Tom Brown's Schooldays
Encyclopedia
Tom Brown's Schooldays is a novel by Thomas Hughes
. The story is set at Rugby School
, a public school
for boys, in the 1830s; Hughes attended Rugby School from 1834 to 1842. The novel has been the source for several film and television adaptations in the 20th century.
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; and George Arthur, another of the book's main characters, is generally believed to be based on Arthur Penrhyn Stanley
. The fictional Tom's life also resembles the author's in that the culminating event of his school career was a cricket match.
Tom Brown's Schooldays was tremendously influential on the genre of British school novels, which began in the 19th century, and led to St. Trinians, Billy Bunter
's Greyfriars, Mr Chips' Brookfield, and Hogwarts
. It is one of the few still in print from its time. A sequel, Tom Brown at Oxford
, was published in 1861 but is not as well known.
Tom's principal enemy at Rugby is the bully Flashman. The 20th-century writer George MacDonald Fraser
would feature the grown-up Flashman
in a series of successful historical novels.
The early chapters of the novel deal with his childhood at his home in the Vale of White Horse
(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 towards society and class, and contains an interesting comparison of so-called Saxon
and Norman
influences on England
. This part of the book, when young Tom wanders the valleys freely on his pony, serves as a sort of Eden
with which to contrast the later hellish experiences in his first years at school.
His first school year was at a local school. His second year started at a private school, but due to an epidemic
of fever
in the area, all the school's boys were sent home, and Tom was transferred mid-term to Rugby School, where he made acquaintance with the adults and boys who lived at the school and in its environs.
On his arrival, the eleven-year-old Tom Brown is looked after by a more experienced classmate, Harry "Scud" 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 deliberately burned 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.
In the second half of the book, Dr. Thomas Arnold
, 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 loving detail. Tom and Arthur help each other and their 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.
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:
, 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.
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Tom Brown's Schooldays was adapted for film in 1916 (British), 1940 (U.S.), and 1951 (British). In the 1940 U.S. version of Tom Brown's School Days, the role of Dr. Thomas Arnold as a reform-minded educator was given greater prominence than in the novel. Arnold was portrayed by Cedric Hardwicke
and the title role was played by Jimmy Lydon
. The June 27, 1940, debut of the film version at New York City's Radio City Music Hall
was chronicled in a photo spread by The New York Times
, "showing some of the pastimes, curricular and otherwise", as the fight scene between Tom Brown and Flashman was captioned. The 1940 film version was released on DVD in 2004, with a cover illustration portraying Arnold lecturing the two dishevelled schoolboys following their fight.
In the 1951 version
Robert Newton
portrayed Thomas Arnold and John Howard Davies
portrayed Tom Brown.
It has also been adapted for television, as a serial in 1971 by the BBC
, and as a two-hour ITV
2005 television movie
, starring Alex Pettyfer
as Tom and Stephen Fry
as Dr. Arnold. The 1973 BBC documentary Omnibus: The British Hero featured Christopher Cazenove
playing Brown.
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 with Keith Chegwin
, Roy Dotrice
, Simon Le Bon
, Tony Sympson, Richard Willis and Dougal Rose.
The rights to that version were acquired in the late 1970s by Bruce Hertford of Orem, Utah
, who had a composer named Mark Ogden flesh out the score. The result played for a sold-out run at Brigham Young University
.
Thomas Hughes
Thomas Hughes was an English lawyer and author. He is most famous for his novel Tom Brown's Schooldays , a semi-autobiographical work set at Rugby School, which Hughes had attended. It had a lesser-known sequel, Tom Brown at Oxford .- Biography :Hughes was the second son of John Hughes, editor of...
. The story is set at Rugby School
Rugby School
Rugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...
, a public school
Public School (UK)
A public school, in common British usage, is a school that is neither administered nor financed by the state or from taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of endowments, tuition fees and charitable contributions, usually existing as a non profit-making charitable trust...
for boys, in the 1830s; Hughes attended Rugby School from 1834 to 1842. The novel has been the source for several film and television adaptations in the 20th century.
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; and George Arthur, another of the book's main characters, is generally believed to be based on Arthur Penrhyn Stanley
Arthur Penrhyn Stanley
Arthur Penrhyn Stanley was an English churchman, Dean of Westminster, known as Dean Stanley. His position was that of a Broad Churchman and he was the author of works on Church History.-Life and times:...
. The fictional Tom's life also resembles the author's in that the culminating event of his school career was a cricket match.
Tom Brown's Schooldays was tremendously influential on the genre of British school novels, which began in the 19th century, and led to St. Trinians, Billy Bunter
Billy Bunter
William George Bunter , is a fictional character created by Charles Hamilton using the pen name Frank Richards...
's Greyfriars, Mr Chips' Brookfield, and Hogwarts
Hogwarts
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry or simply Hogwarts is the primary setting for the first six books of the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, with each book lasting the equivalent of one school year. It is a fictional boarding school of magic for witches and wizards between the ages of...
. It is one of the few still in print from its time. A sequel, Tom Brown at Oxford
Tom Brown at Oxford
Tom Brown at Oxford is a novel by Thomas Hughes, first published in 1861. It is a sequel to the better-known Tom Brown's Schooldays...
, was published in 1861 but is not as well known.
Tom's principal enemy at Rugby is the bully Flashman. The 20th-century writer George MacDonald Fraser
George MacDonald Fraser
George MacDonald Fraser, OBE was an English-born author of Scottish descent, who wrote both historical novels and non-fiction books, as well as several screenplays.-Early life and military career:...
would feature the grown-up Flashman
Harry Paget Flashman
Sir Harry Paget Flashman VC KCB KCIE is a fictional character created by George MacDonald Fraser , but based on the character "Flashman" in Tom Brown's Schooldays , a semi-autobiographical work by Thomas Hughes ....
in a series of successful historical novels.
Plot summary
Tom Brown is energetic, stubborn, kind-hearted, and 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 in the Vale of White Horse
Vale of White Horse
The Vale of White Horse is a local government district of Oxfordshire in England. The main town is Abingdon, other places include Faringdon and Wantage. There are 68 parishes within the district...
(including a nostalgic picture of a village feast). Much of the scene setting in the first chapter is deeply revealing of Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
's attitudes towards society and class, and contains an interesting comparison of so-called Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
and Norman
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
influences on England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. This part of the book, when young Tom wanders the valleys freely on his pony, serves as a sort of Eden
Garden of Eden
The Garden of Eden is in the Bible's Book of Genesis as being the place where the first man, Adam, and his wife, Eve, lived after they were created by God. Literally, the Bible speaks about a garden in Eden...
with which to contrast the later hellish experiences in his first years at school.
His first school year was at a local school. His second year started at a private school, but due to an epidemic
Epidemic
In epidemiology, an epidemic , occurs when new cases of a certain disease, in a given human population, and during a given period, substantially exceed what is expected based on recent experience...
of fever
Fever
Fever is a common medical sign characterized by an elevation of temperature above the normal range of due to an increase in the body temperature regulatory set-point. This increase in set-point triggers increased muscle tone and shivering.As a person's temperature increases, there is, in...
in the area, all the school's boys were sent home, and Tom was transferred mid-term to Rugby School, where he made acquaintance with the adults and boys who lived at the school and in its environs.
On his arrival, the eleven-year-old Tom Brown is looked after by a more experienced classmate, Harry "Scud" 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 deliberately burned 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.
In the second half of the book, Dr. Thomas Arnold
Thomas Arnold
Dr Thomas Arnold was a British educator and historian. Arnold was an early supporter of the Broad Church Anglican movement...
, 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 loving detail. Tom and Arthur help each other and their friends develop into young gentlemen
Gentleman
The term gentleman , in its original and strict signification, denoted a well-educated man of good family and distinction, analogous to the Latin generosus...
who say their nightly prayers, do not cheat on homework
Homework
Homework, or homework assignment, refers to tasks assigned to students by their teachers to be completed outside of class. Common homework assignments may include a quantity or period of reading to be performed, writing or typing to be completed, problems to be solved, a school project to be built...
, and play in a cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
match. An epilogue
Epilogue
An epilogue, epilog or afterword is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature or drama, usually used to bring closure to the work...
shows Tom's return to Rugby and its chapel when he hears of Arnold's death.
Characters
- Tom BrownTom Brown (character)Tom Brown is a fictional character created by author Thomas Hughes in his semi-autobiographical work Tom Brown's Schooldays which is set at a real English public school — Rugby School for Boys — in the 1830s when Hughes himself had been a pupil there...
- Harry "Scud" East
- Dr. Thomas ArnoldThomas ArnoldDr Thomas Arnold was a British educator and historian. Arnold was an early supporter of the Broad Church Anglican movement...
- Flashman
- Diggs
- George Arthur
- Martin
- Williams
- Brooke
Major 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 counsellor 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
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
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 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.
Impact
The book contains an account of a game of rugby footballRugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
, the variant of football
Football
Football may refer to one of a number of team sports which all involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball with the foot to score a goal. The most popular of these sports worldwide is association football, more commonly known as just "football" or "soccer"...
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.
Dramatic adaptations
Cedric Hardwicke
Sir Cedric Webster Hardwicke was a noted English stage and film actor whose career spanned nearly fifty years...
and the title role was played by Jimmy Lydon
Jimmy Lydon
Jimmy Lydon is an American movie actor and television producer, whose career in the entertainment industry began as a teenage actor in the 1930s....
. The June 27, 1940, debut of the film version at New York City's Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York City's Rockefeller Center. Its nickname is the Showplace of the Nation, and it was for a time the leading tourist destination in the city...
was chronicled in a photo spread by The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, "showing some of the pastimes, curricular and otherwise", as the fight scene between Tom Brown and Flashman was captioned. The 1940 film version was released on DVD in 2004, with a cover illustration portraying Arnold lecturing the two dishevelled schoolboys following their fight.
In the 1951 version
Tom Brown's Schooldays (1951 film)
Tom Brown's Schooldays is a 1951 British drama film directed by Gordon Parry and starring John Howard Davies, Robert Newton and James Hayter. It is based on the novel of the same name by Thomas Hughes. The screenplay was written by Noel Langley....
Robert Newton
Robert Newton
Robert Newton was an English stage and film actor. Along with Errol Flynn, Newton was one of the most popular actors among the male juvenile audience of the 1940s and early 1950s, especially with British boys...
portrayed Thomas Arnold and John Howard Davies
John Howard Davies
John Howard Davies was an English television director and producer and former child actor.Davies was born in Paddington, London, the son of the scriptwriter Jack Davies...
portrayed Tom Brown.
It has also been adapted for television, as a serial in 1971 by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, and as a two-hour ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
2005 television movie
Tom Brown's Schooldays (2005 film)
Tom Brown's Schooldays is a 2005 television film adaptation of the Thomas Hughes novel of the same name. It was released on January 1, 2005 and released on DVD 9 days later.-Plot:...
, starring Alex Pettyfer
Alex Pettyfer
Alexander Richard "Alex" Pettyfer is an English actor and model. He appeared in school plays and on television before being cast as Alex Rider, the main character in the 2006 film version of Stormbreaker. Pettyfer was nominated for a Young Artist Award and an Empire Award for his role. He has been...
as Tom and Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
as Dr. Arnold. The 1973 BBC documentary Omnibus: The British Hero featured Christopher Cazenove
Christopher Cazenove
Christopher Cazenove was an English cinema, television and stage actor.-Early life and career:He was born Christopher de Lerisson Cazenove, the son of Arnold de Lerisson Cazenove and Elizabeth Laura in Winchester, Hampshire, but was brought up in Bowlish, Somerset...
playing Brown.
A musical version with music by Chris Andrews and Book and Lyrics by Jack and Joan Maitland was presented at the Cambridge Theatre
Cambridge Theatre
The Cambridge Theatre is a West End theatre, on a corner site in Earlham Street facing Seven Dials, in the London Borough of Camden, built in 1929-30. It was designed by Wimperis, Simpson and Guthrie; interior partly by Serge Chermayeff, with interior bronze friezes by sculptor Anthony Gibbons...
in London's West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
in 1971 with Keith Chegwin
Keith Chegwin
Keith Chegwin is an English television presenter, former child actor and singer.-Early career:Chegwin's early roles were in works of the Children's Film Foundation, appearing as Egghead Wentworth in The Troublesome Double Egghead's Robot . He also appeared as a stowaway in Doomwatch episode...
, Roy Dotrice
Roy Dotrice
Roy Dotrice, OBE is a British actor known for his Tony Award-winning Broadway performance in the revival of A Moon for the Misbegotten.-Life and career:...
, Simon Le Bon
Simon Le Bon
Simon John Charles Le Bon is an English musician, best known as the lead singer, lyricist and musician of the band Duran Duran and its offshoot, Arcadia.-Early life:...
, Tony Sympson, Richard Willis and Dougal Rose.
The rights to that version were acquired in the late 1970s by Bruce Hertford of Orem, Utah
Orem, Utah
Orem is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States, in the north-central part of the state. It is adjacent to Provo, Lindon, and Vineyard and is about south of Salt Lake City. Orem is one of the principal cities of the Provo-Orem, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Utah and...
, who had a composer named Mark Ogden flesh out the score. The result played for a sold-out run at Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
.
External links
- Tom Brown's Schooldays with illustrations, from Bibliomania
- BFI Screenonline profile of 1916 film
- High-resolution scans from the Internet Archive
- Website of the producer of the 1951 film version