Friday Headlines
the weekly newsletter from EHS
GSA Book Club Unite to Discuss The Bell Jar
21 March 2025
Some of our A-Level English Literature students met for the second GSA book club of the year, with fellow students from GSA girls’ school, Tudor Hall, via a live Zoom call. They discussed their ideas about Sylvia Plath’s ‘The Bell Jar’ which they had read over the past few months.
EHS’ Year 12 English Literature scholar, Millie Hardiman, said: “‘The Bell Jar was an informative read that demonstrated the societal expectations for women in the 1950s. Through the character of Esther, we gained an insight into the writer's life and her experiences as a woman in that period.”
The girls’ challenge now is to decide on which book they would like to read and discuss in their next GSA Zoom meeting. Some members of staff from EHS and other schools involved have suggested the following, although the girls will no doubt have their own ideas:
The Power - Naomi Alderman
The Reluctant Fundamentalist - Mohsin Hamid
The Bluest Eye - Toni Morrison
The Island of Missing Trees - Elif Shafak
10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World - Elif Shafak
Hamnet - Maggie O'Farrell
The Marriage Portrait - Maggie O'Farrell
The Handmaid's Tale – Margaret Atwood
Rebecca - Daphne du Maurier
To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
The Color Purple – Alice Walker
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie – Muriel Spark
