The Old School: A Study In The Oddities Of The English Public School System
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Good
Markings: No markings
A sharp and irreverent work of social criticism, The Old School: A Study In The Oddities Of The English Public School System dissects the peculiar traditions, rituals, and unspoken codes that define Britain's elite private schools with a wit that is equal parts affectionate and scathing. Simon Raven, himself a product of Charterhouse, writes with the insider authority of a man who survived the system and lived to mock it, chronicling the bizarre hierarchies, fagging customs, and cult of athleticism that shaped generations of the English ruling class. The tone is sardonic yet precise, presenting these institutions not merely as schools but as self-contained societies with their own laws, loyalties, and carefully preserved absurdities. Raven argues that the public school molds character in ways both admirable and deeply troubling, producing men of confidence and conformity in equal measure. Readers with an interest in British social history, class, or the enduring mythology of institutions like Eton and Winchester will find this a bracingly honest and thoroughly entertaining account.
Author: Simon Raven
Format: Hardback
Published: 1986, Hamish Hamilton
Genre: Essays
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Good
Markings: No markings
A sharp and irreverent work of social criticism, The Old School: A Study In The Oddities Of The English Public School System dissects the peculiar traditions, rituals, and unspoken codes that define Britain's elite private schools with a wit that is equal parts affectionate and scathing. Simon Raven, himself a product of Charterhouse, writes with the insider authority of a man who survived the system and lived to mock it, chronicling the bizarre hierarchies, fagging customs, and cult of athleticism that shaped generations of the English ruling class. The tone is sardonic yet precise, presenting these institutions not merely as schools but as self-contained societies with their own laws, loyalties, and carefully preserved absurdities. Raven argues that the public school molds character in ways both admirable and deeply troubling, producing men of confidence and conformity in equal measure. Readers with an interest in British social history, class, or the enduring mythology of institutions like Eton and Winchester will find this a bracingly honest and thoroughly entertaining account.