NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� 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 鈥渃lear-eyed, firsthand account of a 鈥漜ulture of cruelty." Spencer, younger brother of the late Princess Diana, also will write about his 鈥渉appy life at home鈥� 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.
鈥淚鈥檓 writing this book before my memories of half a century ago tip over into that chasm of forgetfulness that shadows old age,鈥� he said. "Beyond my own experiences, I wanted to look at what, really, was going on in this strangely secretive place.鈥�
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 鈥渨arm, welcoming vibrant prep school set in the beautiful English countryside.鈥�
Spencer, 59, has written such bestsellers as 鈥淭he White Ship,鈥� 鈥淏lenheim鈥� and 鈥淭o Catch a King." He currently co-hosts the podcast Rabbit Hole Detectives.
The Associated Press
