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 a Victorian public school as we follow Tom’s development from a boy to a young man. Tom must fend off his arch- enemy, the bully Flashman, and take a younger boy under his wing – experiences through which he learns loyalty, courage and brotherhood.