The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie vs Under the Greenwood Tree or, The Mellstock quire: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: Women teachers, Teachers, British and irish fiction, Fiction

Cover of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie Muriel Spark · 1961 ★★★★☆ 3.7 179 pages · ≈ 3 h 19 m · Moderate Find on Amazon

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Cover of Under the Greenwood Tree or, The Mellstock quire

Under the Greenwood Tree or, The Mellstock quire Thomas Hardy · 1872 ★★★★☆ 3.6 188 pages · ≈ 3 h 29 m · Demanding Find on Amazon

The verdict

Ratings are close: 3.7 vs 3.6 — either is a safe pick by score.
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie is the easier read (Moderate), Under the Greenwood Tree or, The Mellstock quire more demanding (Demanding).

Side by side