Primera infancia

At the beginning of these childhood memoirs, young Lord Berners recalls the first time he became aware of his own existence, an existence as privileged as it is strange, unfolding in a neo-Gothic mansion in the English countryside, within a family obsessed with fox hunting, horseback riding, and the Victorian ideal of masculinity. Berners soon discovers his utter ineptitude for sports, his poor riding skills, and his irrepressible inclination towards music, dolls, and art. His increasingly intolerable eccentricities, pranks, and experiments lead to his being sent to a boarding school intended to "make a man of him." Under the tutelage of Mr. Gambril, whose methods are more reminiscent of a jailer than an educator, Berners must navigate a rigid educational environment, one not without discoveries of all kinds, including emotional ones. The quintessential eccentric English aristocrat, Berners describes his family —his antagonistic grandmothers, his odious cousin Emily— his neighbors, his Swiss governess, and his schoolmates and teachers with sharp wit and a keen eye. His caustic and incisive style gives rise to numerous hilarious moments and absurd situations, while simultaneously illustrating the weight of tradition in the Victorian aristocracy, a burden from which young Berners desperately seeks to escape. A sentimental education that will serve as a lesson for no one.