The Headmaster's Papers

by Richard A. Hawley

As the headmaster, John Greeve's 30 years of life at The Wells School have been rich, challenging, and full of meaning, but now his precisely ordered world is crumbling. The values he so passionately believes in are being threatened by forces he cannot accept, putting him at a crossroads to fight for the decency of his school, the survival of his family, and, ultimately, his very life. This new edition includes a foreword by the author and an afterword in which he presents and comments on some of the nearly 1,000 letters he has received since the original publication of this classic novel.

Genres: Fiction

240 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2002

Reviews

[Julie Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Terrific story set in a New England boarding school 40 years ago, but very relevant to today … energy awareness, adolescent drug use, aggressive sport parents. Clever format … all letters from main protagonist to a variety of personal and professional constituents.

[Raina Warner♥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

spiciest and steamiest romance book I have ever EVER read.

The main character the headmasters romance with his wife

ONE BED TROPE

honestly everyone should read it is a little rated r so i say anyone over 18

[Ensiform · Rating 4 out of 5]

An epistolary novel, these letters and memoranda sent by John Greeve, headmaster at Wells, a small private boys’ school in Connecticut, show how the orderly, school- and family-rich life of his past 30 years begin to disintegrate around him one awful year. Taking the news of his beloved wife’s fatal cancer with stoicism and realism, he is further rocked by the unnerving (though not wholly unexpected) disappearance and almost certain death of his wastrel son in Turkey, coinciding with several small-scale scandals at Wells. Setting impossibly high standards of rectitude for himself and others, with no small streak of the curmudgeonly conservative, he is politely appalled at what he sees as a decline to decadence all around him, evidenced by everything from the choice of music at a school function to LSD sales on school grounds. Greeve continues to fight for his school and his way of life, but it’s a losing battle.

Of course, one interesting aspect of epistolary novels is that we never see outside the mind of the man, so it’s hard to say how much is actually crumbling around him and how much is his frail psyche buckling under the strain. Either way, Greeve, curmudgeon though he is, sneering at the untidy hair of the youth and clucking at the ignorance of the Me and Now generations, is a highly sympathetic character. It’s a moving and deeply thought-provoking novel.

[Stephen Davenport · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read it twice. Outstanding work by an author who knows what he writes about. Richard Hawley is a seasoned professional educator- unlike too many authors who choose prep schools for their setting.
I've been a school head too, and so I can vouch for the authenticity of this wonderful book.

[Ashley Cobb · Rating 4 out of 5]

It takes a while to get the rhythm of the book and figure out the characters but as a teacher in a private school, there was much here that resonates with me. Good character development. Well worth my time reading it and would highly recommend it to those in education or those with a passion for excellence in education.

[Thomas E · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hated it and loved it. It makes you think of where one’s security and stability comes from. Who are we when everything we count on fails? A very thought provoking and heartbreaking tale.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quiet epistolary novel about a Head of School who simply hasn't kept up with the times or with how the school has changed over the 30 years he's been Head. Over the years I've met faculty and administrators who are, to one degree or another, like Greeve (and seriously, that name? hmmmm....), so many parts rang very true to me.

[Keith Madsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the telling of the story of a headmaster of a boy's school in New England, entirely through his letters and papers. I'm afraid I am not a fan of the format, at least of how it was executed by the author. There was a singular lack of dramatic tension, and I had a difficult time motivating myself to keep reading. Basically, it was a written portrait of a character. The character of the headmaster is basically likable. I might even say that I might have liked being in his school when I was in high school. However, the theme of the book was basically, "Wasn't education so much better in the good old days when youth were taught good old fashioned values?" There is certainly truth in that. However, it is not enough of a theme to sustain a novel.

[Bari · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to read this for school, and I wasn't sure what to expect. It certainly touched on life at school -I was saddened by the troubles of the headmaster and frustrated by the lack of support demonstrated through the letters. See, it felt like a real headmaster, real problems, real school! The format of the letters was really successful in conveying not only the voice of the headmaster but also the plot of the book. One warning -the introduction in my version by John Irving gave away a big part of the ending.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful, intense and ultimately sad, Hawley will touch the nerves of anyone who attended or taught in boarding schools. He not only know the "world of our own," but describes it with elegance and simplicity. If he breaks your heart, it is because you know he is telling a fundamental truth that we all bear hidden in the back of our psyches. Few books have touched me so deeply.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful but impossibly sad

Never a fan of epistolary novels, I was nevertheless entranced by Hawley's accomplishment. Like many of the author's reader-correspondents, I found myself bemused by the novel's conclusion, but utterly transported by the elegance, grace, humor, and virtue of the writing.

[Thom · Rating 4 out of 5]

For someone with familiarity with the independent school world, quite engrossing. I cannot say if others would find it as interesting, but I expect they might. A head of school wrestles with several conflicts, some deeply personal, some professional, and tries to make sense of how to maintain a set of virtues in the face of radical changes in all these fronts all at once.

[CD]

God. It's depressing. The inner workings of a headmaster's brain. His wife dies, the school falls apart. Damn.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this 27 years ago and it still haunts me. Written in letters, it is the story of a headmaster, his dying wife and his missing son. One of my all-time favorite books.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting approach to telling the story

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quiet, perfect little book. Heartbreakingly beautiful.