Being a teacher makes it hard not to be overly critical of Miss Jean Brodie. It also makes it hard not to admire Sandy for what she achieved, given the paucity of her education (becoming well-known for writing a psychology book). Miss Jean Brodie seems to be viewed with admiration generally, noted for her glamorous, convention-defying ways, with general acknowledgement paid to her flaws - her manipulative nature, her way of being somehow 'above' morality and having an "exces

Reflections post-reading The first few pages of this book are full of rich praise: "remarkable", "brave", "powerful, moving, true", etc. So to heap more broad praise on feels obsolete. Three things stood out to me. First, I haven't read any proper 'literature' for a while. Unless you count the prep I do to teach English Literature A-level. I've read some truly fantastic paranormal fiction (eg Kate Golden's Half City) and some classically pleasing romantasy (eg Devney Perry's

The first time round, it was in winter and full of big excitement and little knowledge of what was to come. As I approach my second maternity leave (in 3 weeks' time), it feels like I've never left the transitional space that I found myself in last time. I will have returned to work for a total of 9 months in between leaves and for 3 days a week. The one-foot-in, one-foot-out existence has encompassed some of the best parts of both spheres of living, but has also come with pl