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 schooldays 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.