Tom Brown’s School Days (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Thomas Hughes
- First Published: 1857
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Social realism
- Time of Work: Early nineteenth century
- Setting: England
- Genres: Long fiction, Social realism, Didactic literature
- Subjects: Maturation or coming of age, Values, Nineteenth century, Social issues, Education or educators, Religion, Friendship, Schools or school life, Emotions, England or English people, Christianity, Ethics, Lifestyles, Reformers, Boys, Students or student life, Private schools, Soccer
- Locales: England
Characters Discussed
Squire Brown, Tom Brown’s father, a man who believes in permitting his children to mingle with all sorts of people, as long as they are honorable.
Dr. Arnold, the fine, gentlemanly, and religious headmaster of Rugby. He is gentle but firm with his charges and understands them thoroughly.
Tom Brown, a good boy who finds himself in a great deal of mischief at Rugby after he gets in with a group of ruffians. Because he is essentially good, he responds to the example of a younger boy who becomes his roommate. Before he finishes his work at Rugby to go to Oxford, Tom becomes a great leader in the school and changes the actions and attitudes of the boys for the better.
George Arthur, a younger boy at Rugby who, by his moral courage and religious fervor, reforms Tom Brown and Harry East from wild mischief-makers into school leaders. George is the true leader, working through Tom’s influence over the other boys.
Harry East, a wild young lad who, under the influence of Tom, George, and Dr. Arnold, becomes a good young man, as he really wants to be. He finds great help in his religion.
Flashman, a bully at Rugby whose power over the younger boys is broken by the stalwart defense of Tom and Harry. Flashman is expelled from Rugby for drunkenness.
Bibliography:
Briggs, Asa. Victorian People. New York: Harper & Row, 1963. The author, an eminent British historian, discusses the notable figures, ideas, and events of the high Victorian era (1851-1867). Included is a brilliant chapter on “Thomas Hughes and the Public Schools.”
Chandos, John. Boys Together. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1984. In this scholarly analysis of the English public school from 1800 to 1864, Dr. Thomas Arnold plays the central role. The importance of Hughes’s Tom Brown’s School Days as popularizing Arnold’s reforms at Rugby is discussed.
Mack, Edward C., and W. H. G. Armytage. Thomas Hughes: The Life of the Author of “Tom Brown’s School Days.” London: Ernest Benn, 1952. This is the standard biography of Hughes, an archetypal Victorian figure, and illustrates his many literary, political, and social endeavors. Included is an extensive discussion of Tom Brown’s School Days.
Quigly, Isabel. The Heirs of Tom Brown: The English School Story. London: Chatto & Windus, 1982. Analyzes the development of the numerous stories written about England’s public boarding schools, a genre that began with Hughes’s Tom Brown’s School Days.
Worth, George J. Thomas Hughes. Boston: Twayne, 1984. A recent analysis of Hughes the writer rather than Hughes the politician and public figure. Concentrates on Tom Brown’s School Days.
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