Richmal Crompton, Author of Just William

Richmal Crompton, Author of Just William: A Literary Life celebrates the first two William books, Just William (1922) and More William (1922). As well as a study of her famous character William Brown, this book is an introduction to Richmal Crompton’s less well-known fiction and a story about her writing life. Her multifaceted identity—her deep knowledge of Classical Greek and Latin literature and languages, her life as a disabled writer, and her writing about domestic violence and disability—played a role in her literary persona. Jane McVeigh moves beyond Richmal Crompton’s impact on children’s literature and offers an appraisal of all her writing including her novels and short fiction, her media profile on radio and TV, her impact on her readers—both adults and children—and her international success. Particularly, McVeigh considers Crompton in the context of twentieth century woman writers and the development of crossover fiction for dual audiences. Thebook argues that as a woman writer pigeon-holed as a writer for children, Crompton’s other novels and short stories have been side-lined and overlooked. More than a century after the first book collection of Crompton’s William stories was published, this biography places Richmal Crompton among other twentieth century women writers.

“Jane McVeigh has written an informative and comprehensive biography to coincide with the 100^th anniversary of the publication of the first two William novels, Just William and More William in 1922, now collector's items worth thousands of dollars. … McVeigh effectively documents the life of one of the best-selling female authors of the 20th century, who, in William Brown, created one of the immortals of children's literature.” (Colin Steele, The Canberra Times, canberratimes.com.au, December 23, 2022)

“The books alone were enormously popular, the adaptation of just William for radio, television and film have helped ensure this naughty schoolboy will forever be remembered in post-war British culture. By 1946 the BBC radio plays – many of them written by Crompton herself – were enjoying an audience of nine million.” (Dominic Bliss, Daily Express, express.co.uk, December 16, 2022)

“Jane McVeigh’s book celebrates the centenary of the first two William books – Just William and More William, both published in 1922. … The work is attractively produced with many illustrations, and its twenty chapters are extremely well researched with substantial notes and references. What it does, first of all, is to emphasise Richmal’s very rich and full life.” (Dennis Butts, Children’s Books History Society, Newsletter, Issue 133, August, 2022)

“This is a model biography for the way it delivers the facts about the life of its subject and analyses the attraction or magic of the stories for subsequent writers, as well as readers across generations. The best praise of this biography is that it will send many readers back to encounter the thrills of reading once more of William’s misadventures.” (Sarah Curtis, TLS The Times Literary Supplement, July 22, 2022)
“Jane McVeigh’s literary biography of Richmal Crompton successfully reappraises Crompton’s writing in the context of not only children’s literature and crossover fiction but also mid-twentieth-century women’s writing more specifically. McVeigh’s reappraisal of this undervalued, and somewhat neglected, writer is an act of remembrance that is fluid in its approach and enriched by both the archival work that underpins it and the connections it foregrounds. By rejecting a more traditional single-life portrayal of its subject, McVeigh’s literary life ensures that Crompton and her writing are potentially opened up to a range of new readers.” (Dr Keith O’Sullivan, Associate Professor and Head of School of English, Dublin City University, Ireland) 

“Richmal Crompton was justly celebrated for her comic and satirical Just William books, but she was also a vastly prolific author of novels for adults. Jane McVeigh gives a comprehensive account of both aspects of her work, setting them in their contemporary context, and raises broader questions about the status and social significance of popular fiction aimed at both child and adult readers. Engagingly written, with a light touch, this literary biography casts new light on a somewhat neglected and enigmatic author, whose work deserves to be much more widely understood”. (Professor David Buckingham, Emeritus Professor of Media and Communications, Loughborough University, UK) 

 

Jane McVeigh is Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Roehampton, UK, where the Richmal Crompton Collection is located.