Named by Time magazine as one of the 100 Best English-Language Novels

from 1923 to 2005

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 protégées, 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.

Muriel Spark (1918-2006), Scottish writer, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. She is the author of over twenty novels as well as critical biographies, radio plays, children's books, poetry, and short-story collections. Her most celebrated works include The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1961), Loitering with Intent (1981), The Comforters (1957), The Public Image (1968), The Girls of Slender Means (1963), The Driver's Seat (1970), and Aiding and Abetting (2001). She was made a Dame of the British Empire in 1993 and Commendeur des Arts et des Lettres in 1996.