Miss Fotheringay's Rule

Daphne Fotheringay insists on a free hand when Robert’s over-indulgent father employs her to remedy the deficiencies in the boy’s education. Robert gets his bottom smacked for the first time in his life and before long his buttocks are introduced to the back of his Governess’s hairbrush.
Despite Miss Fotheringay’s efforts, Robert’s progress remains painfully slow. The Governess’s friend, stern, grey-haired Dr Muriel Manners, thinks she is too soft with him and shows her how to spank him more effectively.
Miss Fotheringay acquires an admirer, Mr Randolph Martingale, purveyor of canes. He offers to thrash the boy for her. In an attempt to escape what promises to be a very unpleasant experience, Robert runs away. He falls into the hands of a sadistic German spy, the Countess von Prügelstrafer, and is involved in the theft of State secrets from his father’s safe.
As the only witness to the crime, Robert’s life is in danger. Miss Fotheringay devises a plan to disguise the boy and hide him in a place of safety. His education continues at Dr Manners’ Academy for Young Ladies where the Principal’s cane and the Head Girl’s slipper are in regular use.
This tale is set during a glorious Edwardian summer, when beautiful and intelligent women like Miss Fotheringay are beginning to assert themselves. She makes a marked impact on Robert’s life. But then he meets Virginia Potts Thompson!