The private poem
An original fiction passage set in the nineteenth century.
Before breakfast, Edith slipped a folded page beneath her governess's grammar book. For five years, she had called Miss Marlow 'Mary' when they were alone, and their chairs always touched during lessons. "It is foolish," Edith said, smiling anxiously, "so it is for you alone." Miss Marlow pressed the page between her palms. "Then alone it shall be."
At dinner, Edith's father quoted the final line of the poem. "Miss Marlow was right to show me," he announced. Edith's spoon struck the edge of her saucer. The small sound seemed astonishingly loud. From the other end of the table, Miss Marlow looked towards her. "I only thought—" she began, but Edith turned to answer her father.
The second chair was waiting beside Miss Marlow's when the next lesson began. Edith carried it to the opposite side of the table. Miss Marlow opened the grammar book, then closed it again. "Edith—"
"Shall we begin, Miss Marlow?" Edith asked. She unfolded a clean sheet of paper and placed it over the poem.
Analyse how the writer uses language and structure to show Edith and Miss Marlow's changing relationship. Support your answer with references to the passage.
456 exam-style questions on Edexcel GCSE English Language 1.3 Content: prose fiction study requirements, covering 1.3.1 Read challenging prose fiction for the unseen 19th-century extract. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.