Many of the plaudits for this book suggest it is “reminiscent of Du Maurier” and therefore, since I have finally read Du Maurier’s work, I thought it only fair to give this book another chance.
“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 readers engrossed
until the breathtaking conclusion.”
Madam is set at Caldonbrae Hall, a boarding school for girls in the Scottish Highlands. The school has hired a new teacher, Rose, to teach the Classics and as she is the first teacher to be hired in a decade, Rose feels honoured and a little humbled that she has been given this rare opportunity. Upon entering the school, Rose realises that she has arrived at somewhere rather peculiar, and perhaps her teaching skills are not the most important thing on the curriculum. There is the feeling that something rather sinister and untoward might be going on.
This sets the tone for what could be an intriguing and
mesmerising book; you wonder what is going on within those gloomy walls…what
secrets are they harbouring? Early into the story you can guess what is going
on, and as assumptions start to be validated, you expect a wicked twist at the
end of the story. There must be some sort of pay off for reading some
unpleasant chapters that are not strictly necessary for this type of novel.
This is the second time I have read this book and my opinions still hold. If I’m honest, I failed even more to get on board with this book second time around. I think it is unworthy of its “Du Maurier” moniker. Du Maurier paints a picture and writes strong characters, in Madam, neither is present. The book starts with Rose journeying to Scotland on the train, but when she arrives at Caldonbrae Hall, which is itself a main character, there is no description of Rose’s living quarters, we are not invited to explore the school with her. She arrives…then she is teaching a lesson. You would probably expect this book to continue to rattle along with its story, but it doesn’t, it becomes inexplicably tedious. Characters appear and disappear at lightning speed, so you don’t really get to know or understand them, which means you don’t really care what happens to them either.
The plot revolves around Rose teaching Greek and Roman
tales to her class. I failed to understand why this was a necessary angle for
the book. Whilst I enjoyed the tales of Antigone, Lucretia and Medea, I don’t
know why they were there, none of her students seemed to learn anything from
the morality of the tales and so this aspect of the book was wasted. This book
could have used any strong women from any era to be role models for the
students. Rose, as the teacher, didn’t seem to garner anything from the tales
either; she started off as a weak character and progressively got worse. Her
role in the book was to remain confused and scared throughout. In fact, it was
only the story of Dido weaved together with the final scenes that made any
structural sense.
The 1990’s era was a lazy way for the writer to establish
that Rose couldn’t easily communicate with the outside world, as there would be
no laptops or mobile devices available. So why specifically the 90’s? I hoped
that we might revisit some of the characters once they had “escaped” the
confines of the school. Would we see whether they had thrived or just survived
after they made it to adulthood? Nope…nothing.
The plot just focused on chapter after chapter of Rose
teaching a lesson, the class arguing with whichever character needed to take
the lead at that moment, followed by Rose’s impending sense of doom, and then
cue…next lesson, and the next moral crusade that fails to deliver.
What also fails to deliver is the obvious racism throughout
the book. Rose’s holier than thou attitude about the lack of diversity in the
school is poorly executed. This is highlighted in the off-hand approach of
mentioning a black family during the school’s Open Day, and highlighting a
group of Asian girls, with almond eyes and long black shiny hair. We know these
are Japanese students because they stereotypically speak in broken English and
their only inclusion in the story is to highlight that they are being groomed
to be prostitutes. The book seems to be inferring that Geisha’s are prostitutes
and the girls would be delighted to enter this line of work as they were
incapable of anything else.
Anybody who has investigated the history of the Geisha
would know that in fact it is an honourable profession, that a woman is taught traditional
Japanese arts such as singing, musical instruments, dancing, flower arranging
etc. They are engaged in entertaining clients and being able to engage in
conversation with them. It is a common misconception that they are high-end prostitutes,
and this blatant racism does nothing for the novel.
It would be easy to say that the Japanese characters are
treated with little respect, but in fact none of the girls are treated with
respect, and perhaps that is why it is hard to engage with any of them, and why
it is hard to feel positive towards this book. All the children in the school
have been abused, however Rose only treats the girls she likes with any sense
of compassion. Those girls she has an instant dislike to; she treats as though
they want the abuse to happen to them. I think that is why I don’t have a high
opinion of the book. I was astounded that Rose’s reaction to a child having her
head shaved was similar to seeing a child being taught how to sexually pleasure
their teacher! What young girl wants to be abused and how can an adult not be
aware of the rights and wrongs of this?
Misogyny is rife at Caldonbrae Hall. Rose’s mother was a
feminist…she burnt her bra in the 70’s so she had to be, and Rose is a teacher
who dares to wear bright red lipstick, so she must be a feminist too. These
tropes do nothing to engage me with the story. The feminist approach is shoe-horned
into the story by these seemingly meaningless points. I would have loved past conversations
between Rose and her mother to be reflected in the tale, let these ideas be
shared with the schoolgirls, build up their characters so they feel empowered
rather than slaves to the men’s ideals.
For me, this book failed to deliver on so many levels which
is a great shame. There was a nugget of an idea which lacked direction, and I
think it required someone to step in and guide the author to focus on what
message she was trying to relay to her readers. There is no sense of hope or redemption
in this book; there is no sense of anything really other than shock value. If I
am going to read a book about child abuse, sexual harassment, gaslighting and grooming,
there needs to be a strong outcome.
The book didn’t take the high road for me, or despite my
scathing remarks the low road; it was a story that bumbled along the middle of
the road with various plot holes I wished I could have avoided!
Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Gothic,
Thriller
Release Date: 18th
February 2021
Publisher: Quercus
Pages: 400
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