Editorial Content for A Narrow Door

Joanne Harris is perhaps best known for her novel, CHOCOLAT, which was famously adapted into an Oscar-nominated film. Upon finishing her latest psychological thriller, A NARROW DOOR, I began to wonder which metaphor she was using for the title. The most obvious would be the thin opening that women had into St Oswald’s school, having only been accepted there as students (and, in this case, headmistress in 2006). However, once the final page was turned, I thought of so many more apt comparisons for this narrow opening.

Our narrator, and a seemingly reluctant one at that, is Rebecca Buckfast, the first headmistress of St Oswald’s at barely 40 years of age. Symbolically, this represents a victory for the new guard over the old guard, but they won’t be able to savor it for too long. On September 4, 2006, at the start of another school year, a body is uncovered on the property.

"A NARROW DOOR plays out like a Shakespearean drama at times and is just as clever, with a splash of Showtime’s 'Succession' thrown in for good measure."

Before we reveal the victim’s possible identity, we need to go through some history first. At the start of the school year, Rebecca is defiantly making history at St Oswald’s. There is an old proverb that goes, "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a woman to enter these gates," and she is the living embodiment of how this adage was proven false. She is telling all of this to the man who was her archrival for the power position at the school, Roy Straitley. It seems to be an odd choice, almost like she is speaking to him while in the confessional.

When the report is brought to her office that “remains” were found on school property, there is an instant wave of alarm for what this might mean. Being an old and superstitious bunch, this does not bode well for the new regime at St Oswald’s. The historic part that is constantly being alluded to took place back in 1989 when Rebecca’s family lost her brother, Conrad. His death still hangs over her head all these years later.

When rumors begin to circulate that it might be Conrad’s bones that were disturbed and revealed, the dark meaning that this implies might bring about such a scandal that the school, and specifically the Buckfasts, may not be able to survive.

Joanne Harris has more than a few interesting plot twists up her sleeve. Rebecca has spilled too much blood already to claim the headmistress role and does not plan to give it up without a fight, regardless of the cost. A NARROW DOOR plays out like a Shakespearean drama at times and is just as clever, with a splash of Showtime’s “Succession” thrown in for good measure. It’s a wickedly fun time!