I wanted to like this book. I wanted it to be like Donna Tartt's Secret History or even Dead Poets Society. But it fell flat. It wanted to be a thriller mystery and just didn't live up to it. I did finish it though, so at least it kept my attention.

A disturbing look at how little it takes to control group behavior when the consequences are unknown. The MC seemed to only be there so the readers could see the horrid conditions of the school. When the mutiny occurs....and mutiny always follows control by violence....the students will choose sides and quickly bring the house down.

A gothic novel with a strong feminist message, Madam by Phoebe Wynne features a young classics teacher who takes a position at a girl’s boarding school off the coast of Scotland and finds an increasingly disturbing secret underbelly at the school. Dark, unsettling, and gripping!

Setting and Structure

Madam is set in the early 1990s at a fictional boarding school set on the Scottish cliffs named Caldonbrae Hall. The school is housed in an ancestral castle and is quite remote, a quality that not only builds the gothic feel to the novel, but also serves to isolate the students and residents of the school from the outside world in a way that heavily relates to the broader story. The setting is perfect gothic fiction—a gloomy castle, the grey sea, the bleak coastline, the torrents of rain, and the cold dark expanse of the interior.

The book is narrated solely by Rose Christie, a 26-year-old Classics teacher who has recently accepted a post at the school. Rose narrates in the first person her experiences and thoughts as the story unfolds, with brief intermediary chapters that tell the stories of different classic mythological women (Medusa, Dido, Medea, etc). These are structured as the lessons Rose is teaching to her students, and tie into the plot.

Plot and Characters

Rose Christie is the newest teacher at Caldonbrae Hall and the youngest. She is hired to teach classics replacing the previous teacher Jane, whose employment was terminated under mysterious circumstances. The book may be set in 1993, but the practices at the school harken back to the original found of the school 150 years earlier.

As Rose learns more about the school and her new role, she is horrified to learn that the girls are being taught that femininity is about being docile, finding a husband, and avoiding modern feminist thinking. For Rose, who was raised by a liberal feminist, the truth at the school is unsettling. The more she learns, the more twisted she realizes Caldonbrae Hall truly is, and the more trapped she becomes at the school.

I liked Rose as a character, though I’ve seen other reviewers criticize her actions. But Rose herself is trapped at the school, and it becomes clear everyone is in their own way. On top of that, the school has moved Rose’s mother to a care facility, and updates about her mother filter through them. Rose is not only trying to understand what is going on at the school, she is also tackling the mystery of what happened to her predecessor Jane.

There are a few other teachers and staff with troubling and compelling roles in the story. Another male teacher who seems a bit taken with Rose, a fellow teacher who Rose thinks of as her only true friend there, and a disturbing set of administrators and board members. The students are sort of a collection of either those who buy into and benefit from what the school is doing, and the outcasts who respond to Rose’s subtle but intentional feminist teachings. Rose continues to assign works to the students with the hopes that they will take the lessons she intends, though at a point she is being observed and has to be careful about her words in the lessons.

Overall Thoughts

The setting and atmospheric quality made this a stand out for me. The pacing is a bit slow but that adds to the creepy gothic feel, and the mystery is compelling. The ending made me want to see what a sequel to this might explore, though I also was satisfied with the way it concluded. Wynne’s writing and imagery made this a stand out. The truth about the school is both horrifying and salacious.

I saw some reviewers criticize elements of this book that were dated, disturbing, and characters who were racist and I guess that to me was the point of this book. This school is completely dated, teaches absolutely terrible ideals to young women, and is full of stakeholders who are at their core fetishists and misogynists. This added to the disturbing horror-quality of the mystery for me.

Compelling, atmospheric, darkly feminist, and well-written, I thoroughly enjoyed Madam!

This was a suspenseful novel! Rose is excited to be hired to teach at an elite boarding school for girls. She quickly realizes that there is more going on behind the scenes then she realized. She is afraid she can’t escape her position now as she realizes the power the school now has over her. This was dark and chilling, and full of shocking events.

I had high hopes for this book based upon the summary, but I didn’t enjoy my read. I couldn’t connect with the characters and i definitely felt let down.

I wanted so badly to enjoy this novel, as I'm a huge fan of dark academia. However, I found myself constantly putting it down and not picking it back up. At this point, I think if I were to start reading again I would need to start completely from the beginning. The premise of a new teacher at a private boarding school is promising, but I was frequently frustrated by the attitudes of both the students and faculty toward Rose. I may pick it up again, but there are so many other novels I think I will get through first.

I’d describe this book as more horror than thriller. It’s definitely dark and not for the faint of heart. Though the protagonist isn’t always likable, I did sympathize with her feelings of being trapped in the situation. I also enjoyed the throwback to the early 1990’s. I’m not sure this story would have worked in the modern digital age. While the ending left me feeling unsettled, overall I thought this was a solid horror read with a feminist twist.

I had high hopes for what looked like a creepy boarding school story set in remote Scotland, but this was a mess. The main character, young teacher Rose, is very underdeveloped and not especially interesting, and the school’s secrets are not very difficult to guess. There’s just not a full novel’s worth of material here.

I was not a fan of this book. I get what it was trying to do - speak out for feminism, take a stand, advocate for yourself, etc. - but it just didn't work for me. I definitely got some Handmaid's Tale vibes (I didn't like that book either!).

I was surprised to learn that this novel takes place in the 1990s. I would never have guessed that. The setting seems much older, maybe the EIGHTEEN 90s.

I was hoping to like this book a lot more, but it fell really flat for me. If I wasn't reading it for a challenge (palindromic title!), I would have set this book aside. I get that Rose cared very deeply for her mother, but I don't understand why she didn't just leave the school. Frances and her broken heart were just very sad. I couldn't connect to any of the students, either. There were no qualities or features to tell them apart and make them stand out to me. I wasn't satisfied by the ending.

I wouldn't recommend this novel but I'd be interested in maybe giving this author another try.

Madam was an interesting read- this is not really a whodunnit, as I think most of the reality of the school is apparent to the reader a lot faster than the heroine manages. But it's an intriguing semi-feminist look at what can go really wrong in a boarding school. This overall did not work for me- talk about a young woman who is too stupid to live. She is blissfully unaware of the reality around her for far too long to be believable. Some of the plot beats were telegraphed early on. Even so, I did find this enjoyable enough to keep me up past bedtime, so three stars for something that wasn't quite my cup of (Earl gray, black, leave the teabag in) tea.

When Rose Christie found out that she got the job at Caldonbrae Hall, one of the most prestigious boarding schools in Scotland, she could hardly believe it. At only 26, she didn’t have the most teaching experience, and then she was offered the job of not just teaching but being Head of Classics there. It would be a significant step up for her. The one thing she was worried about, though, was her mother. Her mother was having health issues, and Rose was worried about moving away from Kent, where she could check in on her easily.

Still, she couldn’t refuse the job. So Rose packed up everything she owned (not all that much, really) and moved into the staff housing at Caldonbrae. She got there right before the term started, so she didn’t have much time to settle in before she started teaching.

Things were a little bumpy at first, the girls testing her to see how far they could push her. They weren’t all that excited about learning Latin, but Rose kept after them and started to win them over with stories of strong ancient women and goddesses. And when she finds out that the school has moved her mother into a new care home, a nicer one, and that they are taking care of the costs, Rose is stunned. She wants to refuse their help with her mother, but her mother is very excited about the new home, and Rose wants her to be happy.

But there are things at Caldonbrae that Rose finds unsettling. There are meetings she is left out of and her requests to meet with the Headmaster get dismissed. No one is talking about the teacher she had been hired to replace, which she finds odd, and then she hears about a student who had died the previous school year. Rose tries to find more information about that in the newspapers, but she can find no mention of it. She’s told that the family just wanted it kept quiet, and she is asked to respect that. How can she refuse? But she still feels in her heart that something is not quite right at Caldonbrae.

The students have their ups and downs of course—they are teenage girls, after all—but Rose notices one girl in particular spinning out of control. Rose is first drawn to Bethany when the girl just stares at her. But then she makes accusations against Rose, that Rose had hurt her, and she had bruises to back up her story. Rose knows that she never touched Bethany, but there is an investigation, with everyone at the school cognizant of the charges. And then Bethany shows up in Rose’s class, like she’d been a student of Latin all term. She shows up at Rose’s apartment. And then she escapes.

As Rose finally learns the true nature of the school, she feels like she is in too deep to get away. Her mother is under their care. They can ruin her reputation as a teacher. If she leaves, she would have nothing. But they’ve made it very clear that she won’t be able to leave. How will Rose reconcile her values with the school’s, and how can she help the girls who are depending on her escape their fate?

Madam is a dark and creepy Gothic novel, filled with anachronistic characters to keep readers wondering what year it’s supposed to be. Author Phoebe Wynne has crafted a deliciously wicked novel that questions the role of women in society. The narrative is broken up by stories of strong women in ancient history like Antigone, Dido, Lucretia, and Daphne, giving readers short lessons in classics along with the girls of Caldonbrae as well as some depth and texture to the underlying story of Caldonbrae.

I listened to the audio book of Madam, and I thought that narrator Nathalie Buscombe did an amazing job with this dark tale. Not only does she nail the perfect accent (and does great with the Scottish accents as well), I could feel the outrage and contempt that Rose felt through the narration. I thought Buscombe did a really lovely job with this one.

Overall, I liked Madam and found myself getting lost in the story. But I wasn’t surprised when the nature of the school was finally revealed. I could see their machinations long before Rose did, but I admired how much she cared about the students and wanted the best for them. However, even knowing what was coming, I still enjoyed the ride. Madam is a lovely creepy Gothic novel, and knowing some of the darkness to come only increased the tension for me. This may not be the best novel for readers who don’t want to know the secrets in advance, but it’s excellent for those who want a nice long, eerie walk through a dark Scottish boarding school.

Egalleys for Madam were provided by St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley, with many thanks, but I bought the audio book myself through Chirp.

The cover of this book conveys its contents quite well: it's creepy, mysterious and dark. It's also slow moving, like the fog. It makes for great suspense, you never know when the cliff is coming, but it won't be for reader looking for a plot that moves along.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide feedback on this novel. I read a physical copy in addition to listening to half of an audiobook version. I think this book was a major letdown for me. The premise, cover, and summary all scream “promising!!!” but I did not like the execution of this novel. It was slow and laborious, and I found some issues with the grammar/dialogue distracting. Of course, there are elements to the story plot which are uncomfortable but my issue with them is not in the sense of the crime but the execution of the resolution of the book — the characters are just... boring, and the MC is just... useless. It is a dark, depressing read that doesn’t have that same umph to it compared to something similar like My Dark Vanessa. Sucks because dark academia needs more books! Maybe another will be better

I had some trouble with this one. The big reveal was pretty obvious early on, and some of the messages hit you over the head a little bit. Phoebe Wynne does create a memorable world, however, and the suspense was at times visceral. I also had some issues with the character in the story who was a lesbian, but receives no resolution - and in fact spends most of the book under intense indoctrination and self-loathing. These parts were pretty unpleasant to read.

I picked this one up based on the gothic bording school premise. Unfortunately, Madam fell flat for me. I may try again later.

What a amazing book! I feel in love with this one. The story is spectacular, all the characters are super vivid. I recommend with my heart.

Whoa, this was creepy. I've recently gotten into gothic novels after years of having very little interest, and I read this around Halloween, which was kind of perfect. The descriptive writing adds to the creepiness - another reviewer mentioned you could almost feel the dampness, and that's the perfect way to describe how it felt reading this book. Compelling and well-written.

What a fun thriller. I was hoping I got more out of it, but I still think it was fun and good. The writing style was so good and I can’t wait to see what this author writes next!

The cover was what first drew me to “Madam“, then when I learned it was set in a boarding school in Scotland… well I was hooked.

The dynamic of Caldonbrae was creepy. Girls were urged to achieve ‘value’ over their academic endeavors. Caldonbrae was a bad place. Not because of some paranormal vibe, but because of the influence of over a hundred years of corruption generated by men of power and influence. The students and staff were brainwashed into thinking the way they did, each with his or her own motivations.

The fact that the story was set in the 1992-1993 academic year was moot, except to the new teacher, Rose Christie… Madam. The people who lived there knew or cared nothing for recent advances in women’s rights, diversity, social media, or current affairs. Their focus was ‘value’, as in how valuable the students could potentially become to prospective suitors.

The setting was spectacular and one could almost feel the damp and smell the chalk dust.

I know very little of mythology, and the novel gave me a brief glimpse into the rich stories it holds. That being said, the passages written in Latin (which I cannot read) seemed like filler and unnecessary to the narrative.

This is a debut novel and like many debuts I felt it was a tad long. It seemed to be a curious amalgam of Jane Eyre and the Stepford Wives with an overriding feminist message. The plot was slow moving, but there was a sense of menace which made me uncomfortable. I was less than satisfied with the ending, but upon reflection could think of no other way to end it.

Feminist fiction with a gothic vibe, “Madam” was a memorable read, but not wholly satisfying.

This was a great premise-a story set in a private boarding school. It got a bit unbelievable and long-winded, but it was still fun.