The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie / The Girls of Slender Means / The Driver's Seat / The Only Problem

by Muriel Spark, Frank Kermode (Introduction)

The brevity of Muriel Spark’s novels is equaled only by their brilliance. These four novels, each a miniature masterpiece, illustrate her development over four decades. Despite the seriousness of their themes, all four are fantastic comedies of manners, bristling with wit.

Spark’s most celebrated novel, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, tells the story of a charismatic schoolteacher’s catastrophic effect on her pupils. The Girls of Slender Means is a beautifully drawn portrait of young women living in a hostel in London in the giddy postwar days of 1945. The Driver’s Seat follows the final haunted hours of a woman descending into madness. And The Only Problem is a witty fable about suffering that brings the Book of Job to bear on contemporary terrorism.

All four novels give evidence of one of the most original and unmistakable voices in contemporary fiction. Characters are vividly etched in a few words; earth-shaking events are lightly touched on. Yet underneath the glittering surface there is an obsessive probing of metaphysical questions: the meaning of good and evil, the need for salvation, the search for significance.

Genres: Fiction, Classics, Short Stories, Novels, Literature, 20th Century, British Literature

462 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Dame Muriel Spark, DBE was a prolific Scottish novelist, short story writer and poet whose darkly comedic voice made her one of the most distinctive writers of the twentieth century. In 2008 The Times newspaper named Spark in its list of "the 50 greatest British writers since 1945".

Spark received the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 1965 for The Mandelbaum Gate, the Ingersoll Foundation TS Eliot Award in 1992 and the David Cohen Prize in 1997. She became Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1993, in recognition of her services to literature. She has been twice shortlisted for the Booker Prize, in 1969 for The Public Image and in 1981 for Loitering with Intent. In 1998, she was awarded the Golden PEN Award by English PEN for "a Lifetime's Distinguished Service to Literature". In 2010, Spark was shortlisted for the Lost Man Booker Prize of 1970 for The Driver's Seat.

Spark received eight honorary doctorates in her lifetime. These included a Doctor of the University degree (Honoris causa) from her alma mater, Heriot-Watt University in 1995; a Doctor of Humane Letters (Honoris causa) from the American University of Paris in 2005; and Honorary Doctor of Letters degrees from the Universities of Aberdeen, Edinburgh, London, Oxford, St Andrews and Strathclyde.

Spark grew up in Edinburgh and worked as a department store secretary, writer for trade magazines, and literary editor before publishing her first novel, The Comforters, in 1957. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, published in 1961, and considered her masterpiece, was made into a stage play, a TV series, and a film.

Reviews

[Paul Sánchez Keighley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviews
- The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie ★★★☆☆
- The Girls of Slender Means ★★★★☆
- The Driver's Seat ★★☆☆☆
- The Only Problem ★★★★★

[S̶e̶a̶n̶ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first two books in this collection of Muriel Spark’s early novels established her fine skills as a writer in my mind, but I’d picked this up mostly for The Driver’s Seat and it did not disappoint. First, the title. It feels heavy with meaning and I kept thinking about it as I moved through the narrative—its seeming simplicity gradually deepening in significance as a result of certain events. Second, everything else. This novella fulfills many of my desires in a work of fiction: eccentric characters; non-sequiturish dialogue; vague narrative context; minimal exposition; potential menace at every plot turn; and unexpected dashes of quirky humor. In the latter case I found great pleasure in the light mockery of the macrobiotic movement Spark engages in through the character of Bill. Having worked for a time in a deli that specialized in macrobiotic food, I appreciated how Spark captures in a humorous way the zealotry behind the occasionally absurd aspects of this lifestyle.

Lise is a fascinating main character. She is at once painfully self-conscious while paradoxically also projecting self-confidence and self-assurance. It seems that everything running through her head comes out of her mouth, to the often alternating shock, outrage, or befuddlement of her interlocutors. In today’s world we would say she doesn’t have a filter. Veering between bouts of loneliness and stretches of admirable self-sufficiency, she is in some ways just a typical human—had they either been stripped of all social conventions or never developed them at all, as some of us don’t. To be human is to be a tangled mess of contradictions, and yet most of us try to keep those hidden from the world. A sense exists here that Lise is either intentionally not attempting to do this or is incapable of doing so.

There are definite nouveau roman vibes to The Driver’s Seat—especially to Alain Robbe-Grillet’s work—in particular, the style of the omniscient present tense narration and the flash forwards coupled with the noirish air of foreboding and (frequently sexual) menace. In the introduction Frank Kermode also notes a possible influence of Christine Brooke-Rose, with whom Spark’s publishing career parallels in eerie chronological proximity, though he also concedes that Spark had already been blazing her own unique trail. All of these similarities may of course have just been born of the literary times, as late modernism continued to blur into early postmodernism.

The final novel in this collection is The Only Problem. There is a steady narrative tension here that was lacking in the first two novels—the resulting somewhat lackadaisical pace being one aspect I didn't care for in those books. Harvey is a fairly compelling character, as a prototypical eccentric rich man living completely out of touch with his surroundings and finding anything outside his narrow personal purview to be of marginal interest at best. Harvey only wants to talk (often in the most inappropriate circumstances) about his personal research into the Biblical character of Job. This can be entertaining at times. As far as my enjoyment of the book, it falls neatly between that of the first two novels and of The Driver’s Seat.

Will I read more Spark? Probably, but likely not anytime soon. As it is I could have read The Driver’s Seat on its own and been satisfied for the moment.

[Mariel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The embarrassing admission first: I read Muriel Spark's books because her name is close to my own. (I really hate it when people call me Muriel, though. I dislike being called Ariel only slightly less.) Other people might have heard of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie because of the famous film starring Maggie Smith. All are good reasons to stumble onto a gem. It's really cool when you can find some cool thing by surprise. Like having a cool teacher to tell you about something great...
It's a great little horror story about knocking down your heroes, influences good and bad, trying to stop time, ego of the young, ego of the old. Spark packed a lot of one-two punches in this little book. The best part is that there's a third punch when it's over. I kinda longed for the dreamy days of Brodie's classroom, too. Not for Brodie herself, but for the chance to feel like you're in a conversation golden age. That sharing this stuff is really going to lead somewhere honest. When they lose that faith, they lose that too. The third punch is the feeling that you can't go back.

I don't know if I've ever agreed with the common sentiment that one needs to destroy one image to erect themselves into another. I feel that people need things. The more you have, the more you have to draw from when you need it. It's a mistake to cast off the old when the new shiny thing comes by. Like Morrissey said in 'Rubber Ring' by The Smiths: "They were the only things that ever stood by you."

I do love the movie. It came on tv one night when I was about thirteen or fourteen. I was immediately sucked in. The teacher's pet turned wrong, Sandy, was played by Pamela Franklin. Movie fans might recognize her from her part as Flora in the Truman Capote adaptation of Henry James's The Turn of the Screw, The Innocents (starring one of my favorite actresses ever, Deborah Kerr). I don't think Franklin did much else of note. Still, two classic films is not bad. Something to tell your grandkids. Then those grandkids will one-up you and star in a string of runaway hits!

The end scene of Brodie crying out "Murderer!" down the hallway was pretty awesome. She should have flown less on the wing power of others and more on her own steam.

[tortoise dreams · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of four novels by Muriel Spark published by Everyman's Library.

Book Review: This collection comprises three of the best novels by Muriel Spark (1918-2006), and one other. The first thing to note is that not only did Muriel Spark not suffer fools gladly, but she also didn't waste anyone's time. The four novels contained herein fill only 460 pages, so an average of a mere 115 pages each. Such efficiency. And as brevity is the soul of wit, then so much wit. The four novels here are The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1961), her best; it's successor, The Girls of Slender Means (1963); and The Driver's Seat (1970). These are her three most popular works and arguably her best among a career of 21 novels. The fourth book included is The Only Problem (1984), one of her least popular and more difficult books, parsing the Book of Job. It's less focused and precise than the other three (although with Spark I'm always ready to concede that any of her works may have flown high over my head and I missed the flying elephant entirely). Accordingly, The Only Problem is less available than her other books, so perhaps the publishers lured us with the three excellent books to ensure that everyone has a chance to read the other one. Or readers who (somehow) fail to enjoy the three popular novels may actually prefer the more esoteric choice. And these books cover a wide range of subjects: an iconoclastic teacher and her students at a girls' school, life at a boarding house for young women during the war years, a woman alone seeking something on a European holiday, a wealthy young man writing a treatise on the Book of Job as his estranged wife has apparently become a terrorist on the lam (though a horse would've been more efficient). Ms. Spark doesn't repeat herself. This collection gives readers new to the inimitable author a wonderful introduction: three of her best combined with one to show just how inimitable she can be. All short and all enjoyably entertaining. This lovely ribbon-bookmark edition published by the always tasteful Everyman's Library (Knopf), provides the "crème de la crème" of Muriel Spark's oeuvre, and would make a marvelous addition to anyone's personal library, or a lovely gift for any sophisticated, intelligent, and discerning reader of your acquaintance. Such as yourself. [5★]

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie is a charming and unsettling book, and in that sense, it's pretty emblematic of the rest of Spark's deceptively simple oeuvre. Part of the novel's apparent simplicity stems from its form. It's a kind third-person retrospective that recounts the unconventional teaching methods of Miss Jean Brodie, her relationships with a particular group of her students, and their relationship with a married art teacher (with whom Miss Brodie is in love). But the story is also a kind of homage or elegy for Miss Brodie. She is an unmarried woman in the '30s (the timeframe to which to novel looks back), and although she only just barely realizes it, she is already headed towards spinster-dom. The subtext of this novel is a commentary on Miss Brodie's precarious position as a sometimes-beautiful woman who believes she is in her prime (perhaps because she teaches girls who are just on the cusp of entering their own primes) but who is actually already past it.

[James Violand · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
A girl school’s evolving spinster influences her chosen group of crème de la crème students into an idolized clique of similar thinking girls without acknowledging they are individuals. The consequences ruin her life and influences her charges beyond the boundaries she had intended all with a growing resentment by the girls against Brodie. Well written. An allegory about the elite’s fascination with fascism in the thirties.
The Girls of Slender Means
In 1963, a woman calls a few of her former friends to bear the news of the sudden death of a man once admired. The focus changes to a young women’s hostel in London between VE Day and VJ Day. The young man’s introduction and his effect upon the mundane lives of its occupants drives this novella. The scene shifts repeatedly between the two time periods and the reader is left at the end to piece together the remains of the characters traumatized by a horrifying event. Well told.
The Driver’s Seat
This is bizarre. We follow a repressed, emotionally volatile and unstable woman in her flight from normalcy until, in her odd insight, she finally finds the man she was seeking to murder her.
The Only Problem
A reclusive man who has an obsession with Job and an estranged wife who is a possible terrorist tries to cope. Very readable, but forgettable.

[Corinna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was obsessed with Maggie Smith's Miss Jean Brodie when I was a kid, and finally got around to reading it (along with the three other novellas in this tome). I loved the book just as much as I remember loving the movie.

The Girls of Slender Means had nothing by way of plot and I slogged through it because I don't like leaving books unfinished. I really should have skipped it once I realized I was not going to enjoy it. The characters seemed to be a cast of Sparks' unaffiliated extras wandering around a war time boarding house waiting to catch afire.

The Driver's Seat was a bit of a psychological thriller, and so unlike the previous novella that I was entranced and finished it in one sitting. Following Lise around an unnamed city (though sparks gives you just enough detail for you to guess time and time again), looking for her 'boyfriend' though she doesn't know what he looks like or his name, is nerve wracking. But in a good way. The end Sparks gives it is the only way it could end.

The Only Problem was intriguing to me because the Book of Job figures so prominently in it, and I spent a lot of my academic career studying it from all angles. That and it had a bit of psychological thriller feel to it as well. All ends uneasily, but well.

[Gregory · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jean Brodie must be among the most memorable characters in literature. I don’t think that’s only due to her portrayal in the popular 1969 movie that won Maggie Smith an Academy Award. Brodie on the page is at least as mesmerizing: a combination of vigorous, rebellious, dedicated schoolteacher, art lover and self-assured fascist.

When we first meet her in 1936, Brodie grabs the reader’s attention at once with her clear, commanding voice and complaints to her students of a “plot” against her at Marcia Blaine School. With good reason, since she willfully ignores the school curriculum. Instead, she devotes class time to her personal artistic interests, romantic reminiscences and rose-colored tales of Italian travels, supplemented by after-school teas and walking tours of Edinburgh. On one of these, the girls’ cloistered lives are briefly exposed to the reality of the Great Depression’s working-class poverty. But Brodie turns this into a teaching moment for her own biases:“ In Italy, the unemployment problem has been solved” (by Mussolini).

Even though her students are just 10-year-olds when first assigned to her, Brodie joyously proclaims to them that, just turned 40, she has reached her prime and they are her true vocation. She also can’t resist practicing some Calvinist predestination. Each of her loyal “Brodie Set” is repeatedly described by a few exaggerated features. Monica is stereotyped as the group’s math wiz, Eunice the gymnast, Jenny the actress, Rose the beauty “famous” for sex-appeal and Mary Macgregor the dunce. Then there’s Sandy, a “rather difficult old girl with abnormally small eyes,” who is scarred for life with “small, piggy eyes,” “small, almost nonexistent eyes,”

Just as readers are settling in for what appears a witty Scottish coming-of-age tale about the Brodie brood and their eccentric teacher, chapter 2 opens by bravely jolting us into the future, revealing that one of them dies horribly in a fire age 24 and that Miss Brodie herself loses her teaching job and dies age 55 at war’s end. I think it’s a measure of Spark’s writerly confidence and skill that she pulls that off without losing our curiosity and motivation to keep reading to the end.

The novel’s third-person narrative voice mostly seems closest to Sandy, whose very surname (Stranger) hints at a possible streak of independence from her teacher. That becomes unmistakable once she starts an affair with Brodie’s former lover, Teddy Lloyd, then reveals her politics to Miss MacKay. And we can see it in Sandy’s adult decision to become a cloistered nun – after six years of Brodie condemning Catholicism as pure superstition.

But I was pleased at how hard this wonderful novel tried to balance dispassionate observations of an elitist educator on the wrong side of history with a certain sympathy for a high-spirited, never-married, middle-aged woman who each year entrusted her hopes and passions to a small band of girls.

Jean Brodie, loosely based on one of Spark’s own teachers, was: “a progressive spinster,” not uncommon after World War I had killed off a generation of single young men. Her kind were “great talkers and feminists and, like most feminists, talked to men as man-to-man.” But well before Sandy’s out of her teens, she recognizes that: “There were other people’s Edinburghs, quite different from hers,” “there were other people’s 1930s.”

[Δημήτριος Καραγιάννης · Rating 4 out of 5]

Remarkable short novels that really revolutionize the concept of dark satire. The social and personal commentary that most of the characters bring about is utterly hilarious and terrifying at the same time. The topics that Spark broaches range from subliminal patriarchal control and human rights to philosophical nihilism and questions about self-empowerment in a world devoid of any true ideals or meaning. I would argue that Spark writes in a heavy modernist strain, only catapulted forward about thirty to forty years. She describes a period of time in the mid 20th century and forwards, during which people, especially women, were not quite so sure about what is real, what is true and what is honest. Muriel Spark boldly tackles many sensitive subjects of the era, toying with stereotypes, attacking institutionalized religion and questioning the meaning of existence with her multitude of incredibly realistic, slice-of-life, characters.

[christine. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read it because it's on the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list.

There were some things that I enjoyed about it - I really liked the way the narrative tracked the way the girls were negatively influenced by the overbearing nature of Miss Brodie, and how everything eventually fell apart. I also liked how the book carefully laid out Miss Brodie's personality, her quirks, and her flaws. It was really easy to see her descent, her fall from grace, and her ultimate demise.

Yet there wasn't really anything that engaged me about the narrative. All of the characters were held at a distance, and I couldn't really get close to them or understand their psychology. A lot of the Brodie set, as they are called, are really secondary characters, and not much really fleshes them out. Descriptions are repetitious and overused, and I never really got the sense of tragedy that I wanted to out of the novel.

It was just okay.

[Kelly]

This was perhaps the most influential book on my life, even before I actually read it. When I was thirteen years old, the BBC series of the book staring Geraldine McEwan as Miss Brodie was shown on television. Miss Brodie efforts to instill gentility into her students had a great effect on me and along with them, I determined to make myself the "crème de la crème". I followed her instruction in all ways from walking with a book on my head to practicing proper skin care and credit what poise and attractiveness I may possess to my fictitious instructress, Miss Brodie. None of the dark subplots that I discovered when I read the novel years later were emphasized in the series and to me, it was merely a primer on how to live ones life as a cultivated and cultured lady.

[Helynne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have somehwere some publishing company's list of the 100 best novels of the 20th century. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie was somewhere in the middle of the list, and since I also knew the novel was made into a film with an acclaimed performance by Maggie Smith (long before she was Professor McGonegal of Hogwarts), I gave the book a go. I hope I'm not just dense, but I really couldn't see why this book received such a superlative rating from that company. It's the story of a kind English teacher in a girls' school and her students with their various personalities, hopes, desires, etc., It follows Miss Brodie later into her career as these girls are going their separate ways. It's a pleasant enough little novel, but I found the whole thing rather dull and ordinary.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was only able to get through the first novella in the collection which was "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie." I started "The Girls of Slender Means" but was not able to finish. I suppose it was her writing style that left me not caring much about the characters. I really wanted to like this, but sadly was left disappointed.

[Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

A terrific omnibus. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and The Driver's Seat are, as Miss Brodie would say, "the creme de la creme." The others - The Girls of Slender Means and The Only Problem -- are slighter but, as with all Sparks' work, eminently readable, sharply satiric, unsparing and naggingly enigmatic.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not sure WHY I love this book. Many who've read it think I'm crazy. Most of the characters are somewhat despicable and yet I'm drawn into the precocious world they have created.

[Marcela · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (4/5)
The Girls of Slender Means (3.5/5)
The Driver's Seat (5/5)
The Only Problem (2/5)

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (4/5) ~ January 20, 2021

Had no clue that I was going into a whole facist, elitist, analogy whatsoever. And it was great.

The energy is female, and it's fantastic. It's not a story about an all girls school and a domineering teacher who wants to shape some special girls into mini-me's, it's a story about the girl's trying to find their identity while Miss Brodie starts to lose hers.

You don't even get a specific time frame here and get some time jumps which are fantastic when you have to look at the whole story and what sort of brainwashing these little girls are going through, while they simultaneously turn into grown women and the decisions they make. How some try to break the mold, not accepting it, and others had no personality to begin with.

Miss Brodie is NOT a likable character, but she's such a good villain. Spark wrote this perfectly and concisely making it a great short story and an entertaining read. Can't wait to read more Spark.

The Girls of Slender Means (3.5/5) ~ April 13-15, 2025

Went into this blind and had a good time, overall. I was a bit lost at first with all the names of the girls, but there were truly only about 3-4 girl's whose names you did have to remember and it was quite easy after the first couple of chapters.

The first few chapters were a bit lackluster, but the second to last one, the climax, was a bit of more fun. All in all, the story was more of a tragedy with some humor sprinkled in here and there. It was interesting to learn about the rationing in England during that second world war, though.

The Driver's Seat (5/5) ~ April 15-16, 2025

This one had me laughing the entire time and trying to piece together the end bit, which is something that Spark does a lot. I agree that the best way to tell a story is beginning at the end or the middle and circling back, but Spark has such a knack for doing so in such a spectacular manner.

The reader is a bit concerned the whole time, annoyed by the protagonist, even though at times she was relatable, and the reader is just in it for the puzzle of it all while the author is piecing together an actual murder mystery. The reader also has to grapple with the protagonist being absolutely crazy and has to wrap their head around all that she does, but in truth, she's in the driver's seat the entire time! Great short story, my favorite of the collection so far.

The Only Problem (2/5) ~ April 16-22, 2025

My least favorite of the four stories. I wouldn’t have liked it as a standalone either, very boring. Sparks’ writing is still great, and the plot was somewhat interesting, but even then that’s being nice because the main character the story focused on was an absolute BORE.

The only good part was the philosophizing and even then it didn’t make me enjoy the story as a whole.

[What Lynsey Read · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked this book for discussion as my choice this month, and I'm most embarrassed that I did! Based on the blurb on the back, I was expecting something more along the lines of a literary Dead Poet's Society.

But I found this book to be so dull and repetitive that I was loathe to pick it up, despite initially thinking I'd read it in one sitting. And I got thoroughly fed up of hearing about Miss Brodie being in her prime. Check out page 44. The word 'prime' is used 5 times in the first 9 lines. And it was grating on me before this. I'd love to know how often that word appears throughout the entire book (which, thankfully, isn't too long).

I think the author wants us to know that Miss Brodie is in her prime. Just incase you didn't get it from the title.
As one review I've read put it, it made her sound like she was on heat. And maybe she was! I'm sure that there was a literary point to this, but it went over my head.

The characters were not likeable, mainly because they are so one dimensional, nor could you make any connection with them. That said, I did fleetingly worry for their patchy education, which largely consisted of having Miss Brodie's opinions rammed down their impressionable throats.

Why this book is considered to be a classic is a mystery to me. There is no plot to speak of, the writing is nothing special, and it's certainly no page turner. To me, it's the kind of book you are made to read at school because someone somewhere thinks it an important book.

It's book club tonight. I've still not been bored enough to finish it.................

[Ken Ryu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful stuff.

I read "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" a few years ago. It was just ok for me. I skipped that book this time and read the other 3 books/novellas recently. Getting a heavy does of Spark in this 4 book format is a good way to appreciate her unique writing. The intro by Frank Kermode is insightful and helps appreciate her originality and style.

The books take 1-2 hours a piece to read. A short synopsis.

"The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie"
A captivating new teacher, Miss Jean Brodie, teaches her young teenage girls lessons on life, love/sexuality and studies. The action takes place at an elite finishing school. Miss Brodie is a mentor and almost goddess figure to many of the girls. One of the girls betrays her, and she loses her position as a result.

"The Girls of Slender Means"
Almost a continuation of "Miss Jean Brodie". Again, young women are studying and learning about sexuality and love. The action takes place as WWII is coming to a close. The strict rationing leads to the slenderness of the girls. At the conclusion of the book, the lack of slenderness of one girl will give further meaning to the aptly titled novella.

"The Driver's Seat"
The main character is an off-beat and perhaps insane young woman named Lise. She is traveling abroad for a fateful meeting with a young man. His identity and connection to Lise is shroud in mystery till the climatic and brutal conclusion. Along the way, she meets absurd, violent, and ironic men and women. Are these events real or just in her head? Violence and anarchy follow her every step, throughout this surreal, Alice-like adventure.

"The Only Problem"
A wealthy and quirky man, Harvey Gotham is involved in a complex love entanglement. He is having an affair with Ruth, who is the sister of his wife Effie. Effie has run off with a younger man. Ruth is married to Edward, who has stepped aside to allow Harvey and Ruth to carry on their adulterous relationship. To complicate things further, Effie has a child Clara from one of her many extramarital affairs. Effie has left Clara in the care of Harvey and Ruth. Harvey is on a quixotic quest to study, write and analysis the Book of Job. This obsession leads him to France where he has taking a home where he can study in solitude. He is unconcerned about his wayward wife. He is wholly fixated on understanding the meaning of the poetic biblical story.

Effie is accused of terrorist acts as a member of a radical fringe group. Harvey is questioned by the police who believe he may be in contact and a financial source for the group. He shows little concern for Effie's whereabouts and actions, but finds the unwanted attention disruptive to his studies and home life. Although Effie is constantly discussed throughout the book, she never is truly introduced to the reader. She is a specter who seems everywhere and nowhere. Eerily Effie shares a striking resemblance to Ruth as well as a painting of the wife of Job. We finally find out where Effie is as the book closes. Even then, Sparks plays around with the possibility that the woman in question may not be Effie, but rather the incarnation of the wife of Job.

---------------------
Muriel Spark's books are disorienting. She vividly paints scenes with her words. We can understand the micro scenes clearly. In "The Driver's Seat" we can see and feel the fabric as Lise interacts with a clerk at a dress shop. Lise's erratic actions and dialog throw the scenes into chaos. Though the individual elements of the painting are crisp and accurate, the entire scene is random and incohesive. Lise flips out when the storekeeper explains the dress is made of a stain-resistant material. She accuses the surprised clerk of insulting her as a slovenly misfit and storms out of the shop.

The stories lurch forward ominously to their fateful and dreadful climax. As soon as a level of normalcy is returned, Spark will wickedly scramble the action again. An example of this roller-coaster ride between sanity and madness is illustrated in "The Driver's Seat". After a seemingly innocent and harmless shopping spree with an older lady, Lise is thrown into a series of stressful events. She gets lost in a student protest only to be rescued by a man who attempts to sexual assault her. Lise calmly escapes only to later contend with another sexual advance from a different man. Again, Lise calmly extracts herself from that unwanted advance. Unrelenting, Spark rescues Lise from this violence only to send her to her ultimate and decisive end scene.

Lise acts crazy when with normal people. She is level-headed when facing weird or violent characters. This counter intuitive response is also used in "The Only Problem". Harvey and "The Only Problem" are less extreme examples of the same theme. Harvey is aloof at troubling crises in his real life, while obsessed and intensely curious about the Book of Job.

The characters of Spark's books are often outlandish and extreme. The action is unusally coincidental and intense. The disasters are horrific and seemingly inevitable. Sparks creates a fun-house mirrored reflection of life that delivers shocks, awe and incredulity. She handles this effect deftly. Her style is uniquely her own. Perhaps one could consider J.D. Salinger a less menacing Muriel Spark.

"Miss Brody" is the only book that covers years of time. "Slender Means" events cover a few months before and after VJ day. "Driver's Seat" is action over 2-3 days. "The Only Problem" happens over a few weeks of time. She presents vivid descriptions of the physical appearance of her characters, but our time with them will be short. We do not get to know their detailed history or for that matter, follow them forward into the future. Despite only having little time with the character, radical events with a definitive climax are in store for the reader. A fatal car crash can strike without rhyme, reason or warning. Spark's stories are more sinister. She places her characters into danger, hits the gas, cuts the brakes, and sends them hurling inexorably towards tragedy.

[Joseph Fountain · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars

Review of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie only

She thinks she is Providence, thought Sandy, she thinks she is the God of Calvin…Brodie acts as if she transcends morality. ~ Sandy Stranger from The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

This is the first time I’ve read The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie or Muriel Spark. The story is a modernist, existential novel, set in 1930s, Scotland. It is a novella by most standards, told mostly in third-person narrative, making use of numerous flash-forwards. It recounts the career of Jean Brodie, a progressive teacher at an all-girls school in Edinburgh, Scotland.

My full review: http://100greatestnovelsofalltimeques...

[Simmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never read this book before or seen the film so I was pleasantly surprised by it.

The story is about a spinster teacher in the 30's in Edinburgh and about her attitude toawards teaching (anti filling the pupils heads with dead knowledge) and how she creams of six of them to be 'her set'.

She was ahead of her time but I found her sad and lonely and seemingly living her life through her pupils. She also had an unhealthy hold on the girls and in the end is betrayed by one of them.

Would definately recommend it.

[M · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a whopping disappointment. I thought this would be a refreshing read of a teacher's disturbing hold on her students, and I think it was SUPPOSED to be, but then it was way too vague because the point seems to be missing. Decently written but strange and empty.

[lucke1984 · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is difficult to write about a book that has been so thoroughly overshadowed by it cinematic counterpart. The movie rests so firmly in my mind that though I know the construction of the book is at times wildly different, I do not recall how.

[Ginny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book because it takes place in Edinburgh, Scotland. Miss Jean Brodie is a teacher at a girls school. She has her favorites and they are different than the other students. Early on the reader knows that Miss Jean Brodie will have to retire because one of her students betrayed her.

[Andrew Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Four of Spark's novels published in one volume.

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie: A story of a teacher in a grammar school in Scotland - Miss Jean Brodie, and her favourite group of students in the thirties and forties of the twentieth century. A typical of Spark’s style and humour, with Miss Brodie’s predictions about her girls turning out complete opposite and her being dismissed for her support of Duce.
The Girls of Slender Means: A story revolves around the group of young women living at the May of Teck Club house in London, and their male companions, in summer of 1945. What made me persist with this novel was the author’s specific sense of humour. The final part, when the club house is set on fire by the undetected exploding bomb, and collapses with one of the women, was quite dramatic in its description and worth waiting for.
The Driver’s Seat: A short story about a woman – Lise, who winds up her own life by choosing, with the greatest care, her own murderer. It contemplates, in a comic spirit, the oddity of stories, and story-tellers, who, within sometimes unacknowledged limits, can control action and outcome.
The Only Problem: A twisted story of two sisters and their husbands and lovers, and superimposed on a biblical story of Job. Typical of Spark’s style and reflected by her interest in Job’s story.

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three of these novels (Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Girls of Slender Means, and Driver's Seat) are ones I'm reading as part of the "1001" books to read challenge. I'm going to attempt to jot some thoughts as I progress through each novel.

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie: I found this book very entertaining. There's a light, flirty feel to it & yet also a knowing arrogance. I'm amused by the constant reference to Miss Jean being in her "prime." Underneath the alleged contempt of the headmistress & possibly other teachers, there's also a theme of "coming of age"....what you know and believe about those you respect & admire & what you learn with each year. 4.5 Stars Also, I watched the PBS series....it was very entertaining & while it had many of the vignettes from the book, it's 7 episodes & had additional storylines.

The Girls of Slender Means: Again, a delightful read. The wit of Muriel Spark is charming. I'm amused by the unabashed discussion of the girls in the house of every topic - men, sex, weight, propriety & lack thereof....etc. One quickly understands the characters & the author drops hints of future events without revealing the ending. I was, indeed, surprised by several episodes in the story. I had to laugh out loud when the girls where "oiling up" & slithering through the window slot! 4 Stars

The Driver's Seat grabbed my attention from the first page. I was extremely curious about the unique & quirky character, Lise. She was full of surprises! Again, I saw the clever device that Sparks uses to foreshadow coming events. The characters in this book really seemed to have some unusual sense about the main character...as she seemed to have about them. I was rather surprised by the ending, although I felt that I shouldn't have been! It was a quick, crime story, with some fun twists & turns. I recommend it highly! 5 Stars

The Only Problem: Another fascinating story. Spark excels at creating quirky characters. The interaction of these family members and friends is very interesting....I don't know too many people like the characters here. Because of the beauty and unusual personality of Effie, there are numerous plausible outcomes when the police suspect her to be part of a terrorist group. I enjoyed thinking through the various possible outcomes, along with the characters! The final outcome was satifying and more of a "happy ending" than I found in some of Spark's other books. Again, a very enjoyable read! 4 Stars

[Jean Wilson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I actually only read 3 of the 4 novellas. Because I had seen the movie The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, (and loved it), I thought I would save that one for last. However, after reading the other 3, I decided not to bother. While well written and often clever, I can't say I enjoyed reading any of these novellas. I didn't see the point of The Girls of Slender Means and the many characters were all rather superficial. The Driver's Seat was more engaging - at times creepy and disturbing. An exceptionally well-constructed story, but not an enjoyable read. In my opinion, the best of the novellas was the last one, The Only Problem. The characters were more developed and the plot more engaging. The story provides a vehicle for Spark's razor-edged humour, especially through the main character of Harvey Vogel. If I was rating this story alone, I would have given it a 3. I won't be reading any more of Muriel Spark's works. Her style is just not my cup of tea.

[Christine Sinclair · Rating 4 out of 5]

These four short novels take us back to England in the thirties and forties, before and after World War II. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie is the most well-known, having been adapted into a movie starring the young Maggie Smith (our Dowager Countess!). The Girls of Slender Means was my favorite, with its quaint setting, overlapping dialogue and plots, and a final turn to tragedy. The Driver's Seat was awful, the most disappointing of the four. The Only Problem was an interesting juxtaposition of the trials of Job and the trials of the main character, with an amoral spin that is surprising for its era. Muriel Spark's writing is still crisp and captivating, recreating a time that is now lost.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Give me a girl at an impressionable age and she is mine for life." Miss Brodie (p. 110)

On Calvinism:

"God had planned for practically everybody before they were born a nasty surprise then they died. Later, when Sandy read John Calvin, she found that although popular conceptions of Calvinism were sometimes mistaken, in this particular there was no mistake, indeed it was but a mild understanding of the case, he having made it God's pleasure to implant in certain people an erroneous sense of joy and salvation, so that their surprise at the end might be the nastier." (pp. 106-7)

[Kevin Eigelbach · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful series of novels by British novelist Muriel Spark. Made me want to read more of her work. Great observations of the world around her, but she also works in religion and its significance in the modern world. Like Dostoevsky in that some of her characters appear fantastical, but still seem more real than anyone else's. Not afraid to repeat herself for effect when she comes up with a good phrase, like a woman was "famous for sex." These tags help us remember who characters are. Great, great stuff.

[K. Fox (Cahill) · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Girls of Slender Means - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Driver’s Seat - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Only Problem - ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Interesting meandering prose delivered very deliberately so you have no choice to care. First story was my favorite, last story was my least favorite (I didn’t understand it)
The Drivers Seat was so strange and bizarre that I don’t think any amount of stars, high or low, will explain how it made me feel