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Richmal Crompton (1890–1969)

Author of Just William

199+ Works 5,421 Members 67 Reviews 12 Favorited

About the Author

Series

Works by Richmal Crompton

Just William (1922) 694 copies
More William (1922) 285 copies
William the Fourth (1924) 208 copies
William Again (1923) 206 copies
Family Roundabout (1948) 182 copies
Still William (1925) 170 copies
William the Outlaw (1927) 164 copies
William the Conqueror (1926) 161 copies
William in Trouble (1927) 157 copies
William the Good (1793) 116 copies
William - the bad (1930) 114 copies
William - the gangster (1934) 107 copies
William the Pirate (1932) 98 copies
William the Detective (1935) 96 copies
William (1929) 94 copies
William - the Rebel (1933) 93 copies
William Does His Bit (1941) 92 copies
William's Crowded Hours (1931) 91 copies
William's happy days (1930) 89 copies
Sweet William (1936) 89 copies
William Carries on (1942) 80 copies
William - the Bold (1950) 76 copies
William at War (1995) 74 copies
William and the Tramp (1952) 69 copies
William - the dictator (1938) 68 copies
William and the Moon Rocket (1954) 67 copies
Just William's Luck (1948) 66 copies
William and the evacuees (1940) 66 copies
William - the showman (1937) 60 copies
William's treasure trove (1962) 46 copies
Just William at Christmas (1995) 44 copies
William the Explorer (1960) 41 copies
Frost at morning (1950) 38 copies
William and the Pop Singers (1965) 37 copies
William and the Witch (1964) 36 copies
William the superman (1968) 31 copies
William the lawless (1970) 30 copies
Weatherley Parade (1944) 24 copies
Matty and the Dearingroydes (1956) 24 copies
Linden Rise (1952) 22 copies
Leadon Hill (1927) 21 copies
Westover (1946) 17 copies
Caroline (1936) 17 copies
Just William at School (1997) 16 copies
The Ridleys (1947) 16 copies
Steffan Green (1940) 16 copies
The Old Man's Birthday (1934) 16 copies
Meet Just William (2008) 16 copies
Narcissa (1941) 14 copies
Journeying Wave (1938) 12 copies
Chedsy Place (2015) 12 copies
Felicity - Stands By (1929) 11 copies
Just William Collection (1994) 11 copies
Jimmy (1951) 11 copies
Dread Dwelling (1926) 11 copies
William the Cannibal (1965) 11 copies
Bruma y otros relatos (2001) 11 copies
Just William on Holiday (1996) 10 copies
There Are Four Seasons (1937) 10 copies
Just Jimmy (1998) 10 copies
Just William Omnibus: No. 2 (2004) 10 copies
Merlin Bay (1939) 9 copies
The Holiday (1933) 9 copies
Marriage of Hermione (2015) 9 copies
Quartet (1935) 9 copies
The inheritor (1960) 8 copies
Millicent Dorrington (1978) 8 copies
The Wildings (1925) 7 copies
Enter - Patricia (1927) 6 copies
Portrait of a Family (2015) 6 copies
Jimmy again (1951) 6 copies
Blind Man's Buff (1957) 6 copies
William the Hero (Armada) (1972) 6 copies
Roofs off! (1936) 5 copies
Naomi Godstone (2012) 5 copies
Blue Flames (1930) 5 copies
Meet Just William Again (2009) 5 copies
The Gypsy's Baby (1954) 5 copies
Four in Exile (1955) 4 copies
Just Jimmy Again (1999) 4 copies
Jirka, postrach rodiny (1994) 4 copies
Wiseman's Folly (1959) 3 copies
Sugar and Spice (1929) 3 copies
David Wilding (1926) 3 copies
Abbot's end (1929) 3 copies
Jimmy The Third 2 copies
Jirkův perný den (1999) 2 copies
Obras selectas (1982) 2 copies
William Again (BBC Audio) (2005) 2 copies
The Thorn Bush (1928) 2 copies
William au musée de cire (1989) 2 copies
Anne Morrison (1926) 2 copies
Just William and Girls (2000) 2 copies
Jirka v razi 2 copies
William the Smuggler (2010) 1 copy
Rosalind 1 copy
The William Diary 1995 (1994) 1 copy
Jirka a špion (2001) 1 copy
Jirka na stopě (2000) 1 copy
Jirka vynálezcem (2001) 1 copy
The Four Graces (1929) 1 copy
Bill i knipa 1 copy

Associated Works

The Virago Book of Ghost Stories (2006) — Contributor — 138 copies
Richard Adams's Favorite Animal Stories (1979) — Contributor — 71 copies

Tagged

1 (39) 20th century (98) adventure (55) anthology (32) bookcase (59) child (32) childhood (33) children (113) children's (364) children's book (31) children's books (93) children's fiction (106) children's literature (39) contemporary (30) Crompton (48) ebook (50) England (86) family (38) fiction (632) friendship (30) funny (57) Guillermo (35) humor (303) Infantil y juvenil (37) Just William (116) juvenile (126) literature (38) novel (39) Persephone (44) read (86) series (42) short stories (149) stories (37) to-read (192) UK (31) UK author (34) village (32) William (135) William Brown (58) ~SMW (34)

Common Knowledge

Legal name
Lamburn, Richmal Crompton
Birthdate
1890-11-15
Date of death
1969-01-11
Gender
female
Nationality
UK
Birthplace
Bury, Lancashire, England, UK
Place of death
Chislehurst, Borough of Bromley, England, UK
Places of residence
Bury, Lancashire, England, UK
Bromley Common, London, England, UK
Chislehurst, London, England, UK
Education
Royal Holloway College
St Elphin's girls' boarding school, Darley Dale, Derbyshire, England, UK
Occupations
teacher
writer
Relationships
Lambourne, John (brother)
Awards and honors
Blue Plaque
Short biography
Having become disabled following an illness Richmal Crompton gave up teaching and became an author. She was the sister of John Lambourne, the author of The Kingdom That Was. She never married or had children of her own. During the war she volunteered in fire safety. From writing she earned enough money to build a house for herself and her mother within three years of becoming an author. She is most remembered for her William stories. She died in 1969.

Members

Reviews

3.5* Kara Shallenberg did an excellent job narrating this book about 11-year-old William. In particular, I liked the pace of her narration.
 
Flagged
leslie.98 | 18 other reviews | Jun 27, 2023 |
Brilliant - I well remember laughing my socks off at these stories when I was about 11. If you can't get a laugh out of these too, there is almost certainly something seriously wrong with you.

It is remarkable how Richmal Crompton manages to capture the mindset of a young boy.
 
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NickDuberley | 18 other reviews | Mar 5, 2022 |
I've read Just William several times, but I've never reviewed it, thinking perhaps it was too familiar (at least to British readers). But Just William is a book that makes me laugh out loud consistently, and not just me: I remember we listened to the audio version (wonderfully narrated by Martin Jarvis) on a journey through France many years ago and Mr SandDune having to stop the car because he was laughing so much that he couldn't safely drive. (Incidentally, the story 'The Show' in this book is the one that prompted that.)

William Brown is 11. He is always 11 (despite the first book being written in 1922 and the last in 1970). He lives with his very long-suffering mother, his bewildered father, and his much more grown-up siblings Ethel and Robert (and a cook and a housemaid and a gardener as well) in a small town somewhere in the South of England. William doesn't exactly mean to be bad, at times he has a definite sense of morality, but in practice everything William touches turns to chaos. He just doesn't understand the adult world and the adult world, especially the genteel middle-class world inhabited by the Browns, most definitely does not understand him.

In 'A Question of Grammar' William persuades himself that his father has given permission for him to have a party when his family is out:

'The party then proceeded.

It fulfilled the expectations of the guests that it was to be a party unlike any other party. At other parties they played "Hide and Seek”—with smiling but firm mothers and aunts and sisters stationed at intervals with damping effects upon one’s spirits, with “not in the bedrooms, dear,” and “mind the umbrella stand,” and “certainly not in the drawing-room,” and “don’t shout so loud, darling.” But this was Hide and Seek from the realms of perfection. Up the stairs and down the stairs, in all the bedrooms, sliding down the balusters, in and out of the drawing-room, leaving trails of muddy boots and shattered ornaments as they went! Ginger found a splendid hiding-place in Robert’s bed, where his boots left a perfect impression of their muddy soles in several places. Henry found another in Ethel’s wardrobe, crouching upon her satin evening shoes among her evening dresses. George banged the drawing-room door with such violence that the handle came off in his hand. Douglas became entangled in the dining-room curtain, which yielded to his struggles and descended upon him and an old china bowl upon the sideboard. It was such a party as none of them had dreamed of; it was bliss undiluted. The house was full of shouting and yelling, of running to and fro of small boys mingled with subterranean murmurs of cook’s rage.'

Recommended for all ages - as long that is as you don't expect your children's fiction to have an improving quality!
… (more)
1 vote
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SandDune | 18 other reviews | Jan 28, 2022 |
First off in the version i read there seemed to be a chapter out of order, i would read the chapter titled 'Jumble' after 'The Show' for maximum making sense :) .

There's nothing new under the sun. In terms of old english characters while Billy Bunter is distinctly Eric Cartman, William Brown is very much Bart Simpson, (maybe a a tiny bit less evil though).

Its episodic fare nothing in the way of overarching story but the humour really doesn't age, its good stuff. Not much else to say really, a little bit more personality for his brother and sister might have been nice but otherwise just solid ageless annoying child tales.… (more)
 
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wreade1872 | 18 other reviews | Nov 28, 2021 |

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Statistics

Works
199
Also by
3
Members
5,421
Popularity
#4,600
Rating
4.1
Reviews
67
ISBNs
571
Languages
9
Favorited
12

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