The adventures of Mr Verdant Green, an Oxford freshman, is a wonderfully amusing and engaging account of a naive university student, thrown into life amongst the hallowed halls of this famous institution. Upon the publication of its first part in 1853, this work quickly became something of a cult novel, and the second and third parts quickly followed. All three parts are published together in this volume. Widely regarded as a classic of its age, it evokes a sense of the work of Jerome K Jerome, or the kind of scenarios of which P G Wodehouse might have written, had the bent of Bertie Wooster been somewhat more academic.
This work is also hugely complimented by the original illustrations of the author. A contemporary and friend of George Cruikshank and Leech, Bede's illustrations were widely regarded as being of the same calibre as both. From 1847 to 1855, his work was published in 'Punch Magazine', as well as 'The Month', and 'The Town and Country Miscellany'. John Betjeman paid tribute to Mr Verdant Green by using its illustrations ini 'An Old University Chest' (1938). Consistently the most popular of Cuthbert Bede's output, 'Mr Verdant Green' is a well-loved classic that is truly deserving of the name.
