13 h 17 minAudiobook6 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What happens when a young man who believes everyone arrives at Oxford, where mischief is part of college life?
Verdant Green leaves a sheltered country home for a university world with rules, slang and habits he does not understand. There are rooms to furnish, lectures to attend and social calls to make. In The Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green, Cuthbert Bede turns these first steps into gentle comedy, as a trusting newcomer meets students who know just how to tease him.
Mr. Bouncer draws Verdant toward pranks, while friendly, sensible Charles Larkyns helps him find his way through college customs. At home, Mrs. Green worries about her sheltered son. Between boating, sport, wine parties and practical jokes, Verdant has more than lectures to learn from. The question is how this good-natured young man can learn to stand on his own feet.
What you’ll discover
- A trusting young hero Follow Verdant into unfamiliar company, where his readiness to believe others invites mischief.
- Oxford beyond the lectures Explore college rooms, social calls and customs through the eyes of a bewildered newcomer.
- Mischief with Mr. Bouncer Meet a lively student whose teasing pulls Verdant into the fun of college pranks.
- A friendly guiding hand Spend time with Charles Larkyns, whose good sense helps Verdant navigate university life.
- Growing up through folly Enjoy a gentle comedy about a sheltered youth learning to judge the world for himself.
Who will love it
Readers who enjoy affectionate comedy, practical jokes and college friendships will find a good deal here. So will anyone curious about Victorian Oxford, its slang and its sports, or who likes a gentle love story.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A Family Famous for Being Fooled
- A Boy Raised by Women
- The Coach to Oxford and the First Day
- Oxford Life, Seen by the Newcomer
- A Quiet Party and Its Morning After
- Dogs, Debts, Horses and Water
- Hoaxing Others and Fighting the Town
- Christmas at Manor Green and Love in the Orchard
- What the Book Is Really About and How It Is Told
Who’s who
- Verdant GreenA short-sighted, trusting country youth who goes to Oxford and tries to become a real man, while hoping to win Patty.
- Charles LarkynsThe rector's son and Verdant's guide, a handsome, clever tease who also studies hard and courts Verdant's sister Mary.
- Mr. BouncerA small, cheerful undergraduate with a post horn and two bull terriers, who loves jokes, chorus songs and shortcuts.
- Four-in-hand FosbrookeA sporting neighbor who drives, rides and boxes, and who helps with the hoaxes.
- Patty HoneywoodA lively Northumbrian girl who draws and rides well and who teaches Verdant to waltz and to speak up.
- Robert FilcherVerdant's scout, who sizes up every freshman and collects tips, spoons and leftovers.
- Mrs. TesterThe bedmaker who obtains tea and brandy from Verdant by telling a sad tale of her son.
- Dr. PortmanThe gentle Master of Brazenface, lost in his work on Greek particles and unable to remember Verdant's name.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 13 h 17 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 6 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Les Aventures de M. Verdant Green
by Cuthbert Bede · 1853
A spectacled country boy lands in Oxford, where friendly faces bring plenty of hoaxes and surprises.
Medium level10–20 hours to read25 languages
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In short
Meet the most trusting young man in England. Verdant Green is eighteen, short-sighted and kind, raised by his mother, his sisters and a learned aunt in Warwickshire.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A Family Famous for Being Fooled
The book opens with a mock history of the Verdant Greens, a Warwickshire family said to go back to the Crusades. In every age the Greens are cheated by sharper people. They lend money to a king who never repays it, and they sign small bills as a favor to friends.
This trusting nature is handed down along with the family nose. It reaches Verdant, the only son of Mr. Green of Manor Green. The setting should have made him a poet, but he writes only a short address to the moon, which ends with the news that he must go to bed.
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What is The Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green about?
It is a comic novel about a naive young man from Warwickshire who goes to Oxford, falls for hoaxes, joins sports and parties, and learns to stand on his own, while courting Patty Honeywood.
Who is Mr. Bouncer?
Bouncer is Verdant's small, cheerful friend at Brazenface, always with his post horn and bull terriers Huz and Buz. He calls Verdant Giglamps and plays many jokes on him.
Why is Verdant Green called green?
His name is a pun on his innocence. In Oxford slang a freshman is green, and the book uses the word for his gullible, trusting nature, which is the source of its humor.
The author
Cuthbert Bede
1827–1889 · English novelist and clergyman
Cuthbert Bede was the pen name of Edward Bradley, an English novelist and Church of England clergyman. He was born in Kidderminster in 1827 and died in 1889. He lived and worked in England. His novel The Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green first appeared in 1853, with further parts following.
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