Madam
By Phoebe Wynne
Blurb
For 150 years, Caldonbrae Hall has loomed high above the Scottish cliffs as a beacon of excellence in the ancestral castle of Lord William Hope. A boarding school for girls, it promises that its pupils will emerge 'resilient and ready to serve society'.
Into its illustrious midst steps Rose Christie, a 26-year-old Classics teacher and new head of department. Rose is overwhelmed by the institution: its arcane traditions, unrivalled prestige, and terrifyingly cool, vindictive students. Her classroom becomes her haven, where the stories of fearless women from ancient Greek and Roman history ignite the curiosity of the girls she teaches and, unknowingly, the suspicions of the powers that be.
But as Rose uncovers the darkness that beats at the very heart of Caldonbrae, the lines between myth and reality grow ever more blurred. It will be up to Rose - and the fierce young women she has come to love - to find a way to escape the fate the school has in store for them, before it is too late.
Our Review
I really wanted to like Madam. I chose to request it because I had seen it said it was good for fans of Margaret Atwood but I was disappointed. I made it through about 17% of the book before I decided that I couldn't bring myself to read anymore.
Rose has recently acquired a job at a prestigious school for girls in Scottland. When she starts her new job the students are obstructive at best and her fellow teachers are unhelpful and generally unfriendly. Rose finds the numerous rules difficult to understand and feels very much an outsider.
All of this had me intrigued enough to keep reading, this and the odd hint of something sinister going on behind the scenes but it was a bit slow paced for me.
Our Final Rating...
Read & Shared 11 Times.
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