Muriel Spark's most successful novel, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, recounts the school days of the six girls that made up 'The Brodie Set', Miss Brodie's favourite group of pupils, with whom she shared her stories of travel, religion, love, and anything else that she felt would be 'educational' for the girls. Set in a traditional girls' school in 1930s' Edinburgh, Miss Brodie's teaching methods are frequently questioned, as teaching the girls about her admiration of fascism or the importance of love during lesson time means that her girls often lag behind the others of the school. Despite this, Miss Brodie ensures that she maintains the girls' favour, even after their deliberate separation in the secondary school, through several trips to theatres and galleries, along with weekly tea at her house. However, readers find out early on in the novel that Miss Brodie is betrayed to the headmistress by one of her own, revealing that the seeming unity of the set is undercut by the will of the girls, all gradually forming their own identities.
The genius of Spark's novel is her use of an omniscient narrator, meaning that the events are reported in a considered manner, with flash-forwards used throughout her largely chronological plot in order to give the reader additional insight into the unfolding events. Furthermore, as the novel follows the girls from the ages of 10 to 18, the novel also explores the universal issues facing teenage girls, such as the discovery of sex, developing from their initial disgust and naivety into genuine curiosity. Naivety is central to the plot, as Miss Brodie thrives off her power over her girls, repeatedly claiming: "Give me a girl at an impressionable age and she's mine for life". Despite the fact that Miss Brodie was the centre of the girls' world for their schooldays, the girls prove this statement wrong, as, following their departure, they seem to shake her off and become their own people, away from Miss Brodie's almost fascist agenda.
Although Miss Brodie frequently mentions that she is at her "prime", the set and fascism are the two focuses of her existence - she seems to have few friends and is in love with the married art teacher, meaning that she is, in many ways, unfulfilled. Furthermore, since the novel was not published until following the Second World War, Spark's presentation of Miss Brodie's admiration of Hitler creates something of a mockery of this figure that the girls so admire, illustrating how people in positions of authority have the potential to negatively influence those under their care. Although, in this case, one of the set eventually reports Miss Brodie for fascism, she does, earlier in the novel, persuade a girl to go and fight in the Spanish Civil War, in which she dies. With increased extremist behaviour occurring this century, modern readers may struggle to warm to Miss Brodie particularly as a result of this. Although Spark was a Roman Catholic, she explores a variety of different Christian denominations in the novel, looking at the strengths and weaknesses of each one. Miss Brodie is shown to visit a church of a different denomination except Roman Catholic every Sunday. Despite this, Spark presents her as something of a Calvinist, something which causes a divide between her and one of the members of the group, who utterly rejects this idea of predestination and goes on to become a nun.
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie is regarded as a modern classic and one of the top hundred books of the twentieth century. However, it is certainly not without its flaws, and at times moves slowly through less crucial parts of the plot, before hurrying through other key moments. In spite of this, this novel remains eminently readable due to its short-length and the uniqueness of Miss Jean Brodie. It is a coming of age story quite unlike any other.
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