Just William
Original cover
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| Author | Richmal Crompton |
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| Illustrator | Thomas Henry |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's literature |
| Publisher | George Newnes |
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Publication date
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1922 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) & Audio book & film |
| Followed by | More William |
Just William is the first book of children's short stories about the young school boy William Brown, written by Richmal Crompton, and published in 1922. The book was the first in the series of William Brown books which was the basis for numerous television series, films and radio adaptations. Just William is also sometimes used as a title for the series of books as a whole, and is also the name of various television, film and radio adaptations of the books. The William stories first appeared in Home magazine and Happy Mag.
The book contains the following short stories:
William Brown is an eleven-year-old boy, eternally scruffy and frowning. William and his friends, Ginger, Henry and Douglas, call themselves the Outlaws, and meet at the old barn in Farmer Jenks' field, with William being the leader of the gang. The Outlaws are sworn enemies of the Hubert Lane-ites, with whom they frequently clash.
Ginger is William's faithful friend and almost as tousled, reckless and grimy as William himself. He has been known to take over in William's absence and is his best friend. Henry brings an air of wisdom to the otherwise non-academic Outlaws. Never liking to own up to being at a loss, he can always deliver the knowledge that the Outlaws need. In the first book, it is revealed that he is the oldest of the Outlaws. Douglas, perhaps the most pessimistic of the Outlaws (though it has never stopped him joining in with any lawless activity) is the best of them at spelling. He spells knights "gnights" and knocks "gnocks". The Outlaws take pride in this because, unlike them, he knows the contrariness of the English language.
William's family, his elder red-gold haired sister Ethel and brother Robert, placid mother and stern father, and never-ending supply of elderly aunts, cannot understand William. Only his mother has any sympathy for him, though his father sometimes shows a side of himself that seems to admit he was once like William himself.
Other recurring characters include Violet Elizabeth Bott, lisping spoiled daughter of the local nouveau riche millionaire (whose companionship William reluctantly endures, to prevent her carrying out her threat "I'll thcream and thcream 'till I'm thick"), and Joan Clive, the dark haired girl for whom William has a soft spot. Joan is sometimes considered a member of the Outlaws (the only girl entitled to this high privilege) and sometimes an "Outlaw ally" because she took a special oath. At one point she went away to boarding school, but continued to appear in William's adventures during her holidays.
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