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Audiobook editionPaperback · 6 × 9 in · 332 pagesHardcover · 6 × 9 in · 332 pagesAbout 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
This book suits readers who enjoy comic scenes, lively friendships, and the customs of old Oxford. If you like practical jokes, mishaps on horse and river, and a gentle love story, you will smile often.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Trust meets the world of Oxford
- A loving family sends him away
- Rules cannot replace knowledge of people
- Friendly advice can hide a joke
- College habits bring bruises and bills
- The deceived boy deceives another
- Affection brings courage into view
- Experience grows within a mixed society
- Comic adventures become lessons in independence
Who’s who
- Verdant GreenA shy, nearsighted, kind young man from Warwickshire who goes up to Oxford and believes nearly everything he is told.
- Charles LarkynsThe rector's son and Verdant's guide at Brazenface, a handsome tease who also proves a loyal friend and works hard for a degree.
- Mr. BouncerA small, cheerful undergraduate with a post horn and two bull terriers, who loves practical jokes and dodges honest study.
- Robert FilcherVerdant's scout, a sly college servant who looks after the rooms and finds many ways to profit from a freshman.
- Patty HoneywoodA lively, good-humoured young woman from Northumberland who sketches, rides well, and takes a growing interest in Verdant.
- Frederick DelavalA handsome yachtsman and cousin of the Honeywoods, brave and cheerful, whom Verdant first mistakes for a rival.
- Dr. PortmanThe gentle Master of Brazenface, a scholar of the Greek particles who can never remember Verdant's first name.
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The Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green
by Cuthbert Bede · 1853
A sheltered Warwickshire boy in spectacles arrives at Oxford, where every friend has a joke ready for him.
Medium level5–10 hours to read20 languages
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“All in all, Mr. Verdant Green caused quite a sensation.”
In short
What happens to a boy who has never played a game, never slept away from his mother, and believes every word he hears? Verdant Green, eighteen years old and nearsighted, goes up to Oxford to find out.
The Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green at a glance
- Reading time
- About 7 h 20 min5 h 50 min fast, 8 h 45 min slow
- Length
- 104,600 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1853by Cuthbert Bede
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A sheltered boy from a family of easy marks
Verdant Green comes from a family that has been fooled for centuries. The book opens with a mock family history that traces the Greens back to the Crusades. They mortgage their lands for others and sign small bills as a favour.
Verdant is born at Manor Green in Warwickshire. His mother believes in teaching at home, so he sits in the schoolroom with his three sisters and his aunt Virginia. He grows up girlish, shy, and kind, with no knowledge of boys' games. The rector's son Charley tells him dreadful tales of floggings at public school, and Verdant believes every word.
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A sheltered Warwickshire boy in spectacles arrives at Oxford, where every friend has a joke ready for him.
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Details
- First published
- 1853
- Language
- English
- Level
- Medium level
- Paperback
- 332 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Hardcover
- 332 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Large print paperback
- 556 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Large print hardcover
- 556 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Delivery and returns
- Printed when you order. Usually here in 12 to 14 days.Arrives Tue 1 Dec to Mon 7 Decto United States, printed for you at cost
For Christmas, order by Thu 12 Nov
Cite this edition
Bede, Cuthbert. The Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-adventures-of-mr-verdant-green.
Bede, C. (2026). The adventures of Mr. Verdant Green. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-adventures-of-mr-verdant-green (Original work published 1853)
Bede, Cuthbert. The Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-adventures-of-mr-verdant-green.
@book{bede2026adventures,
author = {Bede, Cuthbert},
title = {The Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-adventures-of-mr-verdant-green},
note = {First published 1853}
}
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What is The Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green about?
It follows a shy, trusting young man from Warwickshire who goes up to Oxford, makes friends, gets hoaxed, tries sports, runs up bills, and visits Northumberland after falling for Patty during Christmas at home.
Who is Mr. Bouncer in Verdant Green?
Mr. Bouncer is a small, jolly undergraduate at Brazenface College who plays a post horn and keeps two bull terriers, Huz and Buz. He calls Verdant Giglamps because of his spectacles and teases him constantly.
Why is Verdant Green called Giglamps?
The nickname comes from Verdant's round spectacles, which a passenger on the Oxford coach compares to gig lamps, the lamps on a light carriage. Mr. Bouncer picks it up and uses it for the rest of the book.
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.
“All in all, Mr. Verdant Green caused quite a sensation.”
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