The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie is a short book by novelist Muriel Spark, the best known of her works.[1] It first saw publication in The New Yorker magazine and was published as a book by Macmillan in 1961. The character of Miss Jean Brodie brought Spark international fame and brought her into the first rank of contemporary Scottish literature. In 2005, the novel was chosen by Time magazine as one of the one hundred best English-language novels from 1923 to present.[2] In 1998, the Modern Library ranked The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie #76 on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.

The novel has been adapted for stage, film and television. All versions have retained the title The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.

First came the stage play in 1968. The 1969 film starred Maggie Smith, and was essentially a further adaptation of the play. In 1978 a UK TV serial was aired which starred Geraldine McEwan.