by Muriel Spark

Muriel Spark, who was born Muriel Camberg in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1918, drew upon her school experiences there as the basis for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. Spark came of age during the 1930s, a time of economic struggle and political change around the world. Such upheavals do not go unnoticed in Miss Jean Brodie's fictional classroom, where praise for Europe's emerging dictators is just one component of some unconventional lessons.

Events in History at the Time the Novel Takes Place

School in Scotland in the 1930s. The 1930s was a difficult era in much of the world, and Scotland proved to be no exception. As a result of the Great Depression, poverty worsened and the gap between rich and poor grew more pronounced. In Scottish schools, this gulf was noticeable even before the Great...