Tom Brown's Schooldays, first published in 1857, is a novel by Thomas Hughes, set at a public school, Rugby School for Boys, in the 1830s when Hughes himself had been a student there. 1857 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... A statue of Thomas Hughes at Rugby School For the recipient of the Victoria Cross see Thomas Hughes, VC Thomas Hughes (October 20, 1822 - March 22, 1896) was an English lawyer and author. ... The term public school has two contrary meanings: In England, one of a small number of prestigious historic schools open to the public which normally charge fees and are financed by bodies other than the state, commonly as private charitable trusts; here the word public is used much as in... A view of Rugby School from the rear, including the playing field, where according to legend Rugby football was invented Rugby School, located in the town of Rugby in Warwickshire, is one of the oldest public schools in the United Kingdom and is perhaps the leading co-educational boarding school... Events and Trends Dutch-speaking farmers known as Voortrekkers emigrate northwards from the Cape Colony. ...

The novel was originally published as being 'by an Old Boy of Rugby', and it is immediately apparent that much of it is based on the author's experiences. In fact, Tom Brown is based on the author's brother, George Hughes, and George Arthur is based on Arthur Penrhyn Stanley. Arthur Penrhyn Stanley (December 13, 1815 _ July 18, 1881), was an English churchman, dean of Westminster. ...

Tom Brown was tremendously influential on the genre of British school novels, which began in the 19th century, and is one of the few still in print. Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Language

Much of the language and sentence construction are the very epitome of mid-Victorian obfuscation. It is singularly dense and impenetrable, with complex and interweaving sub-clauses, and is rife with what now appear to be condescending references to 'Gentle readers' etc. The characters sometimes sound like real boys, but sometimes reach heights of eloquence that would do credit to a successful preacher. This, however, went with the territory in much of the writing of the time, and it took writers of the calibre of Dickens and Hardy to break these self-inflicted linguistic shackles, to demonstrate that, as le Corbusier was to later put it, 'Less is more'. In this respect, therefore, it should be considered that Tom Brown's Schooldays is representative and indicative of a much broader style of writing. Charles Dickens used his rich imagination, sense of humour and detailed memories, particularly of his childhood, to enliven his fiction. ... This article is about the British novelist. ... The Villa Savoye near Paris Le Corbusier (October 6, 1887–August 27, 1965) was a Swiss architect famous for what is now called the International style, along with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Walter Gropius, and Theo van Doesburg. ...

Synopsis

Tom Brown is energetic, stubborn, kind-hearted, athletic more than intellectual. He acts according to his feelings and the unwritten rules of the boys around him more than adults' rules.

The early chapters of the novel deal with his childhood at his home (including a nostalgic picture of a village feast). Much of the scene setting in the first chapter is deeply revealing of Victorian England's attitudes on society and class. His unsatisfactory experience at a private school leads to his arrival at Rugby School and his acquaintance with people who lived at the school and in its environs. Queen Victoria (shown here on the morning of her Accession to the Throne, June 20, 1837) gave her name to the historic era. ... Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area  - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 1st UK 49,138,831 377/km² Religion...

On his arrival, the eleven-year-old Tom Brown is looked after by a more experienced classmate, East. Soon after, Tom and East become the targets of a bully named Flashman. The intensity of the bullying increases, and, after refusing to hand over a sweepstake ticket for the favourite in a horse race, Tom is roasted in front of a fire. Tom and East eventually defeat Flashman with the help of a kind (though comical) older boy. In their triumph they become unruly. Harry Paget Flashman is a fictional character originally created by the author Thomas Hughes in his semi-autobiographical work Tom Browns Schooldays, first published in 1857. ... Sweepstakes (called prize draws in Great Britain) promotion where prizes are given away for free. ...

In the second half of the book, Dr. Thomas Arnold (the historical headmaster of the school at the time) gives Tom the care of a new boy named George Arthur, frail, pious, academically brilliant, gauche, and sensitive. A fight that Tom gets into to protect Arthur, and Arthur's nearly dying of fever, are described in loving detail. Tom and Arthur help each other and their friends develop into young gentlemen who say their nightly prayers, don't cheat on homework, and are on the cricket team. Thomas Arnold (June 13, 1795 - June 12, 1842) was a famous schoolmaster, head of Rugby School from 1828 to 1841. ... For more coverage of cricket, go to the Cricket Portal. ...

An epilogue shows Tom's return to Rugby and its chapel when he hears of Dr. Arnold's death.

Themes

A main element of the novel is Rugby with its traditions and with the reforms instituted by Dr. Arnold. Arnold is seldom on stage, but is shown as the perfect teacher and counselor and as managing everything behind the scenes. In particular, he is the one who "chums" Arthur with Tom. This helps them both become men.

The central theme of the novel is the development of boys. The symmetrical way in which Tom and Arthur supply each other's deficiencies shows that Hughes believed in the importance of physical development, boldness, fighting spirit, and sociability (Tom's contribution) as well as Christian morality and idealism (Arthur's).

The novel is essentially didactic, and was not primarily written by its author as an entertainment. As Hughes said: "Several persons, for whose judgement I have the highest respect, while saying very kind things about this book, have added, that the great fault of it is 'too much preaching'; but they hope I shall amend in this matter should I ever write again. Now this I most distinctly decline to do. Why, my whole object in writing at all was to get the chance of preaching! When a man comes to my time of life and has his bread to make, and very little time to spare, is it likely that he will spend almost the whole of his yearly vacation in writing a story just to amuse people? I think not. At any rate, I wouldn't do so myself."

Related Works

Hughes wrote a sequel, Tom Brown at Oxford (1861), which is much less well known. 1861 is a common year starting on Tuesday. ...

Tom Brown's Schooldays was adapted for film in 1916 (British), 1940 (U.S.), and 1951 (British). It has also been adapted for television, as a mini-series by the BBC in 1972 and as a single two-hour programme by ITV in 2005. 1916 is a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar) Events January-February January 1 -The first successful blood transfusion using blood that had been stored and cooled. ... 1940 was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1951 was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... This article is an overview article about the Crown chartered British Broadcasting Corporation formed in 1927. ... 1972 was a leap year that started on a Saturday. ... This article is about the British television network. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The character of Flashman was adopted by the British writer George MacDonald Fraser as the narrator and hero (or anti-hero) of his popular series of "Flashman" historical novels. George MacDonald Fraser (born 1926 in Carlisle, England) is a writer of Scottish descent. ... In literature and film, an anti-hero is a central or supporting character that has some of the personality flaws and ultimate fortune traditionally assigned to villains but nonetheless also have enough heroic qualities or intentions to gain the sympathy of readers or viewers. ... Harry Paget Flashman is a fictional character originally created by the author Thomas Hughes in his semi-autobiographical work Tom Browns Schooldays, first published in 1857. ...

Chris Kent, a British writer of homoerotica, wrote The Real Tom Brown's School Days: An English School Boy Parody (2002). Despite what might be inferred from the title and some reviews, this novel has a contemporary setting, and the characters and events do not closely mirror those of the original Tom Brown.

Setting

The geography described in the book is very different from the present day: see Rugby#History. For example, most of the pools along the river Avon that the boys used for swimming, were obliterated when the BTH factory was built. Rugby might refer to the sport called rugby: Rugby football Rugby league Rugby union Touch Rugby Tag Rugby Wheelchair Rugby Rugby is also the name of several places: Rugby, Warwickshire (England) within the Borough of Rugby Rugby, North Dakota Rugby, Tennessee Rugby, Brooklyn Rugby may also refer to: Rugby School... Avon is the name of many rivers; see River Avon. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...

External links

• Free eBook of Tom Brown's Schooldays (http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/1480) at Project Gutenberg
• Tom Brown's Schooldays (http://www.bibliomania.com/0/0/330/2420/frameset.html) with illustrations, from Bibliomania