More Women Than Men

As another term begins at her girls' school, Josephine Napier reasserts her iron grip over her teachers and family. Her air of studied self-sacrifice conceals ruthless manipulation, but with the introduction of a male teacher to her staff and the return of an old rival for her husband's affections, the mask begins to slip. Old deceptions and new rivalries come to the surface, and the starched perfection of her life is threatened. 

BRIEF PLOT SUMMARY

The ambitious Josephine Napier intercepts a letter from Elizabeth Giffard (pregnant and recently widowed) to her fiancé Simon, but she hides it and marries Simon anyway. Meanwhile, her brother Jonathan arranges for them to adopt his illegitimate son Gabriel, secretly installing the boy’s mother Maria Rosetti as a teacher at the girls’ boarding school Josephine and Simon have just opened. 23 years later, the school is a thriving success which Josephine rules with iron politeness.

When Simon dies in a suspicious accident (Elizabeth accidentally-on-purpose lets go of the ladder he is standing on), Josephine carries on with characteristic composure. Elizabeth and her daughter Ruth move in as housekeeper and teacher. Gabriel (now grown up) and Ruth fall in love and wish to marry, but Josephine, fiercely possessive, bitterly opposes the match and dismisses Ruth from the school.

When Ruth falls seriously ill, Josephine nurses her devotedly - until one night, alone with the delirious girl, she opens a window to deliberately exposes her to a fatal draught, killing her. With Ruth dead, Josephine briefly regains Gabriel’s attention but their bond frays, and she grows closer to the charming, idle Felix Bacon (her brother Jonathan’s former lover) while gently pushing Gabriel towards new teacher Helen Keats. Financial and emotional revelations pile up. Josephine learns that Gabriel’s mysterious £200 allowance comes from his biological mother, Maria Rosetti.

She confronts Rosetti and offers her a partnership in the school. The two women form a close, possibly romantic alliance. Felix, obeying his dying father’s command to marry and continue the family line, becomes engaged to Helen Keats. Josephine hosts their wedding. Gabriel finally learns the full truth about his parentage.

Feeling unable to remain under one roof with his adoptive mother Josephine, his biological mother Maria, and his mother-in-law Elizabeth, he moves out with Jonathan and Elizabeth. Josephine - now out of mourning - throws herself back into running the school. She interviews a new drawing master while the mistresses quietly register the latest shifts in power and affection. ​​​