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. Nat found plenty to amuse him while he waited, and stared about him curiously, enjoying the view, yet glad to do so unobserved in the dusky recess by the door. Little Men (published 1871) is considered the second book of the Little Women trilogy written by Louisa May Alcott. (The book Good Wives (1869) was originally the sequel to the novel Little Women (1868), however those two novels are now usually published as a single volume.) The final book of the trilogy is Jo's Boys (1886). This is a careful examination of everything else it does for those children: the privilege and the leg up, but also the class entitlement, the mummifying of one's ability to feel empathy for others who are suffering, the permanent inability to form intimate relationships, and yes, the racism and the sexism.

Despite not entering the school until the 1970s, little had altered since pre-WWII. A gung-ho attitude, an unshakable belief in the importance of the self, and a love for the Britannia that ruled the waves remained. Physical activities and their study also focused upon the war and the boys remained almost entirely unaware of current events or the contemporary world around them. Look out for Little Women—now a major motion picture starring Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Timothée Chalamet, and Meryl Streep! The subtitle for this is ‘Private Schools and the Ruin of England’. I would argue that you don’t need much more of a summary of what to expect than that. However, a brief (and hopefully fair) description of this book would be that writer Richard Beard examines his own experience of time in an all boys “elite” Private Boarding School as the foundation for research into the correlation between that experience and the behaviour of some recent British Prime Ministers. If in hindsight our education seems unbelievable, the consequences are increasingly apparent. Fragile, entitled, in good times and bad we revert to what we learned as boys. But what was that, exactly?" Oh, that’s Stuffy Cole. His name is George, but we call him Stuffy ’cause he eats so much. The little fellow next Father Bhaer is his boy Rob, and then there’s big Franz his nephew; he teaches some, and kind of sees to us.”At his call, the boy reading on the stairs looked up with a pair of big brown eyes, and after an instant’s pause, as if a little shy, he put the book under his arm, and came soberly down to greet the new-comer, who found something very attractive in the pleasant face of this slender, mild-eyed boy. Can you?” and Tommy stared over the rim of his mug with round eyes, full of interest. “Mr. Bhaer’s got an old fiddle, and he’ll let you play on it if you want to.”

They chose a song he knew; and after one or two false starts they got going, and violin, flute, and piano led a chorus of boyish voices that made the old roof ring again. It was too much for Nat, more feeble than he knew; and as the final shout died away, his face began to work, he dropped the fiddle, and turning to the wall, sobbed like a little child. The subtitle of this book lets the reader know what to expect. The author wrote this during the pandemic & in the time he was writing it he spent a lot of time walking through the school he attended. The notion of sending a child away from the ages of seven to eighteen (one of the most impressionable time of a person's life) is an extremely strange one to many cultures. The ones Richard Beard is mostly concerned with are the ones where names need to be put down at birth, the schools which are considered to the best. The likes of David Cameron & Boris Johnson are the products of these institutions and this book explains an awful lot! This was a very interesting perspective & very topical. It is an excellent look at the other side for people like me and explains a lot about the way our “leaders” see things, and see us. There are some interesting bits on debate nights around election times when private schools would hold fake hustings – they could never rustle up Labour candidates but they often had a novelty Socialist Workers candidate who would draw the short straw and be the figure of fun for the evening including being egged whenever they spoke – this in full view of, and with the blessing of teachers; as was the plethora of candidates for more “fringe” parties such as the National Front or the British Union of Fascists for which would-be leaders were always plentiful. It did seem at times as if the aforesaid roof was in danger of flying off; but it never did, for a word from Father Bhaer could at any time produce a lull, and the lads had learned that liberty must not be abused. So, in spite of many dark predictions, the school flourished, and manners and morals were insinuated, without the pupils exactly knowing how it was done.Author, Richard Beard, takes you on a trip down memory lane to find out. He shared the same boarding school education as twenty-eight of the last thirty-two UK Prime Ministers and uses these shared experiences to allow the reader a better understanding for how the men they became were shaped from the boys they once were. Alcott, Louisa May (1868). Little Women (1953 ed.). Melbourne; London; Baltimore: Penguin Books. ISBN 9781984898852. Published in 1871, Little Men was received with delight by the many who cherished the coming-of-age tale Little Women, and proved a worthy sequel. Wisdom, courage and love is at the heart of Louisa May Alcott’s writing, which continues to inspire and give solace to readers around the world today. PLEASE, SIR, IS THIS PLUMFIELD?” asked a ragged boy of the man who opened the great gate at which the omnibus left him. These first steps toward a cure were hardly completed, when a great bell rang, and a loud tramping through the hall announced supper. Bashful Nat quaked at the thought of meeting many strange boys, but Mrs. Bhaer held out her hand to him, and Rob said, patronizingly, “Don’t be ’fraid; I’ll take care of you.”

No; I think Greenland, where the icebergs and seals are, is more interesting. But I’m fond of Plumfield, and it is a very nice place to be in,” returned Demi, who was interested just now in a book on Greenland. He was about to offer to show Nat the pictures and explain them, when the servant returned, saying, with a nod toward the parlor-door,— Cheever, Susan (2011). Louisa May Alcott: A Personal Biography. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1416569923. In 1993, an animated television series based on this novel ran in Japan, Little Women II: Jo's Boys, which has been dubbed into several different languages, though not English. A Canadian television series, Little Men, aired in 1998 to 1999 for two seasons. The plot is somewhat altered and acts more as a continuation of the novel. [ citation needed] See also [ edit ] The story begins with the arrival of Nathaniel Blake, a shy young orphan who used to earn a living playing the violin. We are introduced to the majority of the characters through his eyes. There are ten boys at the school already; Nat, and later his friend Daniel Kean joins them, and soon after Nan Harding arrives as companion for Daisy Brooke, the only girl. Jo's sons Rob and Teddy are younger than the others and are not counted among the pupils, nor are the two girls, Daisy and Nan.

CHAPTER I. NAT

So why was this harsh upbringing so revered? Beard explains that the "most convincing reason to go to a private school remains to have gone to a private school, with the prizes that are statistically likely to follow. Want to be a senior judge? Sixty-five per cent of them had the same education that helped form almost half the country's newspaper columnists and two out of the last three prime ministers." With incredibly beautiful, descriptive writing, Alcott tells the endearing story of Plumfield, a home and school for boys, where Mr. and Mrs. Bhaer provide their boys with a very different type of education and a lot of love. Powerful messages in this book include devotion to family, self-control, patience, respect for parents, gentleness, creativity, love of learning, hard work, optimism, proper use of money, and humility. This is a classic that should not be missed.”—Jenny Phillips So absorbed did Nat become in this exciting race, that he ventured farther and farther out of his corner; and when one very lively boy came down so swiftly that he could not stop himself, but fell off the banisters, with a crash that would have broken any head but one rendered nearly as hard as a cannon-ball by eleven years of constant bumping, Nat forgot himself, and ran up to the fallen rider, expecting to find him half-dead. The boy, however, only winked rapidly for a second, then lay calmly looking up at the new face with a surprised “Hullo!” Could I? Oh, I would like it ever so much. You see I used to go round fiddling with my father, and another man, till he died.”

My child, you have got a father and a mother now, and this is home. Don’t think of those sad times any more, but get well and happy; and be sure you shall never suffer again, if we can help it. This place is made for all sorts of boys to have a good time in, and to learn how to help themselves and be useful men, I hope. You shall have as much music as you want, only you must get strong first. Now come up to Nursey and have a bath, and then go to bed, and to-morrow we will lay some nice little plans together.”

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She expected that he would hesitate; but he seized the old fiddle at once, and handled it with such loving care, it was plain to see that music was his passion. Want to know why Boris Johnson or David Cameron, and so many others, remain so out of touch with the majority of British citizens? This book will tell you why. After this pleasantly exciting remark, Tommy returned to his supper, and Nat sank into a blissful reverie over his full plate. In the novel, Alcott “is able to devote her attention to the benefits and risks of science education on an individual basis rather than imagining students in the abstract.” [29] Little Men discusses the gray area in-between where a teacher can “cover the whole ground of human culture—physical, intellectual, moral, spiritual, and practical.” [30]