The Finishing School

Godwin's 1984 novel is about a 14-year-old girl who is infatuated with her 40-something neighbor, the sophisticated Ursula DeVane. Justine Stokes is bored and lonely, having moved to rural New York State with her recently widowed mother. She is instantly smitten with the eccentric Ursula, who encourages the attachment. We know from the beginning of the novel that things do not end well.

I loved this book for the same reason I loved Unfinished Desires (2010). Godwin writes about intelligent women, seeking self-knowledge and wisdom in relation with each other. Even self-consciously feminist novels - and this is not - too often depict women in relation to men or to their children, despite the fact our relationships with other women are a show more key part - maybe the most important part? of our inner lives. Godwin respects the complexities of women's relationships and does not romanticize them. I also admire how Godwin doesn't do our thinking for us and does not cast judgment on the characters she has created. show less

I read this book as a young woman and it really spoke to me. I was always on the look out for new mothers. That sounds like I was shopping around for a new family, but what I was really looking for was a positive female role model. Like most young women of a certain age, I tended to disregard my mother, like the heroine of this book. She found more in common with her aunt and with the neighbor lady. And she was disappointed because what she found was superficial and lacking the meaning that a healthy relationship with an adult woman would have had. It changed her life as it does most of us.

The writing in this book was particularly good. Complex sentences that were highly descriptive, but not to the point of getting dragged down into the show more minutiae. Scenery and inner thoughts are communicated well without getting a play-by-play of each breath the characters take. show less

My history with this book has been, well, oh, maybe tenuous. I bought the book shortly after it came out and had been remaindered. The coming of age aspect was appealing, as were the references to Jane Austen and Ford Maddox Ford in the "blurbs." And then, the author had grown up in the Asheville area, a place to which I had just moved. But it sat on my shelf. I may have cracked it open and given it a start once, but maybe not. Eventually, in one of my book pre-BX purges I gave it away. Then a little over a year ago I saw the copy at our church's used book store; the money goes to support various women's charities. I regreted never giving the book a chance the first time around so I bought it.

And now I have read it. All I can say is it show more is okay. It certainly did not "wow" me. I would recommend to to some friends, ones who will like this particular sort of book, the coming of age/mentor book. It lacks the irony or the wit of Muriel Spark's The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and is a bit of a limp thing with an overwrought suspense element. The big betrayal turns out to be pretty bland. The most sympathetic characters are not as well developed as they might be.

I liked the book, but I did not love it. Would recommend it, but without that urgency with which I have recommended other books. In short, a good, entertaining and intelligently wrought book that just didn't set a fire to my imagination. I can see how others would love it though. Godwin is a fine writer; I think this story just wasn't the story for me. Too many shades of all ready done to death stories from The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie to Hellman's The Children's Hour. I look forward to reading her other books.


In short, just another book, well written, but only moderately engaging. The main feeling was I had been down that street already and had a better time before. show less

My history with this book has been, well, oh, maybe tenuous. I bought the book shortly after it came out and had been remaindered. The coming of age aspect was appealing, as were the references to Jane Austen and Ford Maddox Ford in the "blurbs." And then, the author had grown up in the Asheville area, a place to which I had just moved. But it sat on my shelf. I may have cracked it open and given it a start once, but maybe not. Eventually, in one of my book pre-BX purges I gave it away. Then a little over a year ago I saw the copy at our church's used book store; the money goes to support various women's charities. I regreted never giving the book a chance the first time around so I bought it.

And now I have read it. All I can say is it show more is okay. It certainly did not "wow" me. I would recommend to to some friends, ones who will like this particular sort of book, the coming of age/mentor book. It lacks the irony or the wit of Muriel Spark's The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and is a bit of a limp thing with an overwrought suspense element. The big betrayal turns out to be pretty bland. The most sympathetic characters are not as well developed as they might be.

I liked the book, but I did not love it. Would recommend it, but without that urgency with which I have recommended other books. In short, a good, entertaining and intelligently wrought book that just didn't set a fire to my imagination. I can see how others would love it though. Godwin is a fine writer; I think this story just wasn't the story for me. Too many shades of all ready done to death stories from The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie to Hellman's The Children's Hour. I look forward to reading her other books.


In short, just another book, well written, but only moderately engaging. The main feeling was I had been down that street already and had a better time before. show less

My history with this book has been, well, oh, maybe tenuous. I bought the book shortly after it came out and had been remaindered. The coming of age aspect was appealing, as were the references to Jane Austen and Ford Maddox Ford in the "blurbs." And then, the author had grown up in the Asheville area, a place to which I had just moved. But it sat on my shelf. I may have cracked it open and given it a start once, but maybe not. Eventually, in one of my book pre-BX purges I gave it away. Then a little over a year ago I saw the copy at our church's used book store; the money goes to support various women's charities. I regreted never giving the book a chance the first time around so I bought it.

And now I have read it. All I can say is it show more is okay. It certainly did not "wow" me. I would recommend to to some friends, ones who will like this particular sort of book, the coming of age/mentor book. It lacks the irony or the wit of Muriel Spark's The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and is a bit of a limp thing with an overwrought suspense element. The big betrayal turns out to be pretty bland. The most sympathetic characters are not as well developed as they might be.

I liked the book, but I did not love it. Would recommend it, but without that urgency with which I have recommended other books. In short, a good, entertaining and intelligently wrought book that just didn't set a fire to my imagination. I can see how others would love it though. Godwin is a fine writer; I think this story just wasn't the story for me. Too many shades of all ready done to death stories from The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie to Hellman's The Children's Hour. I look forward to reading her other books.


In short, just another book, well written, but only moderately engaging. The main feeling was I had been down that street already and had a better time before. show less

This is considered literary fiction, but I couldn't appreciate it. Justin (female) moves with her widowed mother to live with relatives in rural upstate New York. There she falls under the spell of their worldly neighbor Ursula and her pianist brother. The whole situation was depressing, and I was anxious to, well, finish (groan).

drove 100 miles to discover
Pg 154 - "memory does not reside in places. Places have their own continuing lives. Memory lives in the brain of the rememberer."

Justin Stokes would never forget the summer she turned fourteen, nor the woman who transformed her bleak adolescent life into a wondrous place of brilliant color. In the little pondside hut also known as the “finishing school,” eccentric, free-spirited Ursula DeVane opened up a world full of magical possibilities for Justin, teaching her valuable lessons of love and loyalty, and encouraging her to change, to learn, to grow. But the lessons of the finishing school have their dark side as well, as Justin learns how deep friendship can be shattered by shocking, unforgivable betrayal.