THE #1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

A Times, Spectator and Waterstones Book of the Year

'Shocking and moving' Guardian

'Top marks for its searing frankness, framed in wistfully beautiful prose’ The Times

At eight years of age, Charles Spencer was sent away to one of England's most England's most exclusive boarding schools. Here he reveals the strange secrets of the school, and the culture of cruelty and abuse he experienced in his five years there as pupil.

Spencer reflects on the misery, hopelessness and abandonment he felt aged eight, viscerally describing the intense pain of homesickness and the vicious brutality of a boys' school in the 1970s. All these years later, Spencer's bafflement at the teachers' motivations to inflict such cruelty on young children in 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.

In A Very Private School, Charles Spencer delves into the social and educational history of Britain, shedding light on the developmental psychology of children subjected to such environments. His personal memoirs, a Sunday Times bestseller, offer a raw and unfiltered look into the 20th century education system, making it a must-read for those interested in European history and studies.

For fans of Robert Jobson (Diana), Leanda De Lisle (The Sisters Who Would Be Queen), Tom Holland (The Rest is History), Jessie Childs (Henry VIII's Last Victim), and Kathryn Warner (Edward II's Nieces, The Clare Sisters).

HarperCollins 2024

A Very Private School: The #1 Sunday Times Bestselling Memoir

A Very Private School: The #1 Sunday Times Bestselling Memoir