Tom Brown’s School Days

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Thomas Hughes’ novel about the mischievous but kind-hearted schoolboy Tom Brown inspired other school novels, including Frank Richards’ Billy Bunter stories and J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. The novel begins at Tom’s childhood home in the Vale of the White Horse, where he spends his days out in the fields with his pony. This early idyllic setting it set up as a contrast to the stresses that Tom undergoes later at Rugby boarding school when he encounters the bully Flashman. Tom is helped through his struggles by his friends Harry ‘Scud’ East and the frail but brilliant George Arthur, whom Tom protects, and who ultimately helps Tom develop into a young gentleman ready for Oxford university.

About the author

Thomas Hughes’s novel Tom Brown’s Schooldays is semi-autobiographical and is based on Hughes’ own experiences at Rugby school, including his respect for his schoolmaster Dr Thomas Arnold, who is portrayed as the perfect teacher in Hughes’ novel. Hughes wrote many more pieces of non-fiction than fiction, but is most well known for the stories of Tom Brown.