‘As part of Slightly Foxed’s handsome series of classic biography, here is a memoir that reads more like a psychological thriller. Richard Cobb was an eminent historian of revolutionary France and a vastly entertaining writer. In A Classical Education, he spins the tale of Edward (surname withheld), his best friend at school. When the book begins, school is years behind them and Edward has arrived in France to stay with Cobb, now a young academic. Edward is fresh from a Dublin asylum where he has spent his youth after murdering his mother with an axe. It soon becomes clear that he is unable to feel guilt for his crime. What follows is an investigation of their friendship, of Edward’s childhood and the catastrophic effects of his relationship with his monstrous parents. Completely compelling and truly stranger than fiction, this is a chilling coming-of-age tale of cruelty and retribution.’ Daunt Books
Slightly Foxed Edition No. 64, A Classical Education by Richard Cobb, was named one of Daunt Books five favourite books of the week, 2 September 2023