Originally published in 1926, this volume charts the achievements of Edward Thring, arguably the most original and striking figure in the schoolmaster world of England in the nineteenth century. Abroad, he was the only English schoolmaster of his generation widely known by name. The principles upon which he relied were that every boy should be taught, and the less able the boy, the more able should be the teacher who was set to deal with him; that no class should exceed twenty-five boys; that each boy should have privacy in the dormitories and that trust between boys and masters was paramount.

These were revolutionary principles in educational terms at the time but they have endured to form the cornerstones of British boarding-schools which are still recognized today.