Richmal Crompton
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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.


Life

Richmal Crompton Lamburn was born in
Bury, Lancashire Bury (, ) is a market town on the River Irwell in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England. which had a population of 81,101 in 2021 while the wider borough had a population of 193,846. The town was originally part of the ...
, the second child of the Rev. Edward John Sewell Lamburn, a
Classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...
master at Bury Grammar School and his wife Clara (née Crompton) Her brother, John Battersby Crompton Lamburn, also became a writer and is remembered under the name John Lambourne for his fantasy novel ''The Kingdom That Was'' (1931), and as a successful writer on natural science as John Crompton. Richmal also had a sister, Gwen, who was 18 months older, and a younger sister, Phyllis, who died of whooping cough at age 14 months. Richmal Crompton attended St Elphin's Boarding School for the daughters of the clergy, originally based in
Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...
,
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...
, where Gwen also was in attendance. Richmal later moved with the school to a new location in
Darley Dale Darley Dale, formerly Darley, is a town and civil parish in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England, with a population of 5,413. It lies north of Matlock, Derbyshire, Matlock, on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent an ...
, near Matlock,
Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...
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 The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...
in
Englefield Green Englefield Green is a large village in the Borough of Runnymede, Surrey, England, approximately west of central London. It is home to Runnymede Meadow, The Commonwealth Air Forces Memorial, The Savill Garden,and Royal Holloway, University of L ...
,
Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
. Crompton was elected Senior Scholar for the first year students, was secretary of the Classics Club, and treasurer of the Christian Union. She graduated in 1914 with a BA honours degree in
Classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...
(II class). Crompton took part in the
Women's Suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...
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. Her biographer Mary Cadogan writes that she was an excellent and committed teacher at both schools. Having contracted
poliomyelitis Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...
in 1923 she was left without the use of her right leg. She gave up her teaching career and began to write full-time. Crompton never married and had no children, but she greatly enjoyed being an aunt and a great-aunt. Crompton/s first published story appeared in 1919, and the first of her quickly-popular "William" stories was published in Home magazine in February, 1919. Her ''
William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...
'' 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 Bromley Common is an unincorporated village in Greater London, within the London Borough of Bromley. Prior to 1965 it was within the historic county of Kent. It is south of Bromley town centre and Bickley, west of Southborough and Petts Woo ...
for herself and her mother, Clara. Crompton died in 1969 at the age of 78, after a heart attack, in Farnborough Hospital. She left the copyright of all her books to her niece, Mrs Richmal C. L. Ashbee of Chelsfield, Kent; along with £57,623.


Work

Crompton's best known books are 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 March 1919. In 1922, the first collection, entitled ''Just-William'', was published. She wrote 38 other ''William'' books throughout her life. The last, ''William the Lawless'', was published
posthumous Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award, an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication, publishing of creative work after the author's death * Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1 ...
ly in 1970. Another, ''Just William: The Book of the Film,'' consists of the script of the 1938 film as well as six of the stories on which it was based. The William books sold over 12 million copies in the United Kingdom alone and they remain in print. They have been adapted for films, stage-plays, and numerous radio and television series. Illustrations by Thomas Henry contributed to their success. In 1934 Crompton wrote a controversial William story called "William and the Nasties," published in the 1945 book William the Detective which seems to contain both antisemitism and a recognition of antisemitism's dangers. The story was omitted from future editions of the book. 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 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 A potboiler or pot-boiler is a novel, Play (theatre), play, opera, film, or other creative work of dubious literary or artistic merit whose main purpose is to pay for the creator's daily expenses—thus the imagery of "boil the pot", which means " ...
. She was pleased by its success, but seemed frustrated that her other novels and short stories did not receive 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 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: However, the adventures of Richmal's brother John (Jack) also are said to have provided the inspiration for some of William's activities, and Tommy's younger sister has insisted that William and other of Crompton's characters are more a result of the latter's fertile imagination than they are sketches of real persons. It has been said that Crompton's fiction "is based on serious themes, albeit that her genre of choice is often comedy" and that in it "pomposity and selfishness must be exposed and each of us should listen to our guiding spirit." The ''William'' books have been translated into over twenty languages.


List of published works

The publication dates are for the UK.


''Just William'' short story collections

* '' Just William'', 1922 * '' More William'', 1922 * ''William Again'', 1923 * ''William the Fourth'', 1924 * '' Still William'', 1925 * ''
William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...
'', 1926 * '' William the Outlaw'', 1927 * '' William in Trouble'', 1927 * '' William the Good'', 1928 * ''
William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...
'', 1929 * ''William the Bad'', 1930 * ''William's Happy Days'', 1930 * '' William's Crowded Hours'', 1931 * '' William the Pirate'', 1932 * ''William the Rebel'', 1933 * ''William the Gangster'', 1934 * '' William the Detective'', 1935 * '' Sweet William'', 1936 * ''William the Showman'', 1937 * '' William the Dictator'', 1938 * ''William and A.R.P.'', 1939 (also published as ''William's Bad Resolution'', 1956) * ''William and the Evacuees'', 1940 (also published as ''William and the Film Star'', 1956) * '' William Does His Bit'', 1941 * '' William Carries On'', 1942 * '' William and The Brains Trust'', 1945 * '' Just William's Luck'', 1948 * ''William the Bold'', 1950 * ''William and the Tramp'', 1952 * ''William and the Moon Rocket'', 1954 * ''William and the Artist's Model'', 1956 * ''William and the Space Animal'', 1956 * '' William's Television Show'', 1958 * ''William the Explorer'', 1960 * ''William's Treasure Trove'', 1962 * ''William and the Witch'', 1964 * ''William and the Pop Singers'', 1965 * ''William and the Masked Ranger'', 1966 * ''William the Superman'', 1968 * '' William the Lawless'', 1970


''Just William'' plays

* ''William and the Artist's Model'', 1956 * ''William the Terrible'', BBC Radio Plays volume 1, 2008, published by David Schutte * ''William the Lionheart'', BBC Radio Plays volume 2, 2008, published by David Schutte * ''William the Peacemaker'', BBC Radio Plays volume 3, 2009, published by David Schutte * ''William the Avenger'', BBC Radio Plays volume 4, 2009, published by David Schutte * ''William the Smuggler'', BBC Radio Plays volume 5, 2010, published by David Schutte * ''William's Secret Society'', BBC Radio Plays volume 6, 2010, published by David Schutte


Miscellaneous books for children

* ''Enter – Patricia'', 1927 * ''Jimmy'', 1949 * ''Jimmy Again'', 1951 * ''Jimmy the Third'', a compilation of stories from ''Jimmy'' and ''Jimmy Again'', 1965


Others

* ''The Innermost Room'', 1923 * ''The Hidden Light'', 1924 * ''Anne Morrison'', 1925 * ''The Wildings'', 1925 * ''David Wilding'', 1926 * ''The House'', 1926 (also published as ''Dread Dwelling'') * ''Kathleen and I, and, of Course, Veronica'', 1926 (short stories) * ''Millicent Dorrington'', 1927 * ''A Monstrous Regiment'', 1927 (short stories) * ''Leadon Hill'', 1927 * ''The Thorn Bush'', 1928 * ''Roofs Off!'', 1928 * ''The Middle Things'', 1928 (short stories) * ''Felicity Stands By'', 1928 (short stories) * ''Sugar and Spice and Other Stories'', 1928 (short stories) * ''Mist and Other Stories'', 1928 (short stories), republished in May 2015 by Sundial Press as "MIST And Other Ghost Stories" * ''The Four Graces'', 1929 * ''Abbot's End'', 1929 * ''Ladies First'', 1929 (short stories) * ''Blue Flames'', 1930 * ''Naomi Godstone'', 1930 * ''The Silver Birch and Other Stories'', 1931 (short stories) * ''Portrait of a Family'', 1931 * ''The Odyssey of Euphemia Tracy'', 1932 * ''Marriage of Hermione'', 1932 * ''The Holiday'', 1933 * ''Chedsy Place'', 1934 * ''The Old Man's Birthday'', 1934 * ''Quartet'', 1935 * ''Caroline'', 1936 * ''The First Morning'', 1936 (short stories) * ''There Are Four Seasons'', 1937 * ''Journeying Wave'', 1938 * ''Merlin Bay'', 1939 * ''Steffan Green'', 1940 * ''Narcissa'', 1941 * ''Mrs Frensham Describes a Circle'', 1942 * ''Weatherly Parade'', 1944 * ''Westover'', 1946 * ''The Ridleys'', 1947 * ''Family Roundabout'', 1948, republished in 2001 by Persephone Books * ''Frost at Morning'', 1950 * ''Linden Rise'', 1952 * ''The Gypsy's Baby'', 1954 * ''Four in Exile'', 1954 * ''Matty and the Dearingroydes'', 1956 * ''Blind Man's Buff'', 1957 * ''Wiseman's Folly'', 1959 * ''The Inheritor'', 1960 * ''The House in the Wood - and other stories'', 2022, 25 'lost' stories published by David Schutte * ''The Apple Blossom Lady - and other stories'', 2023, 27 'lost' stories published by David Schutte * ''Oh, Clare! - 133 humorous sketches'', 2024, 'lost' humorous sketches published by David Schutte * ''The Dream - and other stories'', 2024, 32 'lost' stories published by David Schutte


Other Short Stories

*''Half-an-Hour''. Adelaide Observer, 23 December 1922


Legacy

Crompton's stories about William have delighted and influenced a diverse array of notable Britans, including: Antonia Frasier, John Lennon, Norman Tebbit, Michael Palin, Auberon Waugh, Martin Jaravis, and Terry Pratchett. The novel and TV series '' Good Omens'' by
Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman (; born Neil Richard Gaiman; 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, audio theatre, and screenplays. His works include the comic series ''The Sandman (comic book), The Sandma ...
and
Terry Pratchett Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English author, humorist, and Satire, satirist, best known for the ''Discworld'' series of 41 comic fantasy novels published between 1983 and 2015, and for the Apocalyp ...
was inspired by Just William, with the premise being 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". Richmal Crompton's archives are held at
Roehampton University The University of Roehampton, London, formerly Roehampton Institute of Higher Education, is a public university in the United Kingdom, situated on three major sites in Roehampton, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. The University traces its r ...
, London, and at Wat Tyler Country Park, Pitsea, where some members of her family lived. A
public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...
in Bromley is named in her honour and contains framed prints and texts from the William series.


References


Sources and further reading


Biography
at Just William website. * *Mary Cadogan (1990). ''The William Companion.'' London: Macmillan. ISBN0-333-52284-0 *Just William Society website, https://justwilliamsociety.co.uk * Jane McVeigh: ''Richmal Crompton, author of Just William : a literary life'', Cham : Springer International Publishing, 2022, * at the Papillon Graphics' Virtual Encyclopaedia of Greater Manchester. * *Kay Williams (1986). ''Just-Richmal: The Life and Work of Richmal Crompton Lamburn.'' Guildford: Genesis. ISBN 0 904351 35 31.


External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Crompton, Richmal 1890 births 1969 deaths 20th-century English short story writers 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English women writers Alumni of Royal Holloway, University of London English children's writers English short story writers English women novelists Just William People associated with the University of Roehampton People from the Borough of Basildon Writers from Bury, Greater Manchester People from Chislehurst English writers with disabilities