author
Thomas Hughes
1822–1896
Best known for the classic school story Tom Brown's School Days, he turned his own Rugby School experience into a book that shaped how generations imagined Victorian boyhood. He was also a lawyer, judge, Member of Parliament, and social reformer with a strong interest in education and public life.
9 Audiobooks
True Manliness From the Writings of Thomas Hughes
by Thomas Hughes
Tom Brown's School Days
by Thomas Hughes
Tom Brown's School Days
by Thomas Hughes
Tom Brown at Rugby
by Thomas Hughes
Tom Brown at Oxford
by Thomas Hughes
Vacation Rambles
by Thomas Hughes
Memoir of a Brother
by Thomas Hughes
The manliness of Christ
by Thomas Hughes
About the author
Born in Uffington, Berkshire, on October 20, 1822, Thomas Hughes was educated at Rugby School under Thomas Arnold and later studied at Oriel College, Oxford. Those school years became the foundation of his most famous book, Tom Brown's School Days (1857), a lively, semi-autobiographical novel that made Rugby internationally famous and helped define the idea of "muscular Christianity."
Hughes wrote fiction, essays, and religious works, including Tom Brown at Oxford, but he was never only a man of letters. He trained as a lawyer, became a Queen's Counsel, served as a Liberal Member of Parliament, and was later appointed a county court judge. Throughout his career he was closely linked with reforming causes and practical social projects.
He is also remembered for his support of cooperative and utopian ventures, especially the settlement at Rugby, Tennessee, which was named after his old school. Hughes died in Brighton on March 22, 1896, but his best-known novel has remained a lasting part of English children's and young adult literature.