The Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green is a novel by Cuthbert M. Bede, a pseudonym

Pseudonym

A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...

 of Edward Bradley

Edward Bradley (writer)

Edward Bradley was an English novelist and clergyman. He was born in Kidderminster and educated at Durham University . He wrote under the name of Cuthbert M. Bede, B.A. a few novels and tales, Fairy Fables , Glencraggan , Fotheringhay , etc...

 (1827–1889). It covers the exploits of Mr Verdant Green

Verdant Green

Verdant Green is a fictional undergraduate at Oxford University, as featured in the Victorian novel The Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green, by Cuthbert M. Bede . He was a student at Brazenface College, a fictional college....

 as an undergraduate freshman

Freshman

A freshman or fresher is a first-year student in secondary school, high school, or college. The term first year can also be used as a noun, to describe the students themselves A freshman (US) or fresher (UK, India) (or sometimes fish, freshie, fresher; slang plural frosh or freshmeat) is a...

 at Oxford University. Different editions have varying titles, including Mr Verdant Green: Adventures of an Oxford Freshman. The same characters reappear in a sequel entitled Little Mr Bouncer and his friend Verdant Green.

The work was first published in three separate parts, in soft covers, by James Blackwood, during the 1850s. Notices in early copies of the book indicate that they were first intended for sale at railway stations, for reading whilst travelling.

Bradley himself had attended University College, Durham

University College, Durham

University College, commonly known as Castle, is a college of the University of Durham in England. Centred around Durham Castle on Palace Green, it was founded in 1832 and is the oldest of Durham's colleges. As with all of Durham's colleges, it is, independently of the University, a listed body...

 (whence his pseudonym), graduating BA in 1848, but then went to Oxford for a year or so, studying to enter the church.

Though Bradley's Verdant Green has become something of a cult book about Oxford, he had previously produced a series of pen and ink drawings entitled 'Ye freshmonne his adventures at University College, Durham'. He altered the setting on the advice of Mark Lemon

Mark Lemon

Mark Lemon was founding editor of both Punch and The Field.-Biography:Lemon was born in London on the 30 November 1809. He was the son of Martin Lemon, a hop merchant, and Alice Collis. His parents married on 26 December 1808 at St Mary, Marylebone, London...

 at Punch

Punch (magazine)

Punch, or the London Charivari was a British weekly magazine of humour and satire established in 1841 by Henry Mayhew and engraver Ebenezer Landells. Historically, it was most influential in the 1840s and 50s, when it helped to coin the term "cartoon" in its modern sense as a humorous illustration...

. Drawings of 'Durham Student Life' survive in College Life published in Oxford, Cambridge and Durham in 1850.

These drawings were much admired by masters like Cruickshank

Cruickshank

Cruickshank is a surname and may refer to:* Adrian Cruickshank , Australian politician* Andrew Cruickshank , Scottish actor* Bobby Cruickshank , Scottish professional golfer...

 and Leech

Leech

Leeches are segmented worms that belong to the phylum Annelida and comprise the subclass Hirudinea. Like other oligochaetes such as earthworms, leeches share a clitellum and are hermaphrodites. Nevertheless, they differ from other oligochaetes in significant ways...

. Hippolyte Taine

Hippolyte Taine

Hippolyte Adolphe Taine was a French critic and historian. He was the chief theoretical influence of French naturalism, a major proponent of sociological positivism, and one of the first practitioners of historicist criticism. Literary historicism as a critical movement has been said to originate...

 in his Notes sur l'Angleterre (1872) drew on Bradley's 'Oxford' book for his description of English university life.

It seems not to be widely known that no fewer than nine chapters of Part III are devoted to Verdant Green's visit to Northumberland

Northumberland

Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...

. On the way he passes through Darlington

Darlington

Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It lies on the small River Skerne, a tributary of the River Tees, not far from the main river. It is the main population centre in the borough, with a population of 97,838 as of 2001...

. 'After mentioning Durham Cathedral

Durham Cathedral

The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham is a cathedral in the city of Durham, England, the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Durham. The Bishopric dates from 995, with the present cathedral being founded in AD 1093...

 and Lord Durham's monument on Penshaw Hill, Verdant Green and his party then pass over Robert Stephenson

Robert Stephenson

Robert Stephenson FRS was an English civil engineer. He was the only son of George Stephenson, the famed locomotive builder and railway engineer; many of the achievements popularly credited to his father were actually the joint efforts of father and son.-Early life :He was born on the 16th of...

's (recently completed) High Level Bridge at Newcastle

Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...

.

The location of 'Honeywood Hall' is not traced but the guests visit Warkworth

Warkworth

Warkworth may refer to:*Warkworth, Northamptonshire, England*Warkworth, Northumberland, England* Warkworth Castle* Warkworth Hermitage*Warkworth, Ontario, Canada*Warkworth, New South Wales, Australia*Warkworth, New Zealand*John Warkworth...

, Alnwick

Alnwick

Alnwick is a small market town in north Northumberland, England. The town's population was just over 8000 at the time of the 2001 census and Alnwick's district population was 31,029....

, and Chillingham Castle

Chillingham Castle

Chillingham Castle is a medieval castle in the village of Chillingham in the northern part of Northumberland, England. It was the seat of the Grey family and their descendants the Earls of Tankerville from the 13th century until the 1980s. The Chillingham Wild Cattle, formerly associated with the...

 to see the wild cattle. There is also a trip to Bamburgh

Bamburgh

Bamburgh is a large village and civil parish on the coast of Northumberland, England. It has a population of 454.It is notable for two reasons: the imposing Bamburgh Castle, overlooking the beach, seat of the former Kings of Northumbria, and at present owned by the Armstrong family ; and its...

 and the Longstones light to talk to Grace Darling

Grace Darling

Grace Horsley Darling was an English Victorian heroine who in 1838, along with her father, saved 13 people from the wreck of the SS Forfarshire.-Biography:...

's father. Verdant eventually gets married here. Bradley clearly knew the area well and paints an attractive picture of the wild landscape and the pleasures of riding, al fresco meals and neighbourly contact, the warmer for being more difficult than in crowded Midland counties. Much amusement is had with local dialect and customs, but it is not condescending and the laugh is usually on Verdant Green.

Allusions/references from other works

• The book includes some classic line-drawing illustrations by the author. The poet John Betjeman
  John Betjeman
  Sir John Betjeman, CBE was an English poet, writer and broadcaster who described himself in Who's Who as a "poet and hack".He was a founding member of the Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture...
  
   reused these in his 1938 book on the university, An Oxford University Chest
  An Oxford University Chest
  An Oxford University Chest is a book about the University of Oxford, written by the poet Sir John Betjeman and first published by John Miles in London in 1938. The full title is An Oxford University Chest...
  
  .
• The name of the College Scout who is responsible for Verdant Green and his room is Robert Filcher. This name was 'borrowed' (or even filched) by M.R. James for a similar character in his ghost story The Mezzotint.

Editions

• The Adventures of Mr Verdant Green (London: James Blackwood) - original.
• "The Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green. An Oxford Freshman", T. Nelson & Sons, circa 1920.
• Mr Verdant Green: Adventures of an Oxford Freshman, Nonsuch Publishing, 2006. ISBN 1-84588-197-4.
• The Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green, Michigan Historical Reprint Series, Scholarly Publishing Office, University of Michigan Library, 2005. ISBN 1-4255-3427-9.
• The Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green, Indypublish.com, 2002. ISBN 1-4043-4264-8 / ISBN 1-4043-4265-6.
• Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green, Oxford Paperbacks, 1982. ISBN 0-19-281331-5.

External links

• Book text from Project Gutenberg
  Project Gutenberg
  Project Gutenberg is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks". Founded in 1971 by Michael S. Hart, it is the oldest digital library. Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of public domain books...