Tom Brown's transformation from timid, homesick schoolboy to robust, manly student is an enduringly popular classic that has defined the upper-class schoolboy of the nineteenth century to the world.

When Tom Brown leaves his Berkshire home for Rugby, he is a nervous outsider,

unfamiliar with the boisterous games and strict discipline of the public-school system. Suffering bitterly at the hands of the cowardly, sneering bully Flashman, Tom's physical courage, sportsmanship, loyalty and patriotism - qualities encouraged by the much-revered headmaster - make him a hero with whom many young readers can identify.   

  Hughes drew heavily on his own schootdays to create Tom Brown's Schooldays and in doing so condemned the bullying and praised the qualities that prevailed. His most famous work created  real, believable characters in Tom, Flashman, East and their companions, and exerted a strong influence on the public-school ethos of the last century.

Tom Brown"s transformation from timid, homesick schoolboy to robust, manly student is an enduringly popular classic that has defined the upper-class schoolboy of the nineteenth century to the world.

When Tom Brown leaves his Berkshire home for Rugby, he is a nervous outsider, unfamiliar with the boisterous games and strict discipline of the public-school system. Suffering bitterly at the hands of the cowardly, sneering bully Flashman, Tom"s physical courage, sportsmanship, loyalty and patriotism - qualities encouraged by the much-revered headmaster - make him a hero with whom many young readers can identify.     Hughes drew heavily on his own schootdays to create Tom Brown"s Schooldays and in doing so condemned the bullying and praised the qualities that prevailed. His most famous work created  real, believable characters in Tom, Flashman, East and their companions, and exerted a strong influence on the public-school ethos of the last century.

PREFACE TO THE SIXTH EDITION

   PART I

I The Brown Family

  II The Veast

III Sundry Wars and Alliances

 IV The Stage-Coach

  V Rugby and Football

 VI After the Match

VII Settling to the Collar

VIII The War of Independence

 IX A Chapter of Accidents

    PART II

  I How the Tide Turned

 II The New Boy

IlI Arthur Makes a Friend

 IV The Bird-Fanciers

 V  The Fight

VI  Fever in the School

VII Harry East"s Dilemmas .and Deliverances

VIII Torn Brown"s Last Match

IX  Finis

AFTERWORD

 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY