
A Very Private School
A Memoir
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Narrated by:
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Charles Spencer
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By:
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Charles Spencer
About this listen
INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
“A tour de force.” —The Washington Post
In this poignant memoir, Charles Spencer recounts the trauma of being sent away from home at age eight to attend boarding school.
A Very Private School offers a clear-eyed, first-hand account of a culture of cruelty at the school Charles Spencer attended in his youth and provides important insights into an antiquated boarding system. Drawing on the memories of many of his schoolboy contemporaries, as well as his own letters and diaries from the time, he reflects on the hopelessness and abandonment he felt at aged eight, viscerally describing the intense pain of homesickness and the appalling inescapability of it all. Exploring the long-lasting impact of his experiences, Spencer presents a candid reckoning with his past and a reclamation of his childhood.
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THE Truth, Not “HER Truth”
- By Trump16 on 09-05-22
By: Tom Bower
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Diana
- Her True Story - in Her Own Words
- By: Andrew Morton
- Narrated by: Michael Maloney, Caroline Langrishe
- Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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The sensational biography of Princess Diana, now revised to commemorate the 20th anniversary of her death. When Diana: Her True Story - in Her Own Words was first published in 1992, it forever changed the way the public viewed the British monarchy.
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Wonderful overall with one issue...
- By globewest on 07-02-17
By: Andrew Morton
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You Could Make This Place Beautiful
- A Memoir
- By: Maggie Smith
- Narrated by: Maggie Smith
- Length: 7 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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In her memoir You Could Make This Place Beautiful, poet Maggie Smith explores the disintegration of her marriage and her renewed commitment to herself in lyrical vignettes that shine, hard and clear as jewels. The book begins with one woman’s personal, particular heartbreak, but its circles widen into a reckoning with contemporary womanhood, traditional gender roles, and the power dynamics that persist even in many progressive homes.
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Beautiful, relatable, profound
- By Betty Blue on 04-16-23
By: Maggie Smith
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Kingmaker
- Pamela Harriman's Astonishing Life of Power, Seduction, and Intrigue
- By: Sonia Purnell
- Narrated by: Louise Brealey
- Length: 16 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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When Pamela Churchill Harriman died in 1997, the obituaries that followed were predictably scathing–and many were downright sexist. Written off as a mere courtesan and social climber, her true legacy was overshadowed by a glamorous social life and her infamous erotic adventures. Much of what she did behind the scenes–on both sides of the Atlantic–remained invisible and secret. That is, until now: with a wealth of fresh research, interviews and newly discovered sources, Sonia Purnell unveils for the first time the full, spectacular story of how she left an indelible mark on the world today.
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Pamela reigns! But.....
- By Lucy Johnson on 11-30-24
By: Sonia Purnell
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Ask Not
- The Kennedys and the Women They Destroyed
- By: Maureen Callahan
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
- Length: 11 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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The Kennedy name has long been synonymous with wealth, power, glamor, and—above all else—integrity. But this carefully constructed veneer hides a dark truth: the pattern of Kennedy men physically and psychologically abusing women and girls, leaving a trail of ruin and death in each generation’s wake. Through decades of scandal after scandal—from sexual assaults to reputational slander, suicides to manslaughter—the family and their defenders have kept the Kennedy brand intact.
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Amazing
- By cathy in maryland on 07-29-24
By: Maureen Callahan
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The Friday Afternoon Club
- A Family Memoir
- By: Griffin Dunne
- Narrated by: Griffin Dunne
- Length: 12 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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At nine, Sean Connery saved him from drowning. At thirteen, desperate to hook up with Janis Joplin, he attended his aunt Joan Didion and uncle John Gregory Dunne’s legendary LA launch party for Tom Wolfe’s The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. At sixteen, he got kicked out of boarding school, ending his institutional education for good.
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Griffiths phrasing made it easy to listen and absorb.
- By Nancie Keay on 06-17-24
By: Griffin Dunne
What listeners say about A Very Private School
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- Lisa Zamm
- 03-24-24
Straight forward rational analysis of a systematic crime situation in an English boarding school
The nativity of these young boys were so easy to be taken advantage of. They emerged so different in ways the family could not imagine. The secretiveness of the school and the full reign parent gave to those unworthy guardians. At first I didn’t think I could bear the incidents but Lord Spencer has given an adult perspective back to his readers that helped me understand how they remained secretive and the ways to overcome. Although the content is hard to get through- it was a subject well addressed and the strength it took to overcome the feelings that remained.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Samantha
- 03-26-24
Brave, compelling, compassionate
This has helped me broaden my perspective about British boarding schools and have more compassion for those who have suffered.
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- Amazon Customer
- 09-07-24
wonderful but sad
my ❤️ went out to charles....I wish he had told someone even Diana.... Those poor children
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- Amazon Customer
- 03-27-24
Excellent!
Author did such a great job describing his feelings, the physical setting of boarding school, and each one of the characters that were a part of that time in his life. These stories can never be told to often, people need to understand trauma and abuse. Thank you Sir for sharing your story.
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- Charlie
- 05-13-24
Out of the past comes the future
Great narration! I want to say “great story” but that feels like a trivialization. This is a powerful recounting of a time and place hopefully arrested.
I fear events similar still continue all over this world. There is much to think about here.
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- Gregory Hall
- 11-19-24
Unbelievable cruelty!
The story is a sad one. These boys didn’t stand a chance. I wish Charles could’ve talked with one of the headmasters later in life to ask a simple question…why?
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- Donna Ford
- 03-19-24
Sad and haunting
I was excited to see another book by Charles Spencer as I had read several of his other books and enjoyed his narrative and thorough research into a subject. I listened to this book over a two- day period while doing chores around my house and at times had to stop and catch myself due to the emotion I felt hearing his almost matter-of-fact telling of his and other boys' abuse. This story is shocking, but shouldn't be as we know this sort of thing has gone on for years. My best to Mr. Spencer for his bravery and for relaying it so honestly.
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- Melanie
- 04-06-24
Beautifully written.
I loved his insight. I went to an English " public" school so
It was of particular interest to me.
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- Mara LaBurt
- 07-20-24
How High Society view & handles children at the time.
Liked the sincerity of the
Writer while going through such painful memories. It also shows that titles & wealth not always give happiness.
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- R Davis
- 07-23-24
Brave telling of one horrendous system
Not all authors are proficient at reading the text of their audiobooks. Charles Spencer is an author who provides an excellent audio telling of his autobiographical “A Very English School.” Having listened to several of his previous books, I have always enjoyed his tellings of his offerings on history. However, I have no idea how he managed to get through his reading of “A Very English School.” It must have taken many stops and starts in the process, but I believe no other narrator could do it justice.
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