24 AUGUST 1956, Page 13

TOM BROWN'S SCHOOLDAYS

SIR,—I cannot remember when last I dipped into Toni Brown's Schooldays, but, like Mr. Usborne, I first read it on my father's recom- mendation. It did not affect me profoundly; its flavour was too antiquarian. What thrilled me was the reading, in bound volumes of The Boys' Own Paper, of the works of that remark- able man, Talbot Baines Reed. The Willoughby Captains and The Fifth Form at St. Dominic's seemed to me to present the glories and excite- ment of public school life in convincing terms. Another BOP writer, and an even greater favourite, was Harold Avery. The Dormitory Flag has recently held the interest of two grandchildren—an acid test.—Yours faithfully,