At that moment his soul is fuller of the tomb and him who lies there than of the altar and Him of whom it speaks. Such stages have to be gone through, I believe, by all young and brave souls, who must win their way through hero-worship to the worship of Him who is the King and Lord of heroes.

In 1847 Hughes was called to the bar and married Frances Ford. A. Hughes also wrote The Scouring of the White Horse (1859) Tom Brown at Oxford (1861) Religio Laici (1868) Life of Alfred the Great (1869) and the Memoir of a Brother.

It had a lesser-known sequel Tom Brown at Oxford (1861). Thomas Hughes (20 October 1822 – 22 March 1896) was an English lawyer and author. He is most famous for his novel Tom Brown's School Days (1857) a semi-autobiographical work set at Rugby School which Hughes had attended.