THE #1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

'Shocking and moving' Guardian

'A tour-de-force' Washington Post

At eight years of age, Charles Spencer was sent away to one of England’s most exclusive boarding schools.

In this courageous and beautifully written memoir, Spencer offers a clear-eyed, first-hand account of the strange secrets of the school, and the culture of cruelty and abuse he witnessed and experienced in his five years there as a pupil.

Drawing on the memories of many of his schoolboy contemporaries, as well as his own letters and diaries from the time, the book is his attempt to come to terms with the deep emotional scars inflicted upon him. Spencer reflects on the misery, hopelessness and abandonment he felt aged eight, viscerally describing the intense pain of homesickness, the vicious brutality of a boys’ school in the 1970s and the appalling inescapability of it all.

The book cracks the code of the unpoliced regime that ran the place and provides important insights into an antiquated boarding school system. He gives vivid portraits of the teachers and other staff placed in loco parentis, their casual cruelties and toxic obsessions. All these years later, Spencer’s bafflement at their motivations to inflict such cruelty on young children is palpable. As is his fury that, even if somehow he had spoken up, he’d never have been believed.

Charles Spencer's book 'A Very Private School' was a Sunday Times bestseller w/c 11-03-2024.

As the Sunday Times bestselling author, Charles Spencer delves into the personal and social aspects of his education, providing a raw and unfiltered autobiography. His memoirs offer a unique perspective on the developmental stages of his life, set against the backdrop of 20th century Britain.

For fans of Jessie Childs (The Siege of Loyalty House), Alison Weir (Queens of the Conquest), Kathryn Warner (Edward II's Nieces, The Clare Sisters), and Andrew Roberts (The Double Act).

HarperCollins 2024