Just William (book series)
| Author | Richmal Crompton |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Thomas Henry |
| Publisher | Home Happy Mag |
| Published | 1921–1970 |
| No. of books | 39 (List of books) |
The Just William series is a sequence of thirty-nine books written by English author Richmal Crompton. The books chronicle the adventures of the unruly schoolboy William Brown.
Published over a period of almost fifty years, between 1921 and 1970, the series is notable for the fact that the protagonist remains at the same eleven years of age, despite each book being set in the era it was written in. The first book was Just William, and often the entire series is named after this book. Each book, with the exception of Just William's Luck, which was a novel, was a collection of short stories.
The series has spawned various television, film, theatre and radio adaptations. It also has a large fan following, with such groups as the Just William Society.
William Brown is a middle-class schoolboy of 11, who lives in a country village in Southern England. A number of guesses have been made about where the stories are set. In Pensions for Boys in Sweet William (1936), it is suggested that the village is about 50 miles from London. It has also been suggested (in Margarey Disher's book Growing Up with Just William) that it is situated somewhere around Bromley, Kent. A road sign shown in a Thomas Henry illustration from "William Gets A Move On" in "William Does His Bit" reads "London A1", which would place the village north of London.
William is the leader of his band of friends, who call themselves the Outlaws, with his best friend Ginger and his other friends Henry and Douglas. His scruffy mongrel is called Jumble.
A William story often starts when William or the Outlaws set out to do something — put on a play, collect scrap metal for the war effort, look after Violet Elizabeth Bott for example. William always manages to get into trouble with his parents, although he can never see why. Often his well-meaning efforts result in broken windows and hysterics among Mrs. Brown's friends.
Sometimes William can be very moral — he is inspired to tell the truth for the duration of Christmas Day in William's Truthful Christmas (Still William, 1925) with terrible results:
...
Wikipedia