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25-398: 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

50-405: A few arch-enemies, Hubert Lane being the most sought after. Others include Hubert's lieutenant Bertie Franks, and other confederates. Richmal Crompton Richmal Crompton Lamburn (15 November 1890 – 11 January 1969) was a popular English writer, best known for her Just William series of books, humorous short stories, and to a lesser extent adult fiction books. Richmal Crompton Lamburn

75-413: 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

100-526: 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

125-419: Is fond of white rats , bull's eyes , football , and cricket . A notable feature of the stories is the subtle observance of the nature of leadership. William often has to reconcile his own ambitions with the needs of the individuals within the Outlaws. His strength of personality means that his leadership is never questioned. William rarely exercises his power over the Outlaws without conscience. William has

150-443: 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. William writes stories ( The Tale of The Bloody Hand ), although most of these are written in terrible grammar, to much comic effect. He likes to perform drama, and

175-557: The William stories, about a mischievous 11-year-old schoolboy and his band of friends, known as "The Outlaws". Her first published short story featuring William was "Rice Mould Pudding", published in Home Magazine in 1919. (She had written "The Outlaws" in 1917, but it was not published until later.) In 1922, the first collection, entitled Just William , was published. She wrote 38 other William books throughout her life. The last, William

200-530: The Women's Suffrage movement. In 1914, she returned to St Elphin's as a Classics mistress and later, at age 27, moved to Bromley High School in southeast London where she began her writing in earnest. Cadogan shows that she was an excellent and committed teacher at both schools. Having contracted poliomyelitis in 1923 she was left without the use of her right leg. She gave up her teaching career and began to write full-time. She never married and had no children; she

225-717: The Antichrist in the place of William, and his gang ("The Them") in place of "The Outlaws". The initial working title for the novel was "William the Antichrist". Another of Pratchett's works, the Johnny Maxwell series, was also inspired by Just William, Pratchett stating that it was based very loosely on an idea of what Just William would be like in a 1990s setting. St Elphin%27s School The school opened on 15 March 1844 in Warrington, dedicated to Saint Elphin who according to tradition founded Warrington's parish church . In 1857

250-579: The Lawless , was published posthumously in 1970. The William books sold over 12 million copies in the United Kingdom alone. They have been adapted for films, stage-plays, and numerous radio and television series. Illustrations by Thomas Henry contributed to their success. Crompton saw her real work as writing adult fiction. Starting with The Innermost Room (1923), she wrote 41 novels for adults and published nine collections of short stories. Their focus

275-506: The UK. Richmal Crompton's archives are held at Roehampton University , London and at Wat Tyler Country Park , Pitsea , where some members of her family lived. A public house in Bromley is named in her honour and contains framed prints and texts from the William series. The novel and TV series Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett was inspired by Just William, with the premise being

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300-574: The area had become industrialised, and the move to the countryside in Darley Dale was made. The building occupied had previously been the Darly Dale Hydro, a hydrotherapy health spa . Under the headship of Catherine Lucy Kennedy in 1896–1910, various additional facilities were made to the school and the criteria for pupils were extended to daughters of lay members of the Church of England. In 2003,

325-702: The clergy, originally based in Warrington , Lancashire . She later moved with the school to a new location in Darley Dale , near Matlock , Derbyshire in 1904. In order to further her chosen career as a schoolteacher, she won a scholarship to Royal Holloway College , part of the University of London in Englefield Green , Surrey . Crompton graduated in 1914 with a BA honours degree in Classics (II class). She took part in

350-674: The features described, such as unspoilt woods and wide streams and Biggin Hill Aerodrome , very active in the Twenties. Crompton's fiction centres around family and social life, dwelling on the constraints that they place on individuals while also nurturing them. This is best seen in her depiction of children as puzzled onlookers of society's ways. Nevertheless, the children, particularly William and his Outlaws, almost always emerge triumphant. The William books have been translated into sixteen or seventeen languages. The publication dates are for

375-602: 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

400-521: 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: The 2022 "100th anniversary edition" removes "William the Intruder", largely due to William's "Red Indian" (an offensive portrayal of a Native American hunter) persona he adopts over the course of the story. In addition to this,

425-464: The objectives of the school were: to provide a good education on advantageous terms: (i) to orphan daughters of clergy from the Archdeaconries of Manchester , Liverpool and Chester ; (ii) to the daughters of clergy still working in these Archdeaconries; (iii) to the daughters of clergy from any diocese. The original site in Warrington was in the country. However, by the turn of the 20th century,

450-514: The order of the remaining stories has been changed. 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

475-473: The same recognition. Her first published story was published in The Girl's Own Paper in 1918, concerning a little boy named Thomas, a forerunner of William who reacts against authority. Crompton tried several times to reformulate William for other audiences. Jimmy (1949) was aimed at younger children, and Enter – Patricia (1927) at girls. Crompton wrote two more Jimmy books, but no more Patricia , and neither

500-431: The school fell into financial difficulties and went into administration with debts of £3 million. A proposal was put forward to develop part of the site for housing and thus raise income to save the school. This was rejected by the local council, and the school closed in 2005. In December 2010 a website was published about the school and is regularly updated with photographs, information, magazines and news items. Following

525-434: Was a small rural village. Miss Lamburn was a delightful unassuming young woman and I used to play with her young nephew Tommy. He used to get up to all sorts of tricks and he was always presumed to be the inspiration for William by all of us. Having contracted polio she was severely crippled and confined to a wheelchair. Owing to her restricted movements she took her setting from her immediate surroundings which contained many of

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550-644: Was an aunt and a great-aunt. Her William stories and her other literature were extremely successful and, three years after she retired from teaching, Crompton was able to afford to have a house (The Glebe) built in Bromley Common for herself and her mother, Clara. Crompton died in 1969 at the age of 78, after a heart attack, in Farnborough Hospital . Crompton left the copyright of all her books to her niece, Mrs Richmal C. L. Ashbee of Chelsfield, Kent; along with £57,623. Crompton's best known books are

575-503: Was as successful as William . Crompton never disclosed the source of inspiration for the main character William; different opinions exist. According to the actor John Teed, whose family lived next door to Crompton, the model for William was Crompton's nephew Tommy: As a boy I knew Miss Richmal Crompton Lamburn well. She lived quietly with her mother in Cherry Orchard Road, Bromley Common. My family lived next door. In those days it

600-506: Was born in Bury, Lancashire , the second child of the Rev. Edward John Sewell Lamburn, a Classics master at Bury Grammar School and his wife Clara (née Crompton). Her brother, John Battersby Crompton Lamburn , also became a writer, remembered under the name John Lambourne for his fantasy novel The Kingdom That Was (1931). Richmal Crompton attended St Elphin's Boarding School for the daughters of

625-562: Was generally village life in the Home Counties . Though these novels have the same inventiveness and lack of sentimentality as the 'William' books, after the Second World War such literature had an increasingly limited appeal. Even William was originally created for a grown-up audience, as she saw Just William as a potboiler . She was pleased by its success, but seemed frustrated that her other novels and short stories did not receive

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