In the novel, Miss Jean Brodie is a school teacher at Marcia Blaine, a conservative girls' school in 1930s Edinburgh, Scotland. She is a charismatic spinster who appears to be out of place in her surroundings. In 1930, she declares that her has begun and sets out to make sure her class gets the full benefit of her Prime by making sure they are aware of drama, art and fascist beliefs. Out of her class she selects her favourite girls and attempts to mould them into the "." In the novel, these are Sandy, Monica, Jenny, Eunice, Rose, and Mary MacGregor. There is also a tomboy, Joyce Emily, who attempts to force her way into the Brodie set, but she is summarily dismissed by Miss Brodie. Sandy eventually becomes a cloistered nun, Sister Helena; Mary MacGregor is killed in a hotel fire; and Joyce Emily enlists in the Spanish Civil War, where she is killed.