Customer Reviews

Tom Brown's School Days

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"Tom Brown's School Days"?, That's junenile fiction. That's a kid running down a merry lane in England with a satchel on his back, right? So wrong. How could this classic piece of little literature have escaped my attention? A stunning book about a boy's life in boarding school in mid 19th Century England, it tells it's adolescence tale with all the discipline of a Cub Scout Manual and whimsy of a comic book. Author Hughes frequently stops the action and intercedes on behalf of himself, commenting on the progress of the story as a teacher might. His defense of boys boxing with hard fists and fractured skulls is so socially incorrect it becomes amusing in it's conviction. Maybe skulls were harder then. A good knock-a-round is good for a boy. But school-yard fights aside, this is an adult piece of classic literature with a deeply moral narrative and a devoted sense of well-being. In it's second century of publication, it is a breath of fresh air.

For the last five generations this has been the book every British parent wanted their sons to read, and Tom Brown is the mold which every parent wanted their sons to fit. He loves his parents. He attends church. He is a good student. He is kind to his juniors and respectful of his seniors. He is a true sportsman, and always plays fair. He is the beloved of his headmaster at Rugby school, Mr. Arnold, and Arnold himself is elevated by his mentorship of young Tom. He has an unbounded future, like Britain herself. Yes, it is an idealistic view of youth, but part of a parent's responsibility is surely to instill idealism, along with everything else.

To more effectively enshrine his protagonist in glory, to place in relief his exceptionalism, to show the depravity of his antognist, and to put a human face on the Devil, Hughes also gives us Harry Flashman. While it was Tom's popularity which created the book's commercial success for the last five generations, my guess is that it will be George McDonald Fraser's references to Tom and Arnold, in his series of Flashman books, which will draw the contemporary reader's attention. Harry cheats and lies; he's a bully; he drinks, and is ultimately expelled from Rugby School for drunkeness. Please refer to Fraser's book, "Flashman," and the rest of the series of Flashman books to see how young Harry turned out. Not so bad actually. The Victoria Cross, highly respected, and extremely wealthy.

Naturally, this is far from Hughes' intent in creating a counterpart to the ideal child, but the existence of such a child as Tom Brown creates a disequilibrium in nature, which requires remedy. The reader will need to decide for himself whether the prototype of good or evil is more compelling. "Tom Brown's School Days" was a book of idealism for young boys at the turn of the 20th century. "Flashman" is a book of realism (okay, of humor, too) for the modern rogue at the turn of the 21st. Read both for the clash of perspectives.

I am often amazed that this wonderful classic is so often overlooked. The author's style and syntax is pure Victorian, through and through with wonderfully convoluted sentences, and indeed, paragraphs. This work, which takes place during the mid 1800s, circa 1840, is the story of a young man in a English Public School (which, unlike in the U.S. is actually a private school to which only the elite can afford to attend) and his adventures at this school. This of course is a boarding school. While not absolute, this work is obviously autobiographical in nature. When this work is read, the reader must keep in mind when it was written, the society in which it was written and most importantly, the attitude of the society in which it was written. I was first introduced to this work well over forty years ago and have given it several reads since that time. I strongly suspect that many young readers of today may find the syntax difficult at first, but if they press on, there is so much to learn from this book. As another reviewer well pointed out, some of the events addressed here are not what you would call "politically correct" by our standards to day in this country, but then we must remember when and where it was written. Any student of the history of literature or a student of our language will most likely be fascinated with this work. I highly recommend.

This Kindle edition has no active Table of Contents. If that doesn't bother you, then buy all means purchase it. Otherwise, look elsewhere.