Madam was just the book I needed to read last week! It kept me engrossed from start to finish and made me question everything I was reading. I kind of guessed what was going on but nothing really prepared me for the whole picture. Wynne has an impeccably creepy and patient writing style, covering what she needs to and keeping you on your toes throughout. The main narrative is interspersed with ancient myths which was an interesting foreshadowing technique - I really liked how it worked within the story.

Rose was an interesting character, feminist and loyal to her students, I did feel like she only wanted the best for the girls however sometimes it did come across as quite arrogant in the steps she took. It drove me crazy willing her to do and not to do things but I was sympathetic to the position she found herself in and curious about where it would take her in the story.

I’m not going to say this book was perfect, there are elements I really didn’t like surrounding the male characters and occasionally the narrative would skip ahead before retracing its steps which I didn’t think it needed but it was a damn good read and I could imagine it being made into a film. The setting was creepy, the protagonist endearing and the narrative style was very thought provoking. The fact that Madam is a debut is even more impressive, Wynne writes as if she’s been doing it for decades and I’ll be keeping an eye out for any future works!

I wouldn’t say this was a scary read but it is atmospheric and gothic in its style. It has an academic setting which appeals to a lot of readers (me included!) and has a mystery at its heart and feminism in its veins.

Trigger Warnings for death, suicide, drowning, abortion, alcoholism, and fire although they aren’t described in detail (in my opinion), I want to warn you just in case.

Throw a wedge of dark academia my way and I will thank you profusely. I was very excited about this debut novel set in a prestigious, girls’ boarding school and despite some less than favourable Goodreads reviews, I completely ate it up.

Caldonbrae Hall has sat high on a Scottish cliff for 150 years and it very rarely recruits new staff from the outside. So, imagine Rose Christie’s surprise when she is offered the position of Classics professor at the elusive institution. But almost as soon as she arrives, Rose learns that there are plenty of buried secrets hidden within the walls of Caldonbrae and it’s time they were uncovered…

Right away, we’re introduced to the exclusive and prestigiousness that comes with Caldonbrae Hall. The book opens with a letter addressed to the previous Classics mistress, dismissing her with some very vague, intriguing clues as to the reason. This perhaps wasn’t completely necessary to the overall plot but it certainly set Caldonbrae up to be a place of mystery, before we or Rose were even there.

On Rose’s arrival, she is very much left to her own devices, which was definitely very strange. The school itself is very much your typical brooding, Gothic monster, perched alone on a cliff with a view of the tumultuous Scottish coast. In some ways, it very much took on a personality of its own -much like Manderley and Wuthering Heights. As Rose wandered the grounds on her own, I could certainly feel the ghosts and energy of the past watching her. This same Gothic vibe didn’t quite continue throughout the narrative with the same level of creep that it started with. However by then, my attention was on other aspects, so I didn’t really notice it until the end.

Rose is passionate about her subject and I learnt a lot about Greek and Roman mythology. Caldonbrae is propped up by a deep love of tradition and this is something that is firmly instilled in its students. Life at Caldonbrae runs on conforming to what society expects of young women and its students have no problem doing exactly this. The fact that Rose is a young feminist with new ideas puts her in danger and certainly makes her stand out within the faculty. The more I read, the more I realised that at Caldonbrae, humans really haven’t changed very much since the age of antiquity at all.

There is a shortened version of several Greek and Roman myths within the narrative and I really enjoyed the stories I didn’t know. Rose encourages her students to think about the treatment of women in these stories and she seems to have the biggest success with a trio of girls in her Fourth year class. Daisy, Freddie and Nessa are bright 14-year-olds who ask questions and seem to be re-considering the way of life that Caldonbrae prepares its girls for. When the school appears to try to take hold and reel them back under its spell, Rose becomes determined to tug them back and protect them.

The true intentions of Caldonbrae Hall become clear about halfway through the book and although it’s not a completely grotesque truth, it is an alarming one. These girls have been brainwashed into believing that marriage and motherhood are their only options in life, which is a tragic thought but it’s a belief that we know was true for many women for hundreds of years. I think the fact that Madam takes place in 1992, not 1892, adds to the horror but it’s not chilling -it’s just sad and worrying. I can understand the argument that the time period makes it seem unbelievable. I agree with the fact that this book could easily be set in the 19th century and I think you could pretend that it is, if you wanted to get better invested. Perhaps the year of 1992 could have been established a little more -maybe more talk of VHS and Walkmans or even earlier mobile phones would have given it a more fleshed-out setting.

Madam is a an addictive, dark read with a feminist message to convey. There were plenty of unlikeable characters who I was desperate to see get their comeuppance and I met some fascinating ancient women whose stories I didn’t know before. There was a twist that I didn’t see coming that left me thoroughly disappointed in one particular character, so the book definitely sparked all kinds of feels for me. I couldn’t figure out how it was all going to end and I think that may have been why I couldn’t put it down. It doesn’t really maintain the true Gothic vibe throughout but it is thrilling, gloomy read with a very Shirley Jackson-esque ending.

oooh this was a wonderfully dark story. I was fumbling along with Rose for at least 50% of the story. We tripped and sumbled together as she tried to figure out the outrage and rolled eyes, the disdain and the confusing curriculum of her new school - Rose's new teaching position.

But once we know what's going on, I was definitely Rose's outrage. I loved her voice and her personality. The story is a little slow to start but is paced well after. I like the way it circled back around. It's dark and horrible and I loved it. I will absolutely look for more from this author (and dare to hope for a book 2?!)

I found this to be rather an odd book. On the one hand it was gripping at certain points and I was keen to know what happened. On the other hand, though, the premise is not easy to accept.

Mild spoilers - beware:

I found it hard to believe that Rose would allow herself to be constrained in such a manner simply to keep her mother in a better class of home or to pay for her treatment. Has she not heard of the National Health Service? Social Services? This type of premise doesn't really cut it for residents of a country which (still) has free health care. We don't need to go full Walter White to pay for treatment. The second strand of her blackmail, if we can call it that, is to keep her deceased father's name unsullied. Hmmm - not sure I buy that either. Surely, freedom and the ability to live one's own life is of greater value than the reputation of someone now dead, who can't be hurt.

Add to that the idea that the girls (not to mention the staff) go along with the restrictions of life at this awful school, and the cracks start to show. I couldn't believe that Rose would actually go back when she got away for half term the first time. Anyone with any sense would have run away after the first week.

Plus, neither Rose nor the author seem to care about the innocents sacrificed in order for the wrongdoers to get their comeuppance.

So, yes, it is, for a time, a compelling read, but not, for me, a satisfying one in the end.

This was a solid Gothic mystery full of atmospheric, gloomy world-building, and an insidious aura of dread as the truths about Caldonbrae are revealed. I also particularly enjoyed the references to Greek and Roman mythology, given the protagonist's position as a Classics teacher.

(Many thanks to Netgalley and Quercus Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.)

Madam by Phoebe Wynne was one of my most anticipated books of 2021. I love campus novels especially when there are unsettling undertones and mysterious elements involved and Madam has both of these things in spades.
It is the story of Rose, a young Classics teacher who has seemingly hit the occupational jackpot by being given the opportunity to work at an elite academy for young girls. However, things are not all that they seem. Pertinent information is kept from Rose as she is initially put on a probationary period. Rose is constantly on the backfoot from the teachers and from the students who know the ways and traditions of Caldonbrae. As Rose discovers the truth she has to come to a decision about the kind of teacher she wishes to be.
Phoebe Wynne has created a deeply unsettling novel. As my suspicions grew and as Iearned more about the academy alongside Rose I felt more and more uncomfortable. When a writer manages to get a visceral response from a reader you know that they have done a great job.
Madam by Phoebe Wynne will be released May 13th 2021.
For more information regarding Phoebe Wynne (@phoebewynne) please visit her Twitter page.
For more information regarding Quercus (@QuercusBoks) please visit www.quercusbooks.co.uk.

This was a really strange book. I loved the premise of a school with its own wayward rules that harbours a secret but something didn't fit rights somehow- the protagonist did little to help herself and the other teachers , even some of the girls were indistinguishable as characters.
I felt it could have been edited better so that the story flowed more slowly at first building to a reveal when we realise what is happening at the school. It was hard to connect the poor treatments of one or two of the girls with the others and that could have been made more clear. It also felt like we dint need the mystery of where the previous techer had gone as there was enough mystery at the school itself and the hold they had over the mothers care. The scene setting was good, I felt the school was very evocative, the sea very present, the classics tuff felt a bit shoe horned in as a way to make girls into feminists instead of what they were being groomed to be?
It had great stuff but as a cohesive whole I felt It needed work from a skilled editor.

This is like a YA novel but for grown ups! Set in a boarding school, and following bee teacher Rose, this is creepy and keep me in suspense throughout.

“As she poured the blood-red liquid into a glass at the bar, she wondered how an establishment that promised to educate ‘girls of the world’ could somehow make its women feel so small.”

CW: Suicide, arson, death by arson, arranged marriage, teacher-student relationship, terminally ill parent

I don’t really know what to make of this book. Even a day after finishing it, I’m still unsure because I just kind of felt nothing towards it. It weirded me out a lot and there was a brief moment where I had the drive to keep picking it up, but I was just picking it up to read because I had to most of the time.
The setting for Madam is an almost cult-like gothic manor house. The main character, the first new teacher in over a decade, feels something is off from the get-go, but doesn’t really have the words to explain why until two thirds of the way through.
I think the setting would have been more effective had the characters been more appealing. Cults are so readable and effective because the people at the head of them are so alluring and they’re nice and they draw you in until it’s difficult to escape - and you’re not sure you do want to leave anyway. I didn’t feel this here. Rose wasn’t a particularly engaging character or narrator, and her relationship with the other staff didn’t exactly make me care either. I mean, I think that’s the point, Rose doesn’t like her coworkers.
The girls, the students, all kind of blurred together and I couldn’t remember who was who enough to really react if anything happened.
I liked how mythology was interspersed into the story, if nothing else because it introduced me to some more mythological feminist figures.
There were questions pasted into the story from the start that don’t really get answered or only get answered in snippets. It gives you a reason to keep reading, to work out what’s going on.
Then, the big reveal comes about two thirds of the way through, and it partly made me really interested (because I wanted to see how it would resolve) and but mostly made me super uncomfortable - which is exactly the cause of my confusion re my review: I was meant to feel uncomfortable with this book and I did, but how much am I uncomfortable about the story and how much did I just not like? But there are two specific scenes that made me feel extra icky, mainly some...sexual stuff between the students and teachers - and one scene wasn’t even that sexual.
I just. Don’t know. I feel like some people may love this, but it wasn’t for me. It clearly gave me a lot to think about and review the book on, but I don’t think I liked it.

For centuries, Caldonbrae Hall, an elite boarding school for girls, situated on the cliffs of remote Scotland, is a vestige of excellence in the ancestral castle of Lord William Hope. In the autumn term of 1992, Rose Christie, a 26-year-old Classics teacher starts her new position at the school. Rose is overwhelmed by the institution's antiquated traditions and attitudes of the of the staff and students. As time passes and Rose settles into her new role, she uncovers the darkness that hides behind the pretence of a school that promises its pupils will emerge 'resilient and ready to serve society'.

Madam is Phoebe Wynne's debut suspenseful dark academia novel that I am now obsessed with. The setting, atmosphere, dialogue and mystery, all coalesce to create a perfect contemporary gothic novel with stunning writing. I was fascinated by the mystery and sinister undertones, it made me feel unsettled all the way through. This book. is without a doubt a page-turner, the horror escalated with ferocious pace that I absolutely devoured.

This book was a dark, atmospheric but I did find it a bit slow to get into. Although I did find it a bit hard to get into I did want to know what Rose had gotten herself into and what had happened to the previous teacher. The book does pick up paces and doesn't continue to feel slow. I feel I can't say too much as I don't want to give anything away and the end does pay off.

At the start of Madam I was really gripped and enjoyed the chilling and disquieting atmosphere that the author created really well. I felt that the comparisons to Margaret Atwood and Daphne du Maurier were justified.

And then the secret mission of the school was revealed and it just became weird and distressing as it began to deal with deeply uncomfortable subjects in often more graphic and provocative ways than I felt were necessary.

I’d say it’s also too long by about 100 pages. Really disappointing as the start held a lot of promise.

I’m grateful to the publishers for my free review copy in return for this honest review.

Chilling, prescient and utterly gripping, Madam is an astonishing debut. Perfect for fans of Margaret Atwood and gothic thriller, Madam takes place in a mysterious traditional boarding school based in an isolated Scottish peninsula, where the locals mutter darkly about the people inside. It also reminded me a little of Bridget Collins' The Betrayals! Very gothic, very twisty and a spectacular ending, I would highly recommend. Thanks to Quercus and NetGalley for the ARC!

Rose is surprised to be offered the role of Head of Classics at Caldonbrae Hall, a prestigious girls’ boarding school. She’s an outsider to their upper-class institution, and at least a decade younger than the rest of the staff. But the perks sound too good to be true, and so off she goes to a remote Scottish coast and the imposing, castle-like school, where she’ll live and work – if she survives the probation period.

Her first impressions are confused, and strange. She puts most of it down to ‘tradition’ – the peculiar, old-fashioned uniforms, the forms of addressing the teachers, the stiff, formal attitudes all around. At least her class is as unwilling to learn ancient Greek and Latin, same as stroppy teens everywhere. But then there are the dark hints dropped about the fate of her predecessor, and the strangest girl who seems to be following her…

I have such mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I wolfed my way through it. It’s very well written and very hard to put down. I did feel the mysteries were relatively easy to guess at, but there was still a compulsion to find out if those guesses were right.

On the negative side, though, I struggled to find the opening scenario as believable as I would have liked. There was just something in Rose’s many doubts about the situation, and the rather too thickly laid on mystery and ‘wrongness’ that she seemed to just be a bit too meek about? Once things progressed then yes, the feeling of trapped-ness was believable, but at the start – maybe it’s just me, I can’t imagine being that lost and baffled about a weird set up and allowing everyone to fob me off without answering the most basic questions.

Still, as I say, it remained highly readable. At the beginning the sense of mystery is that much higher so that it carries you in anyway despite a few bumps in the telling, in my view, and then once I did feel it was a tad on the inevitable then you’re already totally sucked in and need to see the resolution.

Gothic and fulling living up to the ‘Dark Academia’ tag, while not perfect it’s still an ideal choice for a dark and drafty night! I thoroughly look forward to seeing more from the author in future.

Rose Christie has been approached to take up a position as the Head of Classics at the illustrious Caldonbrae Hall boarding school in the Scottish highlands. On arrival things don’t appear to be quite as they seem and Rose struggles with the archaic rituals and the strange behaviour of students and staff alike. As the real purpose of Caldonbrae Hall becomes clearer can Rose do anything to help the girls she has grown closer to?

“Madam” is due to be released by Quercus Books on 18 February. I was given an e-arc via NetGalley to read in exchange for an honest review.

There have been a lot of comparisons for Wynne’s debut novel. Names like Margaret Atwood, Madeline Miller and Daphne DuMaurier have been bandied about. Personally, I don’t like these types of comparisons, particularly for a debut author. I think it places an unnecessary level of expectation on their shoulders and may lead to readers being disappointed if they don’t feel it lives up to the comparison, whereas if they went into the book with no expectations they may have enjoyed it a lot more.

Wynne herself is a Classics Teacher, which is obviously where Rose’s background comes from, however, although Classics fits with a school like Caldonbrae she is previously said to have been teaching in a state school in London and that just doesn’t feel realistic for me for an early 1990s state school.

Due to the nature of the story a lot of the characters are deeply unlikeable. I liked Rose, although she did come across as massively naive, I felt like I figured out what was going on quicker than she did and it was frustrating that she hadn’t caught up. I also liked the trio of fourth year girls, Freddie, Daisy and Nessa, who she becomes closer to and tries to help.

I liked the little excerpts from Ancient Greek history between the chapters. Some of these stories were ones I had heard of and others were new, but as I do have an interest in Ancient Greece and the Gods of legend these little bits were really interesting to me, as were the lessons that Rose was giving. I particularly liked that she focused on taking the women from these stories and almost changing the narrative and getting her students, and us as readers, to think about them in a slightly different way.

The story was gripping enough, I think starting with the flash forward definitely helped as I obviously knew where the story was going to end up and wanted to find out how we got there but I did also find some of the twists quite obvious. I enjoyed Wynne’s writing style on the whole although there were a couple of places where the action seemed to jump suddenly, almost as if there was a paragraph missing. I also felt some of the supporting characters could have done with a little more fleshing out.

It’s honestly a shame, I was really excited going into this one and whilst I didn’t hate it I was a bit disappointed with it. I do think this is a case where, for me, it was overhyped and that spoilt my enjoyment somewhat.

I would recommend that readers go into it with an open mind. I can see where the comparisons have come from; there’s definitely an air of Gilead to the activities at the school, the Classics lessons are obviously reminiscent of Madeline Miller’s work and the old school building setting is clearly inspired by Manderley, but the writing and plot isn’t as strong as those authors’ works. It’s one thing to take inspiration from other authors but I don’t think that should lead to comparisons. Not everyone who includes Ancient Greece in their books needs to be compared to Madeline Miller. There were also some bits that were obviously inspired by “Jane Eyre” as well as Rose at one point out and out referencing the first Mrs Rochester locked in the attic.

In summary, I didn’t hate it but it was definitely overhyped.

I was totally swayed to read this by the 'Rebecca meets The Secret History' tag line/quote. But it really isn't. If you are thinking you are getting something as accomplished, gothic, gripping and all consuming as either of these two books then you will be disappointed. So best not to draw comparisons and read it for what it is.

Rose is newly appointed as head of classics at the remote Scottish boarding school where all is not what it seems. The sinister nature of the school and its long serving staff are on the whole well written. As is the unease of Rose as she struggles to fit in alongside her frustration in uncovering the truth of what the girls are actually being schooled in. But every so often it feels clumsy especially the development which as a reader seemed obvious was laid bare (pun intended) for us in what felt an unnecessary way.

A fun bit of gothic intrigue and escapism.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This was not the Gothic story I was hoping it would be. I found it uncomfortable and difficult to read at times, due to the subject matter which included paedophilia, child abuse, and sexual harassment. The book was set in the 1990’s but felt like it was the 1890’s and the whole thing just felt weird and unbelievable. I didn’t particularly like any of the characters, so I found it difficult to sympathise with them. There was a suffocating sense of dread throughout which I did like, and I enjoyed the setting, but the book ultimately fell flat for me, and I found myself skimming just to get to the end.

Rose Christie at 26 years-old had been offered and taken the position of head of her department in the most prestigious school for young ladies. Caldonbrae Hall is a boarding school in Scotland and noted for its excellence and sort after with wealthy families to give their girls high status in society.


Rose is a dedicated teacher, but things are not what they seem to be in the school. Nothing sits right with the pupils with something lurking under the surface that Rose can’t pin down. The girls have a spitefulness about them that never seems to be brought back into line. The school abides by its own rules of pupils always being right. A very frightening prospect as Rose discovers.

It is a compelling story that I haven’t read anything like before. One that you can see becoming a Netflix top series. The horrors mount while the tragedies escalate. A gripping story that will make the most avid reader has to stop to take a cleansing breath.

I wish to thank Net Galley and the publisher for an e-copy of this book which I have reviewed honestly.

There is one thing that will ALWAYS draw me to reading a book, and that is if it’s in some academic setting. If it’s a boarding school, even better.
There is just something incredibly fascinating about Dark Academia, so when I encounter a book that has elements of that, I’m sold on it.
This book in particular is set in all-girls boarding school, and features mysterious elements. What is it about boarding school books that is so magical? There is something witchy and mystical about throwing a bunch of girls and women in a structured environment, almost as if the chaotic energy women exude could dismantle that order that is always brought by the patriarchy.
Madam is that book: a feminist protagonist gives examples of female courage and strength to her students, teaching them what the great women of the Roman and Greek ancient civilisation have accomplished.
This book incredibly written: the reader can feel what the MC feels, truly feeling the agony and distraught the MC feels when discovering what goes on at the school.
A no-brainer 5 star read, and one of the best books i've read in a while!

I couldn't really get on with this one. The description sounded appealing - a gothic tale in a remote boarding school with a sinister secret - but it fell a bit flat for me. It's supposed to be set in the 1990s but the characters speak as though they're in a Jane Austen novel, and the secret focus of the boarding school (and the willingness of the students to be part of it) is pretty hard to believe. I found it hard to engage with the characters and the story was very slow burning and a little too unbelievable.