Tom Brown's Schooldays

By: Thomas Hughes

Narrated by: Jamie Parker

Tom Brown's Schooldays is the story of an energetic, good-hearted boy and his adventures at public school. Based on the author's own childhood, the novel presents us with a snapshot of life at Victorian public school as we follow Tom's development from a boy to a young man. Tom must fend off his archenemy, the bully Flashman, and take a younger boy under his wing - through which he learns loyalty, courage, and brotherhood.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

Public Domain (P)2015 Naxos AudioBooks

Good listen

It was an enjoyable listen. I would recommend it to all young teenagers. The variations of a school lad

The making of an English man

Fantastic.
The lessons learned through childhood to a young man, the guidance of a system that is often castigated but raised boys to be english men.
The gradual realisation of life and how one may be influenced by others in a guiding way. This system of cold showers and unappetising food brought up boys to be men and add to the nation at a time when the nation called for sacrifice and to see a greater cause than self.

British classic novel released in the year 1857!

Frankly, the only good reason I can find to listen to this Thomas Hughes work is in preparation for listening to The Flashman Papers 12 novel series by George MacDonald Fraser. Oh, some may have interest in British public schools for boys of the 1830's. This novel is set at Rugby Public School. (British public schools are not what most Americans would assume. They are fee based boarding schools which are totally independent of national and local governments. Their purpose in educating the sons of the elite not only in traditional subject matters but also on the proper behavior of gentlemen.)

Tom Brown is a young man most interested in pleasing his parents, especially his mother. He would never do anything to disappoint or embarrass his parents. When he arrives at Rugby Public School at age 13 Tom falls in with some older boys who help and protect him. As Tom ages and grows in confidence he finds himself befriending and helping the younger boys. But not all of the boys are nice and helpful, and here enters a boy named simply Flashman. Flashman is a clever fellow interested in little other than being mean and hateful to most of his classmates. He is the classic bully. and a cad and a jerk.

Tom Brown's Schooldays is best viewed as a semi-autobiographical novel by Thomas Hughes who did attend Rugby Public School during the same years as Tom Brown.

I got this because it influenced

I got this because it influenced P.G. Wodehouse and J.K. Rowling. I see the similarities. I don’t know what to think about it. I didn’t realize that it was published in 1857 and told a story that occurred in the 1830s.

I didn’t care for some of the language usage. I don’t believe it meant what the word means in our century. Still, it is unsettling.