Tom Brown's Schooldays was first published in 1857. Written by Thomas Hughes, the novel is set at Rugby School, a British Public School for boys during the 1830s. It has become the classic description on the use of the cane in Victorian England with the scenes filmed many times. However, the most authoritative depiction is probably the 2005 TV production with Stephen Fry as Dr Arnold and Alex Pettyfer as Tom Brown. It gives a real sense of the gloomy, grim feeling of public school education in the era.