Madam

A Novel

By: Phoebe Wynne

Narrated by: Nathalie Buscombe

Length: 13 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's Summary

Phoebe Wynne's Madam is a riveting, modern gothic debut with shades of The Secret History, The Stepford Wives, and a dash of Circe, set at a secretive all girls’ boarding school perched on a craggy Scottish peninsula.

They want our silence...
They want our obedience...
Let them see our fire burn...

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.”

It also doesn’t take long for Rose to suspect that there’s more to the secret circumstances surrounding the abrupt departure of her predecessor - a woman whose ghost lingers everywhere - than anyone is willing to let on. In her search for this mysterious former teacher, Rose instead uncovers the darkness that beats at the heart of Caldonbrae, forcing her to confront the true extent of the school’s nefarious purpose, and her own role in perpetuating it.

A darkly feminist tale pitched against a haunting backdrop, and populated by an electrifying cast of heroines, Madam will keep listeners engrossed until the breathtaking conclusion.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Press

"Imagine if Donna Tartt and Margaret Atwood got together to write a creepy, suspenseful novel about a school for young women in the Scottish Highlands...Brooding and unsettling, Wynne paints a gorgeous picture that only serves to camouflage the dark secrets she's hidden within." (Chandler Baker, New York Times best-selling author of Whisper Network)

©2021 Phoebe Wynne (P)2021 Macmillan Audio

Ridiculous!

Don’t waste a credit on this one. The premise is interesting, but there is no suspense and no surprise. The reader will figure out the purpose of the school long before the supposedly feminist narrator does and wonder, repeatedly, why the idiotic narrator chooses to stay in an untenable situation. It unfathomable that a school built on secrecy and traditional would hire an outsider especially on who believes what Rose believes. Additionally, though the book is set in 1992, it could very well have been set in 1892 for all the “modern” views held by the titular Madam and her bra burning mother. Even the mythology woven throughout only made the story more muddied. I will NOT be reading anything else by this author and wish I could have my credit and my time back.

The Protagonist!

I wanted to like this! In beginning enjoyed listening at easy 1.10x speed. But became annoyed by protagonist (Rose) and wanting to finish it, so I sped up to 1.90x. Rose is suppose to be educated but obviously doesn't have a keen eye and can't fathom how the school really works. When things are revealed I was more shocked at how Rose hadn't come to realization sooner. I caught on quickly and wasn't surprised by any of the shocks/revelations. If you read/listen to prologue you already know the ending. I liked the mythology thrown in and the narration was fine. But the protagonist was so naive, lacking awareness, and stupid that I had a hard time finishing this book.

Heroine can't get out of her own way

overly emotional heroine can't manage the self righteous chip on her shoulder in a mature way, creates her own problems instead of fighting the establishment more smartly. why do women have to be portrayed in such a ridiculous way.

Really a strange story

The book had me at the beginning. I love a good gothic school story. But I just kept thinking, why doesn't she leave? The idea that the school had this almost supernatural reach beyond its walls did not convince me. I finished, but it was a slog towards the end. And the narrator yelled a lot, sort of understandable as she tried to make up for the weak plot.

Stick with it!

It took me a few chapters to get into the rhythm of this book, but once I grasped and understood the tension of the storyline, I found myself fully immersed and engaged with the characters and story. This was one of those books that I had to force myself to push forward through the first few chapters, getting over the hump, if you will, to finally find the stride of the storyline and feeling comfortable and triumphant in completing the book. I'm pleasantly pleased that my determination on completing this long book paid off! I might even listen to it again, in the future!

Awful

I have never wanted to reach into a book and strangle a character before but Rose brought out such murderous feelings in me. Whiney, obtuse, drama queen. This was painful.

An old-style, delightful, classic gothic novel!

Wow! This author is now one of my 2 favorite living authors! Some might say the book is a bit derivative, but don't get caught up in that. It IS a sort of "new take" on a classic novel, but the writer adds to the dialogue, and thoroughly entertains!

Terrible twist

Save yourself- skip this one. The book’s twist is just a perverted fantasy of a sad person. How did this get published…

Slow moving and hard to stick with

I love the premise of this story, as well as the classical themes and dark academia feel. It’s well imagined but I felt overwritten and too drawn out. This effect might be the result of too many scenes being centered around lessons and conversations between Rose, the protagonist, and her students. I’m not sure. The characters of the students were also hard to keep straight. They just weren’t differentiated enough, and there were a lot of characters in general. Using feminist readings of Classical Greek narratives as a story catalyst was really interesting.

A waste of time

I rarely get so frustrated with a book that I would write a negative review, but the plot of Madam is basically filled with unmotivated anxiety. I had to stop listening when it just got too absurd to continue.