''Tom Brown's School Days'' (sometimes written ''Tom Brown's Schooldays'', also published under the titles ''Tom Brown at Rugby'', ''School Days at Rugby'', and ''Tom Brown's School Days at Rugby'') is an 1857 novel by
Thomas Hughes
Thomas Hughes (20 October 182222 March 1896) was an English lawyer, judge, politician and author. He is most famous for his novel ''Tom Brown's School Days'' (1857), a semi-autobiographical work set at Rugby School, which Hughes had attended. ...
. The story is set in the 1830s at
Rugby School
Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England.
Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...
, an English
public school
Public school may refer to:
* State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government
* Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...
. Hughes attended Rugby School from 1834 to 1842.
The novel was originally published as being "by an Old Boy of Rugby", and much of it is based on the author's experiences. Tom Brown is largely based on the author's brother
George Hughes. George Arthur, another of the book's main characters, is generally believed to be based on
Arthur Penrhyn Stanley (Dean Stanley). The fictional Tom's life also resembles the author's, in that the culminating event of his school career was a cricket match. The novel also features
Dr Thomas Arnold (1795–1842), who was the actual
headmaster
A head master, head instructor, bureaucrat, headmistress, head, chancellor, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the teacher, staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school ...
of Rugby School from 1828 to 1841.
''Tom Brown's School Days'' has been the source for several film and television adaptations. It also influenced the genre of British
school novel
The school story is a fiction genre centring on older pre-adolescent and adolescent school life, at its most popular in the first half of the twentieth century. While examples do exist in other countries, it is most commonly set in English boardi ...
s, which began in the nineteenth century, and led to fictional depictions of schools such as
Mr Chips
''Goodbye, Mr. Chips'' is a novella about the life of a school teacher, Mr. Chipping, written by English writer James Hilton and first published by Hodder & Stoughton in October 1934. It has been adapted into two feature films and two televi ...
's Brookfield, and
St Trinian's
''St Trinian's'' is a British gag cartoon comic strip series, created and drawn by Ronald Searle from 1946 until 1952. The cartoons all centre on a boarding school for girls, where the teachers are sadists and the girls are juvenile delinquents ...
. A sequel, ''
Tom Brown at Oxford
''Tom Brown at Oxford'' is a novel by Thomas Hughes, first published in serial form in Macmillan's Magazine in 1859. It was published in two volumes in book form in 1861. It is a sequel to the better-known ''Tom Brown's School Days''.
T ...
'', was published in 1861.
Synopsis
Tom Brown is energetic, stubborn, kind-hearted and athletic, rather than intellectual. He follows his feelings and the unwritten rules of the boys.
The early chapters of the novel deal with his childhood at his home in the
Vale of White Horse
The Vale of White Horse is a local government district of Oxfordshire in England. It was historically a north-west projection of Berkshire. The area is commonly referred to as the 'Vale of ''the'' White Horse'. It is crossed by the Ridgeway Nat ...
. Much of the scene setting in the first chapter is deeply revealing of
Victorian Britain's attitudes towards society and class, and contains a comparison of so-called
Saxon
The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic
*
*
*
*
peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
and
Norman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norm ...
influences on the country. This part of the book, when young Tom wanders the valleys freely on his pony, serves as a contrast with the hellish experiences in his first years at school.
His first school year is at a local school. His second year starts at a private school, but due to an epidemic of fever in the area, all the school's boys are sent home, and Tom is transferred mid-term to Rugby School.
On his arrival, the eleven-year-old Tom Brown is looked after by a more experienced classmate,
Harry "Scud" East Harry "Scud" East is a fictional character in the book ''Tom Brown's School Days''. He is perhaps the closest friend of Tom Brown. His nickname is Scud because he is so quick on his feet. In the book he is referred to as East.
In the 1940 Hollywood ...
. Tom's
nemesis
In ancient Greek religion, Nemesis, also called Rhamnousia or Rhamnusia ( grc, Ῥαμνουσία, Rhamnousía, the goddess of Rhamnous), was the goddess who personifies retribution, a central concept in the Greek world view.
Etymology
The n ...
at Rugby is the
bully
Bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing or threat, to abuse, aggressively wikt:domination, dominate or intimidate. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception (by the bully or by ot ...
Flashman. The intensity of the bullying increases, and, after refusing to hand over a
sweepstake
A sweepstake is a type of contest where a prize or prizes may be awarded to a winner or winners. Sweepstakes began as a form of lottery that were tied to products sold. In response, the FCC and FTC refined U.S. broadcasting laws (creating the ...
ticket for the favourite in a horse race, Tom is deliberately burned in front of a fire. Tom and East defeat Flashman with the help of Diggs, a kind, comical, older boy. In their triumph they become unruly.
There was also a pretty vicious Six of the Best
caning
Caning is a form of corporal punishment consisting of a number of hits (known as "strokes" or "cuts") with a single Stick-fighting, cane usually made of rattan, generally applied to the offender's bare or clothed buttocks (see spanking) or ha ...
.
In the second half of the book, Dr
Thomas Arnold
Thomas Arnold (13 June 1795 – 12 June 1842) was an English educator and historian. He was an early supporter of the Broad Church Anglican movement. As headmaster of Rugby School from 1828 to 1841, he introduced several reforms that were wide ...
(1795–1842), the historical headmaster of the school at the time, gives Tom the care of George Arthur, a frail, pious, academically brilliant, gauche, and sensitive new boy. A fight that Tom gets into to protect Arthur, and Arthur's nearly dying of fever, are described in detail. Tom and Arthur help each other and the friends develop into young
gentlemen
A gentleman (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man) is any man of good and courteous conduct. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire and above a yeoman; by definition, the ra ...
who say their nightly prayers, do not cheat on homework, and play in a
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
match. An
epilogue
An epilogue or epilog (from Greek ἐπίλογος ''epílogos'', "conclusion" from ἐπί ''epi'', "in addition" and λόγος ''logos'', "word") is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature, usually used to bring closure to the w ...
shows Tom's return to Rugby and its chapel when he hears of Arnold's death.
Main characters
*
Tom Brown, a mid-term newcomer to Rugby School who learns many life lessons there
*
Harry "Scud" East Harry "Scud" East is a fictional character in the book ''Tom Brown's School Days''. He is perhaps the closest friend of Tom Brown. His nickname is Scud because he is so quick on his feet. In the book he is referred to as East.
In the 1940 Hollywood ...
, an older boy who looks after Tom
*
Dr Thomas Arnold (1795–1842), the headmaster of
Rugby School
Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England.
Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...
from 1828 to 1841
*
Flashman, a bully who targets and torments Tom
* Diggs, a jocular older student who helps Tom
* George Arthur, a frail newcomer whom Tom guides as East had guided him
Major themes
A main element of the novel is Rugby School, with its traditions, and the reforms that were instituted there by Dr Arnold (1795–1842), the headmaster of the school from 1828 to 1841. He is portrayed as the perfect teacher and counsellor, and as managing everything behind the scenes. In particular, he is the one who "chums" Arthur with Tom.
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
Didacticism is a philosophy that emphasizes instructional and informative qualities in literature, art, and design. In art, design, architecture, and landscape, didacticism is an emerging conceptual approach that is driven by the urgent need to ...
and was not primarily written as an entertainment. As Hughes said:
:
Impact
Although there were as many as 90 stories set in British boarding schools published between
Sarah Fielding
Sarah Fielding (8 November 1710 – 9 April 1768) was an English author and sister of the novelist Henry Fielding. She wrote ''The Governess, or The Little Female Academy'' (1749), thought to be the first novel in English aimed expressly at chil ...
's ''
The Governess, or The Little Female Academy
''The Governess; or, The Little Female Academy'' (published 1749) by Sarah Fielding is the first full-length novel written for children.As such and in itself it is a significant work of 18th-century children's literature.H. Carpenter and M. Pri ...
'' in 1749 and 1857, ''Tom Brown's School Days'' was responsible for bringing the school story genre to much wider attention. ''Tom Brown's School Days'' influence on the genre of British
school novel
The school story is a fiction genre centring on older pre-adolescent and adolescent school life, at its most popular in the first half of the twentieth century. While examples do exist in other countries, it is most commonly set in English boardi ...
s includes the fictional schools of
Billy Bunter
William George Bunter is a fictional schoolboy created by Charles Hamilton using the pen name Frank Richards. He features in stories set at Greyfriars School, a fictional English public school in Kent, originally published in the boys' weekly ...
's
Greyfriars School
Greyfriars School is a fictional English public school used as a setting in the long-running series of stories by the writer Charles Hamilton, who wrote under the pen-name of Frank Richards. Although the stories are focused on the Remove (or lo ...
,
Mr Chips
''Goodbye, Mr. Chips'' is a novella about the life of a school teacher, Mr. Chipping, written by English writer James Hilton and first published by Hodder & Stoughton in October 1934. It has been adapted into two feature films and two televi ...
' Brookfield, and
St. Trinian's
''St Trinian's'' is a British gag cartoon comic strip series, created and drawn by Ronald Searle from 1946 until 1952. The cartoons all centre on a boarding school for girls, where the teachers are sadists and the girls are juvenile delinquents ...
. It also directly inspired
J. K. Rowling
Joanne Rowling ( "rolling"; born 31 July 1965), also known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author and Philanthropy, philanthropist. She wrote ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume children's fantasy series published from 1997 to ...
's
Harry Potter
''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...
series, set at the fictional boarding school
Hogwarts
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry () is a fictional Scotland, Scottish boarding school of Magic in Harry Potter, magic for students aged eleven to eighteen, and is the primary setting for the first six books in J. K. Rowling's ''Harry Pot ...
. The series' first novel ''
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' is a 1997 fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling. The first novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series and Rowling's debut novel, it follows Harry Potter, a young wizard who discovers hi ...
'' has many direct parallels in structure and theme to ''Tom Brown's School Days''.
The book contains an account of a game of
rugby football
Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union and rugby league.
Canadian football and, to a lesser extent, American football were once considered forms of rugby football, but are seldom now referred to as such. The ...
, the variant of football played at Rugby School (with many differences from the modern forms). The book's popularity helped to spread the popularity of this sport beyond the school.
In Japan, ''Tom Brown's School Days'' was probably the most popular textbook of English-language origin for high-school students during the
Meiji period
The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912.
The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...
(1868–1912).
In 1899, an abridged version of the book (omitting chapter 9 of part 1, and chapters 5 and 7 of part 2) was published in Japanese translation. A subsequent, two-part, Japanese translation by Tsurumatsu Okamoto and Tomomasa Murayama appeared in 1903 and 1904, which, in addition to the previous omissions, also omitted the scene at the cricket match, due to the translators' stated ignorance of the game of
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
.
In the preface to this version, the translators praised the British education system, citing the example of the friendship between Tom and Dr Arnold as an example of how to raise a great nation. Another partial translation, consisting only of part 1 of the book, was released in 1912 by schoolteacher Nagao Tachibana. A fourth translation, also abridged, by Sada Tokinoya arrived in 1925. Finally, a complete translation was released in 1947 that eventually ran to ten separate editions.
[Abe, Iko]
"Muscular Christianity in Japan: The Growth of a Hybrid"
''The International Journal of the History of Sport''. Volume 23, Issue 5, 2006. pp. 714–738. Reprinted in: Macaloon, John J. (ed)
''Muscular Christianity and the Colonial and Post-Colonial World''
Routledge, 2013. pp. 16–17.
Dramatic adaptations
''Tom Brown's School Days'' has had several screen adaptations, including:
*
''Tom Brown's Schooldays'' (1916 film) (silent)
*
''Tom Brown's School Days'' (1940 film)
*
''Tom Brown's Schooldays'' (1951 film)
*
''Tom Brown's Schooldays'' (1971 TV miniseries)
*
''Tom Brown's Schooldays'' (2005 TV film)
In the 1940 U.S. film, the role of Dr Thomas Arnold was portrayed by
Cedric Hardwicke
Sir Cedric Webster Hardwicke (19 February 1893 – 6 August 1964) was an English stage and film actor whose career spanned nearly 50 years. His theatre work included notable performances in productions of the plays of Shakespeare and Shaw, and ...
, Tom Brown was played by
Jimmy Lydon
James Joseph Lydon (May 30, 1923 – March 9, 2022) was an American actor and television producer whose career in the entertainment industry began as a teenager during the 1930s.
Early life
Lydon was born in Harrington Park, New Jersey on May 3 ...
, and
Freddie Bartholomew
Frederick Cecil Bartholomew (March 28, 1924 – January 23, 1992), known for his acting work as Freddie Bartholomew, was an English-American child actor. One of the most famous child actors of all time, he became very popular in 1930s Hollywood ...
played East. The role of Dr Thomas Arnold as a reform-minded educator was given greater prominence than in the novel. The entertainment journal
''Variety'' praised this, saying, "It probably results in a better picture, since Cedric Hardwicke, who plays the wise and kindly teacher, is much better qualified to carry a story than is any Hollywood prodigy. Hardwicke’s performance is one of the best he has ever given on the screen".
In the 1951 British film,
Robert Newton
Robert Guy Newton (1 June 1905 – 25 March 1956) was an English actor. Along with Errol Flynn, Newton was one of the more popular actors among the male juvenile audience of the 1940s and early 1950s, especially with British boys. Known for hi ...
portrayed Thomas Arnold, and
portrayed Tom Brown.
The 1971 five-part television miniseries was by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
as Dr. Arnold. It was later shown on
. It starred
version with music by Chris Andrews and book and lyrics by Jack and Joan Maitland was presented at the
in 1971. The production starred
.
A full cast audio drama dramatised by Joe Dunlop and directed by Chris Wallis was first broadcast in 2001 on BBC Radio 4.
'' set at the Assassin's Guild School is a parody of ''Tom Brown's School Days''.
''. In one of them, ''
'', the character whom Fraser named Harry Flashman reads ''Tom Brown's School Days'', which refers to his youth, and its popularity causes him some social troubles. Fraser's Flashman novels also include some other characters from ''Tom Brown's School Days'', for example George Speedicut and Tom Brown in the book ''
''. Flashman also encounters the character of "Scud" East twice, first in ''
.