When the new teacher first arrives, Barbara immediately senses that this woman will be different from the rest of her staff-room colleagues. But Barbara is not the only one to feel that Sheba is special, and before too long Sheba is involved in an illicit affair with a pupil. Barbara finds the relationship abhorrent, of course, but she is the only adult in whom Sheba can properly confide. So when the liaison is found out and Sheba's life falls apart, Barbara is there...
Discover Zoë Heller's darkly compelling Booker-shortlisted novel which became an Oscar-nominated film starring Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench.
'Brilliant, nasty, gripping' Zadie Smith
From the first day that the beguiling Sheba Hart joins the staff of St George's, history teacher Barbara Covett is convinced she has found a kindred spirit. Barbara's loyalty to her new friend is passionate and unstinting and when Sheba is discovered having an illicit affair with one of her pupils, Barbara quickly elects herself as Sheba's chief defender.
But all is not as it first seems in this dark story and, as Sheba will soon discover, a friend can be just as treacherous as any lover.
'Compelling, dark, sexy' Observer
'Superbly gripping. One of the most compelling books I've read in ages' Daily Telegraph
'Deliciously sinister' Daily Mail
