num_pages: 278
description: 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 reckoningwith one individual's past but also with a national bad habit.
language: English
title: Sad Little Men: Private Schools and the Ruin of England
publisher: Harvill Secker