Tom Brown's School Days

Tom Brown’s School Days is an 1857 novel by English lawyer, author, and politician Thomas Hughes. It takes place in the 1830s at a public school for young men, Rugby School, where Hughes himself studied between 1834 and 1842. Based loosely on Hughes’ real experiences at Rugby School, the novel follows Tom Brown, a student whom Hughes modeled after his brother, George. A bildungsroman, or coming-of-age novel, Tom Brown’s School Days deals with Brown’s development as an individual as he moves schools and homes, encounters bullies, deals with sickness, and makes friends. The novel has been adapted into several films and plays. It is succeeded by the novel Tom Brown at Oxford.

Tom Brown’s School Days begins by tracing Brown’s early childhood, one that was characteristic of Victorian Britain. He grows up in the Vale of White Horse, a region of Oxfordshire in England. An exuberant and active child, he has a relatively moral upbringing and gets along well with the local boys. The first school Brown enrolls in is a nearby public primary school. During his year there, he excels at sports more than academics. In his free time, he enjoys riding his pony through the valleys near his home. The following fall, he transfers to a private school, which is shortly, thereafter, struck with a fever epidemic. As an emergency measure, the school cancels class, sending all of its students to find different options. Brown transfers to Rugby School.

As soon as Brown starts classes at Rugby School, a classmate named Harry East, or “Scud,” takes him under his wing. His friendship with Scud helps him deal with a vicious bully who goes by Flashman. Flashman’s antagonism only increases during the term. Their nemesis relationship culminates when Flashman orders Brown to fork over a winning sweepstake entry for a horse race. Flashman seeks retribution by burning Brown next to a fire pit during a social event. Ultimately, Brown and East band together with an older friend named Diggs to defeat Flashman. They succeed, allowing Brown to finally feel safe at school.



The latter part of the book concerns Brown’s friendship with a new student, George Arthur. The headmaster, Dr. Thomas Arnold (a character who retains the name of the school’s real headmaster during Hughes’s time at Rugby School) assigns George to Brown. George is a walking contradiction: he is physically feeble, socially awkward, highly emotional, devoutly religious, and intellectually brilliant. Brown’s bond with George is cemented after he intercepts a bullying episode to save George. Later, George contracts the same fever that has plagued the area and nearly dies. Brown helps take care of him while he recovers. They explore their spiritual life together, which leads Brown to become more religiously observant. By the end of their time at Rugby School, Brown and George are significantly more confident about themselves. They stop causing mischief and begin to take responsibility for their grades. The novel ends with a cricket match where Brown’s team triumphs. A short epilogue indicates that Tom eventually returned to Rugby to attend Arnold’s funeral after he tragically died of illness.