No knowledge should be withheld from children. Respect the individual peculiarities of the child. Morality to arise from the child's actual experience, never from the authority of adults.

When philosopher Bertrand Russell and his activist wife Dora founded a school in 1927, it was a radical experiment to create 'fearless children': sensitive, gifted citizens, empowered to think and act freely.

But Beacon Hill was no utopia. Bertie struggled to connect with the children. Dora threatened to sue every journalist who speculated about the Russells' relationship. At least the children were happy - though they didn't attend lessons, vetoed the teachers' every decision and attempted to sacrifice a class pet.

Digging deep into the archives, John O'Connell uncovers a tale of high ideals and low standards - oddball teachers, ramshackle buildings and precocious, badly behaved children.