Notes on a Scandal by Zoë Heller

• Time to Read - NW Libraries' Partnership, England

From the first day that the beguiling Sheba Hart joins the staff of St George's, history teacher Barbara Covett is convinced that she has found a kindred spirit. Barbara's loyalty to her new friend is passionate and unstinting and when Sheba is discovered to be having an illicit affair with one of her young pupils, Barbara quickly elects herself as Sheba's chief defender. But all is not as at first it seems in this dark story and, as Sheba will soon discover, a friend can be just as treacherous as any lover.

Zoë Heller was born in London. She was educated at Oxford University and Columbia University in New York. Her first novel, Everything You Know, was published in 1999. Zoë Heller writes a column for the Daily Telegraph and was Columnist of the Year for 2002. She lives in New York.