THIS REVIEW CONTAINS DETAILS OF SEVERE CHILD ABUSE AND RESULTING LIFE-LONG TRAUMA. READ BOTH THE BOOK AND MY REVIEW WITH CARE.

I've not thought about Charles Spencer since he gave the eulogy at the funeral of his sister, Princess Diana. Occasionally my Instagram feed shows me pictures of his grand home in Northamptonshire, Althorp, where Diana is buried. He's the 9th Earl Spencer now, on his third wife, and the father of seven children.

Born into immense privilege, I assumed that his life was a relatively happy one. I was so incredibly wrong. Sent to boarding school at age eight, his sufferings at the hands of the staff at Maidwell Hall make for excruicating listening. (I listened to the audiobook.) I did not realize that there were such hells in boarding schools. The almost-daily physical abuse, the persistent sexual abuse, and constant bullying from both teachers and peers made this the most upsetting book I've ever read. Forty years on, Mr. Spencer has scars on his buttocks, so cruel and heavy the punishment, and the deep psychological scars he bears have affected his life in every conceivable way.

I don't know what the upper middle class and the peerage of the UK are thinking when they send small boys away from every comfort, every loving face and embrace, every freedom, into boarding schools. Even schools without institutionalised abuse must seem so cold and bleak and unfriendly to little boys who have never before spent a night away from their families, their pets, their bedrooms. I think it's barbaric.

The book is very detailed as pertains to the abuse. I can't fathom a young woman sexually molesting young boys, having plied them first with kindness and lots of candy. The other staff musst have known about all the forms of abuse going on, and not one person spoke up for the boys. It's criminal, it's haunting.

My apologies if there are typos or spelling mishaps in this review. I keep bursting into tearrs, and it's hard to type through watering eyes.

The book is exceptionally well-written, intelligent, descriptive, and it flowed beautifully. It was also read by Earl Spencer, who has a nice voice and good diction. I'm impressed by the bravery of Mr. Spencer, who reveals so much about his life then and now, and the many other Maidwell Hall survivors, who have spoken to the author and allowed their names to be attached to the book.

Be careful reading it. It was informative and interesting and absolute hell. I grant it a full five stars. ( )

This was a raw, emotional account of Charles Spencer's years at Maidwell Hall, a private boarding school for boys in Northamptonshire. I read this book in a day. It's absolutely riveting. It's shocking that things went on as they did. I understand that, since the publication of Lord Spencer's memoir, the school has turned themselves in to the local council. I will follow that story with interest.

A heartbreaking, gut-wrenching story of a young boy's seeming abandonment at a place of horror and terror. Very well-written. ( )