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Sad Little Men

Private Schools and the Ruin of England

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Sad Little Men

By: Richard Beard
Narrated by: John Sackville
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

The number one best seller about the world that shaped Boris Johnson.

In 1975, as a child, Richard Beard was sent away from his home to sleep in a dormitory. So were David Cameron and Boris Johnson.

In those days a private boys' boarding school education was largely the same experience as it had been for generations: a training for the challenges of Empire. He didn't enjoy it. But the first and most important lesson was to not let that show.

Being separated from the people who love you is traumatic. How did that feel at the time, and what sort of adult does it mould?

This is a story about England, and a portrait of a type of boy, trained to lead, who becomes a certain type of man. As clearly as an X-ray, it reveals the make-up of those who seek power - what makes them tick, and why.

Sad Little Men addresses debates about privilege head-on; clearly and unforgettably, it shows the problem with putting a succession of men from boarding schools into positions of influence, including 10 Downing Street. Is this who we want in charge, especially at a time of crisis?

It is a passionate, tender reckoning - with one individual's past, but also with a national bad habit.

©2021 Richard Beard (P)2021 Penguin Audio Cultural & Regional History England

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This book captured me

Without self-indulgence, the author describes the exact nature of the pain inflicted upon British society leaders during their boarding school days (in the 1970s and 80s). It’s fascinating. I am not used to feeling sorry for this section of society, but I come away with much empathy for those damaged men and increased alarm over the fact they now form the influential establishment. It is a very engaging book. I applaud the author’s disloyalty to the elitist education system, through his openly talking about the utter inadequacy of the system to train good leaders and the unpleasant emotional and social cost to the boys who go through it.

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