Just William

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 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: (1) William Goes to the Pictures – William's aunt gives him a shilling, so he buys sweets and goes to the cinema. On his way home he is obsessed with acting out what he has seen. (2) William the Intruder – William steals the attentions of his brother's new girlfriend. (3) William Below Stairs – William runs away from home after reading a book about a boy who ran away and made a fortune in gold. He gets a job working as a servant in an upper-class household. (4) The Fall of the Idol – William has a crush on his teacher Miss Drew, but eventually discovers she has "feet of clay". (5) The Show – The Outlaws put on an animal show in William's room for money and finally decide to use his sleeping Aunt Emily as an exhibit. (6) A Question of Grammar – William's wilful misunderstanding of a double negative leads him to throw a wild party in his parents' absence. (7) William Joins the Band of Hope – William is forced to join the Temperance movement along with the other Outlaws, but manages to turn the first meeting into a punch-up. (8) The Outlaws – The first-ever William story. William is forced to spend his precious half-holiday looking after a baby but decides to kidnap him and bring him to the Outlaws. (9) William and White Satin – When William is forced to be a page at his cousin's wedding, he becomes a figure of ridicule. However, he soon finds an ally in an equally reluctant bridesmaid, his cousin. (10) William's New Year's Day – William is encouraged to make a New Year's resolution by the sweet shop owner Mr Moss. He decides to be polite for New Years Day and ends up looking after the Sweet Shop. (11) The Best Laid Plans – A young man misguidedly enlists William's help in wooing his sister Ethel. (12) "Jumble" – The story of how William met his dog Jumble.