This image is the cover for the book Private Matters

Private Matters

Charles Hamilton, esteemed Headmaster of the independent Bartford Academy, finds himself torn between professional fulfilment and a desire to escape private complexities. As the leader of one of Britain’s most prestigious boarding schools, the embattled teacher must perform daily struggles, with a range of suffocating and self-absorbed characters, resulting in growing personal doubt and a worrying reduction in spirit. Private Matters offers a witty and wistful observation of the great British boarding school, its complex tapestry and myriad colourful lives within. As Summer Term ends, Bartford’s once-familiar landscape undergoes complete transformation, revealing an intricate web of relationships, challenging the institution’s longstanding traditions and, possibly, stakeholder perception.

Mairi Fraser

Mairi’s career has taken her from the front line of Fleet Street’s urban jungle to the UK's most rural pastures and assorted pleasures of working from the kitchen table. Along the journey, she has been a picture editor, feature writer, columnist, and after-dinner speaker, when she recanted tales of journalistic experience and endeavour, delivered with a strong dose of humour and a good dollop of self-deprecation. Private Matters is Mairi’s first attempt at putting pen to paper without a news editor bearing down and a deadline approaching.

Austin Macauley Publishers