The Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green
Public-domain ebook
The Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green
Language: en1,017 downloads on Project Gutenberg
Subjects
In: Humour·Novels·British Literature
Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #4644.
About this book
The work is a comic university novel set in mid‑nineteenth‑century Oxford, written by Cuthbert Bede under the title The Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green. Its opening pages introduce the Green family’s long, modest lineage before turning to the birth of the eponymous hero, a “raw youth” destined for the misadventures of a freshman. The narrative immediately signals its tone with a mock‑heroic description of the family’s historic blunders and a playful, almost satirical account of Verdant’s early life, from his nurse’s exaggerated proclamation of his prodigy status to the ordinary details of his first two years. The text promises a series of “rags” – pranks, proctor chases, town‑and‑gown fights, and spirited escapades – all illustrated by the author’s original drawings, framing the story as a light‑hearted chronicle of collegiate life.
Bede’s voice is brisk, witty, and steeped in the colloquial humor of Victorian satire. The prose mixes exaggerated genealogical digressions with lively, episodic scenes, employing a conversational style that mimics the chatter of students and townsfolk alike. Readers who enjoy period humor, especially the ribald, observational comedy of university life, will find this novel appealing. Its blend of gentle mockery, vivid description of Oxford’s social rituals, and the charm of illustrated episodes makes it a rewarding read for fans of classic English humor and for anyone curious about the quirks of 19th‑century academic culture.
Characters in The Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green
- Verdant GreenYoung lanky Oxford freshman, powdered hair, frock coat, cravat, scholarly expression
The opening · free to read
By Cuthbert Bede
Scanned and proofed by R.W. Jones <rwj@freeshell.org>.
Note: With the use of a text-to-speech player and the hard copies of the original editions themselves, this revised electronic edition has been specifically conformed as regards spelling, punctuation and content to the 1853, 1854 and 1857 first editions (save frontispiece and the c1923 edition introductory remarks and page headings, which have been retained here. The first editions' frontispiece have the quotation: ' "A college joke to cure the dumps" -Swift.'). The first editions differ in minor respects not only from the popular c1923 Herbert Jenkins edition from which version 1.0 was prepared but also as between themselves; e.g. "number" in the second sentence of Part I., Chapter One of the first edition becomes "name" in the corresponding part of the 1853 third edition; minor inconsistencies in spelling occur (e.g. "shew" in Part I is spelt "show" later in the work; "Gig-lamps" in Part I becomes "Giglamps" in Parts II and III; etc). Where the first editions contain clear typographical errors which have been corrected in the Herbert Jenkins or other editions, these corrections (very few in number) are indicated in the narrative below by brackets.
Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this file which includes the original illustrations. See etext03/verda11h.zip: https://www.gutenberg.org/etext03/verda11h.zip
[NB this e-text contains corrections to the Herbert Jenkins edition made by reference to the consolidated version held by The British Library which combines the first editions of each of the three parts originally published 1853-7. Greek letters in the original are rendered in Roman script and designated: "{ }". Italics are indicated: "~". The illustrations are designated "<VG0**.JPG>". The introductory remarks below appear only in the Herbert Jenkins edition, not in the several originals.]
What This Book Is About
"Let the poker be heated" were the fearful words which greeted Mr. Verdant Green on his initiation into a spoof Lodge of Freemasonry at Oxford. This was one of the many "rags" of which he was the butt during his days at the university.
In this humorous classic there is told the story of a very raw youth's introduction to university life, of fights between "town and gown," escapes from proctors, wiles of bed-makers, days on the river, or on and off horseback, and nights when "he kept his spirits up by pouring spirits down."
These amusing experiences and diverting mishaps of an Oxford Freshman need no introduction to a public that has already read and laughed over them many times before.
The great feature of the volume is that it contains the whole 188 illustrations originally contributed by the Author.
[3 ] THE ADVENTURES OF MR. VERDANT GREEN
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