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. The book 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 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.