Figure 1.--.
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Figure 1.--. |
Boys being boys, most of these characters are schoolboys. Tom Brown's exoloits are the first school story. The beginning of a fasinating genre in English literature. The characters, however, vary widely to the extent tpo which their exploits concern school. The Jennings and Billy Bunter series are set in schools. The William and Jim Starling series hace relatively little to do with school. Several different issues occur to us about these school stories. One is the type of schools in which the adventures are set. Another interesting question is the relative popularity of the characters. A reader writes us, "You say that 'William Brown is the one of the two most famous schoolboy in English literature. (The other of course is Jennings.)" Well, what about Billy Bunter? I would have thought that he is the most famous of the three.
[Collings] This is an interesting question.
Boys being boys, most of these characters are schoolboys. Several important boy characters (David Balfour, Jim Hawkins, Kim O'Hara, Kip Pirrip, Jim Starling, and others) are depicted in stories that do not concern school or do not focus on school exploits. Other characters (Tom Brown, Bill Bunter, John Jennings, ect.) have exploits that are most totally set at school.
Tom Brown's exoloits are the first school story. The beginning of a fasinating genre in English literature. One of the most popular setting was school, but interestingly they were almost always the exclusive public (private) schools attended by a frction of English children. The first school story was Thomas Hughes' Tom Brown’s Schooldays (1857), but it was more adult than children's literature. Kipling’s Stalky and Co. (1899) is perhaps the next most famous school story. Sports called games are normally paramount in most school stories. Status in the school novels came from hard earned accolades on the games field. Academic or musical talent stood for very little. In the normal school story, the intelectual was generally a desident. The hero was normally a clever boy who did not apply himself. There was a finally developed code of behavior expected from the boys. Honesty was expected above all else. It was absolutely not allowed for a boy to tell on another school mate, no matter how vile his behavior. There were several series of school books, including Billy Bunter, Biggles, and Jennings. Also boys were not expected to show their wealth and family connections at school, interesting in that the mere fact that they were attending these schools set them out as a privlidged minority. One of the most important school hero was Biggles, but he went on to become an important aviator. Jennings was set at a prep school rather than a public school. Some series were based mre on te scol than the boy, suc as Priory School--of course a public school.
The characters, however, vary widely to the extent to which their exploits concern school. The Jennings and Billy Bunter series are set in schools. The William and Jim Starling series hace relatively little to do with school.
Another interesting question is the relative popularity of the characters. A reader writes us, "You say that 'William Brown is the one of the two most famous schoolboy in English literature. (The other of course is Jennings.)" Well, what about Billy Bunter? I would have thought that he is the most famous of the three.[Collings] This is an interesting question. Here there are two issues. One is popularity at the time of publication. The other is their enduring popularity. I concluded that William and Jennings were the two mist popular because they seem to have been characters that English friends seem to remember. Another factor was that when I spent time in Britain I commonly saw both the William and Jennings books in bookstore. I rarely saw the Bill Bunter books.
Collings, Chris. E-mail message, April 22, 2005.
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