Tom Brown's School Days
LC Class PR4809.H8 T66 1999 | | |
Followed by | Tom Brown at Oxford | |
---|---|---|
Text | Tom Brown's School Days at Wikisource |
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)
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
Tom Brown's School Days has been the source for several film and television adaptations. It also influenced the genre of British
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. 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 and Norman 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,
There was also a pretty vicious Six of the Best caning.
In the second half of the book, Dr Thomas Arnold (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 who say their nightly prayers, do not cheat on homework, and play in a cricket match. An epilogue 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[a]
- Harry "Scud" East, an older boy who looks after Tom
- Dr Thomas Arnold (1795–1842), the headmaster of Rugby School 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
Several persons, for whose judgment 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.
— Thomas Hughes, Preface to the sixth edition[6]
Impact
Although there were as many as 90 stories set in British boarding schools published between
The book contains an account of a game of rugby football, 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
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, Tom Brown was played by Jimmy Lydon, and Freddie Bartholomew 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".[11] In the 1951 British film, Robert Newton portrayed Thomas Arnold, and John Howard Davies portrayed Tom Brown.
The 1971 five-part television miniseries was by the
The two-hour 2005 TV film was by ITV. It starred Alex Pettyfer as Tom and Stephen Fry as Dr Arnold.
A musical version with music by Chris Andrews and book and lyrics by Jack and Joan Maitland was presented at the Cambridge Theatre in London's West End in 1971. The production starred Keith Chegwin, Roy Dotrice, Simon Le Bon, and Tony Sympson.
A full cast audio drama dramatised by Joe Dunlop and directed by Chris Wallis was first broadcast in 2001 on BBC Radio 4.
References in other works
- Terry Pratchett confirmed that the section of his 1989 novel Pyramids set at the Assassin's Guild School is a parody of Tom Brown's School Days.[12]
Flashman
The character of Flashman was adapted by the British writer
See also
- Tom Brown's School Museum, Uffington, Oxfordshire
- Winterbottom, Derek. Thomas Hughes, Thomas Arnold, Tom Brown and the English Public Schools (Alondra Books, Isle of Man, 2022), 216 pp., ISBN No. 978-0-9567540-9-7. online on The Internet Archive.
Notes
- ^ The Rev. Augustus Orlebar was alleged to have been the person on whom Hughes based Tom Brown,[4] though Hughes' brother, George, seems a more plausible candidate.[5]
References
- ^ School Days at Rugby. Fields, Osgood, & Co. 1870. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
- OCLC 47249763.
- ^ Seccombe, Thomas (1911). . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 13 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 861.
- ^ "Real Tom Brown Dies Hero of Rugby Fight; Mr. Orlebar's Death Recalls the Famous Bout in "Tom Brown's Schooldays."". The New York Times. 1 October 1912. p. 5. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
- ^ "Characters in Tom Brown's School Days". The Spectator. 20 December 1913. p. 20. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
- ^ Hughes, Thomas. "Preface to the sixth edition, Tom Brown's School Days, by Thomas Hughes". Archived from the original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
- ^ Gosling, Juliet (1998). "5". Virtual Worlds of Girls. University of Kent at Canterbury.
- ^ "Collins Classics - Tom Brown's School Days". Harper Collins. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
- ^ Steege, David K. "Harry Potter, Tom Brown, and the British School Story". The Ivory Tower and Harry Potter: Perspectives on a Literary Phenomenon: 141–156.
- ^ a b c 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.
- ^ "Tom Brown's School Days; Adventures at Rugby". Variety. 31 December 1939. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
- ^ Breebaart, Leo; Kew, Mike. "The Annotated Pratchett File v9.0 – Pyramids". Retrieved 11 February 2011.
External links
- The full text of Tom Brown's School Days at Wikisource
- Quotations related to Tom Brown's School Days at Wikiquote
- Media related to Tom Brown's School Days at Wikimedia Commons
- Tom Brown's School Days at Project Gutenberg
- Tom Brown's School Days with illustrations, from Bibliomania
- Tom Brown's School Days public domain audiobook at LibriVox
- High-resolution scans from the Internet Archive