Notes on a Scandal

(Paperback, Main)

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When Sheba Hart the attractive new 42-year-old pottery teacher at St. George's School has an illicit affair with her 15-year-old pupil Steven Connolly, no one really understands why. Barbara Covett, a history teacher at the same school and Sheba's confidant, sets out to painstakingly document the 'scandal' in order to defend her friend. Her aim is to explain Sheba's breakdown in the light of the media circus that has surrounded the accusations of 'indecent assault'. However during her subjective observation of Sheba's story, Barbara unwittingly reveals her own unenviable lifestyle to the reader.


Notes of a Scandal is an amusing and at times disturbing look at infatuation and the nature of obsession. It is a real triumph for Zoe Heller. She successfully manages to merge comedy and pathos to create an intelligent, yet subversive portrayal of the British class system and the censure of the tabloid press.


Heller takes a 'scandal', which in reality is becoming commonplace and examines it from all the angles. The real focus of the novel inevitably falls on the subjectivity of the 'truth' behind the rumours.

Author Bio

Writer (and occasional director and actor) Patrick Marber was born in London in 1964. He was educated at Wadham College, Oxford. He worked as a stand-up comedian for a number of years and then co-wrote and appeared in a variety of comedy shows. Marber's second play, Closer (1997) became an international hit and has been produced in more than a hundred cities in over thirty different languages across the world. In 2004 he adapted his play Closer for the screen. It won and was shortlisted for several awards. In addition to writing and producing his own plays, he has since adapted Patrick McGrath's Asylum and Zoe Heller's Notes on a Scandal for the screen and these are in pre-production. Patrick Marber lives in London.