss Brodie teaches "her girls" things not in the standard curriculum of the Marcia Blaine School, with far-reaching, unforeseen consequences. Set in Edinburgh in the 1930's. Insightful, disturbing, very well done. Brilliantly dramatized by Maggie Smith and Gordon Jackson, among others, in 1969. ( )