"Of course, a book is more than the sum of its materials. It is an artifact of the human mind and hand."
Written in the recent book People of the Book, Geraldine Brooks' words echo not only throughout her book, but also in the library of the Classics Collection that is Sharing-Books. Tom Brown's School Days is an example of a book, whose story is found, not only between its covers, but in the travels of one woman.
Originally a prize for attendance, the second hand book followed its current owner from the Australian sheep farm of her birth, safely escaped the destruction of World War I, through the heights of the Roaring Twenties in English upper class society, and on through the epic battle of World War II. It stayed with her during the British Raj in India where she witnessed two births: one of a blonde boy and the other, the birth of the nation that is now India. It escaped under the protection of a Gurkha lieutenant colonel and now resides in a pastoral community in Lincolnshire where the book has enthralled two succeeding generations of her family.
The next stop for Tom Brown's School Days is as a download in your home. As you read through the pages, you will notice smudges, folded pages, and traces of bits. We have chosen to capture the weathered, golden pages of all our classics that come under our protection. We thought you too would treasure reading each story, just as they have come to us.

Labels: Arthur Hughes, bullying, children's ebooks, classics, ebooks, Gurkhas, Rugby, Sydney Prior Hall, Tom Brown's School Days

With the recent film release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, we feel it is only fitting that we make available one of the suggested influences to J.K. Rowling's successful series to our "Potterfiles".

Many parallels have been made between Harry Potter and Tom Brown's School Days, which both depict growing up in English private schools. Only a century separates the stories but both address the issue of bullying. Harry has Draco Malfoy as his nemesis while Tom has Flashman. In Harry Potter, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is where the action happens, while it is at Rugby where you meet Tom and his nemesis. Tom and his classmates are introduced to the games of football and rugby, while it is in the very fast game of Quidditch where Draco takes on Harry.

As you read on, more similarities between the two books will come to light. We look forward to receiving your input on one of our latest additions to the Sharing-Books Classics Library.

Labels: bullying, classics, e-books, ebooks, Harry Potter, Hogwarts, School Days, teacher resources, Tom Brown