Tom Brown's Schooldays: One of the classics of English children’s literature, and one of the earliest books written specifically for boys, this novel’s steady popularity has given it an. The story is set at Rugby School, a public school for boys, in the 1830s; Hughes attended Rugby School from 1834. Tom Brown’s Schooldays (1951) The story is set at Rugby School, a public school.A young boy starts at Rugby boarding school for boys, in the 1830s.He is tormented by Flashman, the school bully.