Charles Spencer’s A Very Private School begins with a dedication, “For Buzz”, and a quote from Hilary Mantel: “I am writing in order to take charge of my childhood.” It is not until the end of this ...

When he had lectured at the school before, every child had seemed a model of behavior. That behavior, he concluded, was the result of a chastening caning now & then. So Eric Wildman, who manufactures ...