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Sad Little Men

Inside the secretive world that shaped the British political establishment

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Sad Little Men

By: Richard Beard
Narrated by: John Sackville
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Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

The number #1 bestseller about the world that shaped Boris Johnson.

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 reckoning - with one individual's past, but also with a national bad habit.

© Richard Beard 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

 Cultural & Regional Education Parenting & Families Relationships School-Age Children England

Critic Reviews

Read this book
Definitive and brilliantly expressed
Dazzling in its anger and the force of its argument
A sensitive and incisive analysis of the British class system...insanely readable
One of the finest polemics I have ever come across... Sad Little Men has been an eye-opener
A sensitive and incisive analysis of the British class system has no right to be as insanely readable and enjoyable as this book manages to be
Engaging and readable, powerful and cogent. A vivid portrait of the political elite exposed for the vulnerable men/ children they are
If you want to understand the aura of entitlement and untouchability shrouding our governing class, look no further than Beard's witty, unsparingly sharp and deeply moving anatomy of the emotional culture of England's boarding schools
Read this book
Utterly compelling, top proper stuff. I loved it to bits. The energy of it! I really felt for them (all) by the end
All stars
Most relevant
Without self-indulgence, the author describes the exact nature of the pain inflicted upon British society leaders during their boarding school days (in the 1970s and 80s). It’s fascinating. I am not used to feeling sorry for this section of society, but I come away with much empathy for those damaged men and increased alarm over the fact they now form the influential establishment. It is a very engaging book. I applaud the author’s disloyalty to the elitist education system, through his openly talking about the utter inadequacy of the system to train good leaders and the unpleasant emotional and social cost to the boys who go through it.

This book captured me

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