British author-journalist Charles Spencer is working on a book about his childhood years at the Maidwell Hall boarding school and the painful lessons he endured.
Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, announced Wednesday that in March it will publish ‘”A Very Private School: A Memoir.” Gallery is calling the book a “clear-eyed, firsthand account of a ”culture of cruelty.” Spencer, younger brother of the late Princess Diana, also will write about his “happy life at home” during that time, according to Gallery.
Charles Spencer, who has previously expressed his unhappiness with boarding school, said in a statement released Wednesday that he had finally reached a point where he could make sense of his experiences and place them within a historical context.
“I’m writing this book before my memories of half a century ago tip over into that chasm of forgetfulness that shadows old age,” he said. “Beyond my own experiences, I wanted to look at what, really, was going on in this strangely secretive place.”
According to its web site, Maidwell is a boarding and day school for boys and girls, ages 4 to 13. A welcome note from Headmaster Anthony Rendall describes it as a “warm, welcoming vibrant prep school set in the beautiful English countryside.”
Spencer, 59, has written such bestsellers as “The White Ship,” “Blenheim” and “To Catch a King.” He currently co-hosts the podcast Rabbit Hole Detectives.