Mary Kenny: ‘Sadists and perverts’ – stories of abuse litter the dark history of boarding schools

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Mary Kenny: ‘Sadists and perverts’ – stories of abuse litter the dark history of boarding schools

We have grown sadly familiar with accounts of child abuse and paedophilia, such as Tomás Hardiman’s memories of abuse by Irish Christian Brothers in The Days of Trees, now in the cinema. In Britain, Charles Spencer’s personal story of sexual and physical abuse at his posh Northamptonshire prep school is a bestseller – only partly because he is Princess Diana’s brother.