Join Amazon Prime and get unlimited Free One-Day Delivery. Already a member? Sign in.

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
More Buying Choices
23 used & new from £7.52
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Private Privilege
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

Private Privilege (Hardcover)

by Simon Astaire (Author)
4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
RRP: £15.00
Price: £10.50 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £4.50 (30%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Want guaranteed delivery by Tuesday, July 14? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
19 new from £7.52 4 used from £7.95

Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this book with The Road Home by Rose Tremain

Private Privilege + The Road Home
Price For Both: £13.70

Show availability and shipping details

  • This item: Private Privilege by Simon Astaire

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

  • The Road Home by Rose Tremain

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    Eligible for FREE UK delivery on orders over £5 with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Road Home

The Road Home

by Rose Tremain
3.9 out of 5 stars (74)  £3.20
Past Imperfect

Past Imperfect

by Julian Fellowes
4.1 out of 5 stars (22)  £3.86
The White Tiger

The White Tiger

by Aravind Adiga
3.7 out of 5 stars (104)  £3.84
Outliers: The Story of Success

Outliers: The Story of Success

by Malcolm Gladwell
4.0 out of 5 stars (57)  £12.99
The Old Boys' Network: John Rae's Diaries 1970-1986

The Old Boys' Network: John Rae's Diaries 1970-1986

by John Rae
2.8 out of 5 stars (13)  £9.89
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Hardcover: 250 pages
  • Publisher: Quartet Books (30 Oct 2008)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 070437143X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0704371439
  • Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 14.4 x 3.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 94,199 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

Review
Though I have read little new fiction in 2008, I greatly enjoyed the debut novel by public relations guru (and old friend) Simon Astaire, Private Privilege (Quartet Books, £15), which supplies a thinly disguised picture of his unhappy schooldays at Harrow. If nothing else, it sets one wondering why parents waste the money . . .
By Chris Gray
--The Oxford Times, December 3, 2008

Product Description
England in the mid 1970s and young Samuel Alexander is reluctantly starting at his father's old public school, one of the finest in the whole of England.

Everything on the surface is as it has long been in this harsh and lonely but supremely privileged environment.

As they have done for generations, new boys have to serve their Seniors as part of the belittling `fag' system. All the boys wear morning suit with tails on Sundays to the school chapel and a black tie with their uniform during the week to mourn the death of Queen Victoria's long-dead husband. They are shepherded by elite Prefects in fancy waistcoats along chilly school corridors to their Latin, Maths and History lessons with old-fashioned Masters.

But the certainty of a closed world that Sam's father once sang of in the old school anthem is crumbling away. There are new seismic forces at work such as drugs and football hooliganism and these are no longer confined to the external world.

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
Check the boxes next to the tags you consider relevant or enter your own tags in the field below
(1)
(1)
See all 4 tags...

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Private Privilege
90% buy the item featured on this page:
Private Privilege 4.7 out of 5 stars (3)
£10.50
And You Are...?
10% buy
And You Are...?
£8.00
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

3 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.7 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A haunting and authentic tale of public school life, 28 Dec 2008
By Mr. A. Davidson "Alexander Davidson" (London, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This autobiographical novel about public school life conveys the nuances of the experience, from its unthinking authoritarianism and rigid hierarchies and bullying to its moments of relief , and the impact of the institution on the less privileged. This is an entertaining, sometimes painful book that lingered in my mind long after I had read it. It has a modern feel to it, and there is a feeling of pointlessness as well as beauty about the school and growing up experience described. This was not just a compelling story but it was the public school system on trial - raising more questions than answers, a certain love as well as hate and, above all, a sense of tradition that the influx of the modern world couldn't quite eliminate. This was a book I couldn't easily put down, and, unusually for me, I found myself dipping into to reread. This book belongs in the classic tradition of public school stories, from Frank Richards to Alec Waugh and Simon Raven, but it takes up the baton now, in 2008-9. Read it and love it.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Sam Burcher takes a look at Private Privilege, 2 Feb 2009
By Ms. S. Burcher "Sam Burcher" (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
In his debut novel Private Privilege, old-Harrovian Simon Astaire's alma mater is thinly veiled as Montgomery House. It is through this medium that I find myself vicariously returning to a world of Sunday exeats, black tails and boaters, and bumpy rides on the Metropolitan line to Middlesex on London's outermost margins for Speech Day. I can never be sure what happened to my brother Julian during his time at Harrow, which was concurrent with the story told here because he seldom talks about it. However, Astaire's peripatetic take has undoubtedly demystified some of my private perceptions of public school education.

The books central character Samuel Alexander, note the initials match the authors', is sent away from home at 13 to begin a life at Montgomery. From day one he is greeted with an oppressive regime of fagging, toshing, and bullying by older boys as the norm. It's not surprising that this shockingly loveless environment brings out the worst in the parentless, peer patrolled community. Calculated acts of rebellion such as graffiti, theft, truancy, and drug taking intensify to arson and even suicide, all of which are hushed up by the school. Tellingly, this sort of behaviour is characteristic of any socially deprived group. Even if Astaire has used poetic license to exaggerate the frequency of the rage against the machine, the real tragedy here is its reliance on one final and punitive model for coping with troubled children. Those caught in acts of sabotage are subject to instant expulsion, and ultimately seen as pariahs that have cast an irredeemable stain on the good name of their family and the school.

Simon Astaire weighs these matters of the heart without flinching and lets the scales rest where they might. And, to his credit, he somehow whips the light-hearted, intimate and challenging moments of a teenager's life into a delightful soufflé that doesn't disappoint. At a deeper level the dense dry shadows express the palpable fear in kinetic emotions charged by a process of remembering and letting go. This is a book that breathes with you.

The assumption of some musical knowledge is a given and the author is not afraid to give the reader just the title and the artist of his heroes' songs of innocence and experience. It allows the reader to assign their own interpretation of words, rhythms, nuances and meanings to the moment. This is a welcome change from authors who irritatingly rework entire verses of well known songs for fear of breaking copyright laws. Or those who in the spirit of J R R Tolkein unravel seemingly endless verses to unknown tunes that at once destroy the aural landscape that a song intends to create.

Another uplifting aspect of this interactive read is its simplicity. It doesn't try to mislead you with an unassailable vocabulary that has the more average intellectuals amongst us reaching for our dictionaries or simply missing out on the full significance of the words. It wasn't until page 191 until I felt the urge to have a quick search on the internet to clarify the meaning of the word "Stygian." As it turned out it was nothing to do with Rod Steiger, famous for his role as the racist policeman in "In The Heat of the Night", although dark themes of bigotry and violence in relation to class are prevalent here.

There is no doubt that Astaire's up front, but finely drawn style will find its way onto the silver screen. It's just a question of "when", not "if." Funnily enough he gives Lindsay Anderson's powerful film "If" a respectful nod, from which forms yet another surreal image of the shape shifting and shamanic psyche of a schoolboy torn away from his roots and situated in a conditional culture where loneliness and abandonment, and fortunately Matron are the only succour. The task of raising public consciousness about the sticky subject of adolescent boys from an insiders' view of an `establishment' institution is a tricky one, but Astaire manages it by using a literary camera obscura, which allows him to ask questions that go beyond mere survival.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
6 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Private Privilege by Simon Astaire, 29 Oct 2008
By Phoebe Cole "Phoebe" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
An absolutely wonderful book. You can't help but fall in love with young Samuel! His story takes you on a privileged journey through the first days at public school and its outdated traditions, an innocent and pure young love, a trip to the decadent days of Studio 54 New York, familial disappointment and dysfunction, and a final triumphant act of rebellion. Through it all, Samuel's charmingly mischievousness nature masks the loneliness of the world in which he lives. You will be stunned by the honesty and sensitivity of the author's voice as he subtly reveals the vulnerability of his character in this truly special insight into a boy's hopes and fears as he comes of age.

If you have ever felt like an outsider in life, this story will touch you deeply. You will laugh and cry through Samuel's adventures and not want to put this book down!
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Feedback

The Body Shop

The Body Shop - Vitamin C Skin Boost
Protect and boost your glow with The Body Shop Vitamin C Skin Boost.

›Shop The Body Shop

  

Make A Wish

Get what you want with an Amazon.co.uk Wish List Make sure you always get what you want with an Amazon.co.uk Wish List.

›More info on Wish Lists

  

A Close Shave

Philips Nivea Coolskin HS8060 Moisturizing Rotary Shaving System
For all types of hair removal, stay smooth with Amazon.co.uk.

›Discover Shaving & Hair Removal

  

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

›Learn more about Gift Certificates

  
Ad

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.
Continue Shopping: Top Sellers
The Girl Who Played with Fire
The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
4.5 out of 5 stars (75)£3.86
 Breaking Dawn (Twilight Saga)
Breaking Dawn (Twilight Saga) by Stephenie Meyer
4.1 out of 5 stars (464)£6.49
 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
4.1 out of 5 stars (165)£3.99
 The Host
The Host by Stephenie Meyer
4.2 out of 5 stars (81)£3.86

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates