The training of our ‘elite‘. The repression of empathy in public school education. Richard Beard, prizewinning author.

Richard Beard describes his experiences at boarding school and considers how the emotionally bleak culture represses empathy. The reward is a pathway to a lucrative career.

Richard Beard’s six novels include Damascus, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, and Acts of the Assassins which was shortlisted for the Goldsmiths Prize. His memoir, The Day That Went Missing, won the 2018 PEN Ackerley Award for literary autobiography. His new book, Sad Little Men, is about his experiences of boarding school from an early age .