As to the name, which has been, perhaps, the chief “cause of offense,” in this matter, the simple facts are, that I chose the name “Brown,” because it stood first in the trio of “Brown, Jones, and Robinson,” which had become a sort of synonym for the middle classes of Great Britain. It happens that my own name and that of Brown have no single letter in common. As to the Christian name of “Tom,” having chosen Brown, I could hardly help taking it as the prefix. The two names have gone together in England for two hundred years, and the joint name has not enjoyed much of a reputation for respectability. This suited me exactly. I wanted the commonest name I could get, and did not want any name which had the least heroic, or aristocratic, or even respectable savor about it. Therefore I had a natural leaning to the combination which I found ready to my hand. Moreover, I believed “Tom” to be a more specially English name than John, the only other as to which I felt the least doubt. Whether it be that Thomas a Beckett was for so long the favorite English saint, or from whatever other cause, it certainly seems to be the fact, that the name “Thomas,” is much commoner in England than in any other country. The words, “tom-fool,”
“tom-boy,” etc., though, perhaps not complimentary to the “Tom's” of England, certainly show how large a family they must have been. These reasons decided me to keep the Christian name which had been always associated with “Brown”; and I own that the fact that it happened to be my own, never occurred to me as an objection, till the mischief was done, past recall.
I have only, then, to say, that neither is the hero a portrait of myself, nor is there any other portrait in either of the books, except in the case of Dr. Arnold, where the true name is given. My deep feeling of gratitude to him, and reverence for his memory, emboldened me to risk the attempt at a portrait in his case, so far as the character was necessary for the work. With these remarks, I leave this volume in the hands of readers.
T. Hughes
Lincoln's Inn,
October, 1861
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