Nell's Experiences at School Summary

The Academy was named after three "Graces" which are represented by Miss Ramanujan, Mrs. Matheson, and Miss Stricken. These women and their assistants teach classes in curriculum that corresponded to boom, brilliance, and joy, respectively. Out of these three teachers, Miss Stricken is the most problematic to the children. Her classes teach discipline and order, which does not seem to be related to joy at all. In fact, Miss Stricken teaches discipline with an excessive zeal. Miss Stricken eventually assigned Fiona, Elizabeth, and Nell to a supplementary curriculum that extends their class hours all through the day on Saturdays, effectively occupying the only day that the girls had for themselves. On Saturdays, the girls are now forced to sit in class side by side and silently copy page after page of old historical archive documents.

After a...