For 150 years, high above rocky Scottish cliffs, Caldonbrae Hall has sat untouched, a beacon of excellence in an old ancestral castle. A boarding school for girls, it promises that the young women lucky enough to be admitted will emerge “resilient and ready to serve society.”

Into its illustrious midst steps Rose Christie: a 26-year-old Classics teacher, Caldonbrae’s new head of the department, and the first hire for the school in over a decade. At first, Rose is overwhelmed to be invited into this institution, whose prestige is unrivaled. But she quickly discovers that behind the school’s elitist veneer lies an impenetrable, starkly traditional culture that she struggles to reconcile with her modernist beliefs—not to mention her commitment to educating “girls for the future.”

This book got slated so much on the bookstagram community it put me off posting about it. It wasn't anything like the criticism it got. The fact I still remember the plot after 3 years of reading it says a lot about it. It has similarities to other novels but I think this would be a good introduction to older books set in the same environment which may not be as easy to read.

Another great read courtesy of Netgalley!

A strange and ominous academia book with many gothic vibes throughout.

Accepted for a position to work as the classics lead within a mysterious and prestigious school for girls within Scotland Rose leaves behind her state school teaching position and her mother with the optimism to further herself. Caldonbrae Hall has been training up their young ladies to ensure that they leave the school walls ready to serve society.

As time goes by, Rose begins to learn that things did not go well for her predecessor and what it means to be the first member of new staff to be invited in externally for over a decade.

What exactly does the girls' training entail? And will Rose discover the truth before it's too late?

Too slow a pace and not much happening throughout, which ended up not keeping my attention. The main protagonist was also either wishy-washy or too over-the-top in her outrage or some other emotion that just jarred or rankled with what was actually happening all around her. It also seemed off that this book is supposed to be set in 1992/93, but the vibe it gives throughout is of nineteenth century Gothic literature.

Madam is a captivating and atmospheric debut novel. Set in an isolated Scottish castle-turned-school for girls, the story follows Rose Christie, a young teacher who arrives at the institution with hopes of a fresh start. However, she soon becomes entangled in the dark secrets lurking within the castle's walls, particularly those surrounding its enigmatic headmistress, Madam.

Wynne expertly builds tension throughout the narrative, blending elements of psychological suspense with a sense of foreboding as Rose uncovers the school's sinister past and its implications for the present. The characters are intricately drawn, each with their own motivations and secrets, adding depth and intrigue to the

Wynne's prose is richly descriptive, evoking the eerie atmosphere of the castle and its surrounding landscape, while also delving into the inner turmoil of her characters. With its compelling plot twists and well-drawn characters, "Madam" is a spellbinding read that will keep readers guessing until the very end. Fans of atmospheric thrillers and Gothic fiction will find much to enjoy in this haunting tale of secrets and lies.

DNF - thank you for the opportunity to read this book. Unfortunately as I was unable to finish it I am unable to give a comprehensive review

“Rebecca” meets Margaret Atwood in this creepy neo-historical fiction tale of a girl’s boarding school in the Scottish Highlands. The atmosphere is fabulously creepy, which I loved.

Elite families wishing to train their daughters in the fine art of being a perfect wife send them to Caldonbrae Hall in order to be trained to be “resilient and ready to serve society.” The premise of the school is basically for the girls to emerge with this ideal: In order to be a perfect wife, a woman must be a conversationalist at his dinner table, a chef in his kitchen (or at least know how to run a kitchen because she will hardly ever step foot in one) and a whore in his bed. Side note: I remember reading that in a book form the 1920s titled “How to Catch a Husband and Keep Him.” Can anyone spell “Stepford Daughters?”

While this novel has that 1890s feel to it, the story actually takes place in 1993-94 over the course of an academic year. I never felt as if I could actually see the girls’ uniforms, but they gave off a strong 1890s vibe. I also never really got the grade levels; they weren’t freshman-senior, but that didn’t bother me too much.

Into this nightmare, comes twenty-six-year-old Rose Christie, the new head of the Classics Department. Immediately, she is affronted by the environment where she has found herself, but no one will talk with her. All the staff is referred to as “Madame”; No need for names. The girls automatically dislike her and plot to drive her mad. No one will speak of her predecessor who seems to have had an inappropriate relationship with one of the girls. No one wants to discuss the student who is obviously having a mental breakdown. She cannot leave or go into to town with permission and supervision.

Rose is always in trouble with those who preside over the school. She is the first new hire in over a decade, and the reason why is extremely creepy. Another reviewer describes Rose perfectly: she is “that mix of naïve yet earnest (ness) and has this massive sense of justice.” She uses Greek mythology to try to get through to her students, but they aren’t interested. Their goal is to land a wealthy husband.

“Madame” was not a tough read, but much of it seemed redundant.

If you decide to give this novel a shot, do not read the Prologue. It gives away the ending, which ticked me off, so that is why I’m warning you now.

It’s an atmospheric and gothic novel. I could barely put the book down
The suspense builds throughout the mystery and is intense. It’s a huge pageturner
This is a brilliant debut.

I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide a review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.

Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.

However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

This is a book about teaching classics and what it is like to be classicist. In this book Phoebe Wynne has done is to follow the story of a classics teacher, who moves from teaching in the state-sector down south up to an exclusive and gothic private school in the north of Scotland. The description of Rebecca meets The Secret History I believe is a very good one for what to expect from this novel - drawing from and mixing aspects from both well-known and established novels. 


Madam follows the story of a completely displaced teacher, who is using stories from classics to improve the lives and circumstances of the girls she is teaching - teaching them about women from ancient myth and mystery, in an attempt to get her students to stand-up for and improve themselves in some way.


It was a very gripping read and I believe you could the plot of the book and place it in another scenario and it would work equally as well. However, the way Phoebe Wynne has used classics as a tool for her key characters I thought was very different from perhaps just reading a novel set in a classic heroic past or is based on a Greek myth, and it is woven-in in a very interesting way.


If you are interested in books about classics that are not necessarily just based a key myth or anthology of myths, I would highly recommend taking a chance at Madam by Phoebe Wynne. Even if you have never studied classics before and you are solely interested in the synopsis, this novel really stands up on its own also. Moreover, on occasions where myths are brought in, there is a preface to each chapter that provides the reader with the information that you would need to understand the lesson that our protagonist is giving to her students - one aspect a truly enjoyed! 


I very much recommend this read, it is a different introduction to classics with hilarious humor throughout it that is dead-on!

I’m going to go against the general consensus on this one judging by the reviews – I loved this book.

Things do get off to a bit of a slow start, and at first I was a little frustrated, but once lovely protagonist Rose was at the school, things became really intriguing, and very, very strange.

Caldonbrae is a very odd place, and the girls are very odd too, overly-confident, arrogant, secretive. But Rose perseveres with them, growing to care so much about them, and increasingly worried about what exactly the school is preparing these intelligent, vibrant and promising girls for.

What made the book extra special for me was the intertwining of Greek and Roman myths, and the fearless, wonderful women (mortal and immortal) from those stories. I read these stories years ago, fascinated by Medea, who killed her own children, brave Antigone, terrifying Medusa, and poor old Daphne who couldn’t escape Apollo, especially when she was turned into a tree! Add to that the creeping sense of menace, palpable on almost every page, and this became a real page turner.

A dark novel with breathtaking imagery. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review.

Thank you for providing me with an advance review copy of this book. Enjoyed reading, would recommend....

Rose Christie is a young Classics teacher who gets a teaching post at an elite public boarding school in Scotland: Caldonbrae Hall.

But this school isn’t as it first appears. Rose loves her subject and wants to share that love: the girls don’t want to learn, and they frankly can’t see the point. Frustration radiates off the page - or perhaps as an ex-teacher I was just projecting! Honestly, this part nearly made me stop reading! I was so angry with the students behaviour!

It would seem that the senior management team at the school very much agree with the girls though, and want Rose to become more like them.

Not likely!

And then there was Rose’s predecessor and her strange disappearance, which of course Rose has to find out more about.

I’m so glad that I read beyond my 3 chapter cut off, because I did enjoy this. I will say that there’s a fair bit of age-inappropriate sexual behaviour, so if you find this problematic, it may be best to steer clear. But it was all in keeping with the ethos of the school - I KNOW!!

Madam was a story that had me curious the moment I heard about it. I love a good gothic tale, providing a dark historic backdrop with a feminist story, and I went into this one with high hopes. Unfortunately, I had so much trouble with this one.

I’ll be completely honest and say that if I were the type to quit books, I would have quit this one. I was a little curious at first, but I quickly grew annoyed by the story. The reason for this is very simple and can be attributed to a single thing – the main character. She was far too passive, and it annoyed me how she never did anything with what she found out. There were so many things that were obvious and wrong, yet she did nothing but complain. It annoyed me to no end, especially when the most interesting parts – the details of women in classic stories – seemed to hint toward something big. Alas, it was left to children, and it all came together in the blink of an eye at the end.

All in all, this one did not work for me. There was so much potential, yet I found myself shaking my head throughout, forcing myself to pick it up and continue turning the pages.

Rose has been chosen to join the prestigious Caldonbrae Hall as their new classics teacher. She will be the first hire in over a decade. When she arrives Rose is thrown into a world of secrets and old fashioned views.

What follows is a story of Rose trying to uncover the dirty secrets and traditions that lie at the heart of Caldonbrae Hall. Everyone, including her students, are keeping something back from her, stating that she is not ready for the truth.

Interwoven through the story are short stories of classic Greek heroines which I thought was a nice twist. I enjoyed the contrast of the heroic feminist icons and the victorian ways of the school.

I did find Rose a little trying at times, which made it hard to warm to her as a main character. She was supposed to be the feminist character, the opposite to how the students are being taught how to be, and well she was a bit whiny.

Other than that I enjoyed the book and will be looking out for more from Phoebe Wynne

Thank you to Netgalley and Quercus for a copy of the book in return for an honest review

I thought I would really enjoy this from the blurb but I just found it to be an ok read, it definitely wasn’t amazing and I found myself a little disappointed

I sort of ‘hate-read’ this! I must’ve met I was invested enough to persist until the end that I found the lead character incredibly insipid and infuriating and the whole thing could have sent the central message in half the time if we didn’t have to enjoy the same scenes repeated over and over again ad nauseam.
I actually liked the parts about the ‘ancient women’ the most; The legends of history and mythology like Boudicca, Medea and Antigone. Portrayal of the students was really odd - it’s as if the author feels all teenage girls are intrinsically evil? Even after they seemed to learn some solidarity they were always progressing into bitchiness and cruelty straight afterwards.

This book was super addictive, a fast edge thriller with dystopian elements. It really puts life into perspective, how women are treated in other countries and made to fit into the female stereotype.