The History Boys

Alan Bennett’s beloved, best-known play, with a beautiful typographic cover.

The best moments in reading are when you come across something – a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things – that you’d thought special, particular to you. And here it is, set down by someone else, a person you’ve never met, maybe even someone long dead.

As an unruly bunch of bright, funny sixth-form boys pursue sex, sport and a place at university, adolescent anarchy and staffroom rivalry provoke insistent questions about history and education.

The History Boys premiered at the National Theatre, London, 2004, winning Evening Standard, Critics’ Circle, Olivier and South Bank Awards. On Broadway, it received numerous awards, including six Tonys.