Reviews - The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

1.83k reviews for:

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

Muriel Spark

3.54 AVERAGE

niksen's review against another edition

5.0

I am delighted to have read this novel when I am past my prime. It gave me a great perspective. I loved this novel.

christinecomito's review against another edition

3.0

I don't think this was meant to be funny, but I chuckled a lot while I listened to this story, made better being read in a charming Scots accent. Miss Jean Brodie is "in her prime" and has taken on 6 of her students at an all-girls school and taught them in her own fashion, which is contrary to the headmistress. The headmistress is always trying to get the girls to "betray" Miss Brodie so they can fire her but unfortunately the girls are among the brightest at the school, except poor Mary.

petekeeley's review against another edition

4.0

funny reflective medium-paced

saria_182's review against another edition

2.0

i think this one was too smart for me, reading the reviews has made me realise that it's more complex than i gave it credit for- a future reread, but this time it wasn't for me.

carabyname's review against another edition

4.0

emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

bonnybonnybooks's review against another edition

5.0

Give me a girl at an impressionable age, and she is mine for life.

This came out before The Dead Poet's Society, but it feels like it is a response to the inspirational teacher movies that are still so popular. Miss Jean Brodie is the type of free-spirited teacher with non-traditional methods that is the star of these inspirational films. But while Miss Brodie considers herself a heroine, she is actually a controlling narcissist. Miss Brodie talks about how she is endowing her students with a love of Goodness, Truth, and Beauty (so much more important than arithmetic!). But instead of actually teaching her students or encouraging free thinking, she talks about herself (mostly her Grand Love Affairs) and enforcing her own personal opinions as objective fact ("Who is the greatest Italian painter?"/"Leonardo da Vinci, Miss Brodie."/"That is incorrect. The answer is Giotto, he is my favorite.").

Miss Brodie collects around herself a "set" - a group of little girls whose parents won't make a fuss about Miss Brodie's encroachment into their lives. She grooms them into her own personal army, setting up the world as "us" and "them." It is unsurprising that Miss Brodie is a fascist, with a great admiration for Mussolini and Hitler.

It packs quite a lot into around 200 pages, including flash forwards so we can see glimpses of the girls as adults. It is darkly comedic, leaning into Miss Brodie's ridiculousness.

4.5 stars, rounded up.

bookabecca's review against another edition

4.0

Quirky, intriguing, and surprising. I found this book at random on my bookshelf -- not sure how it got there, which may be what endeared it to me. It's not the most beautiful prose in the world, but for me, the plot was enough to keep my nose happily buried in its pages.