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 short story featuring William to be published was "Rice Mould", published in Home Magazine in 1919: although she had written "The Outlaws" in 1917—it wasn't published until later. In 1922 came the first collection, titled Just William. She wrote 38 other William books throughout her life. The last, William the Lawless was published posthumously in 1970. The William books sold over twelve million copies in the UK alone, and were also adapted for films, stage-plays, BBC radio and television series. Illustrations by Thomas Henry contributed to their success.
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 Edwardian middle-class life: after the Second World War such literature had an increasingly limited appeal.
Even William was originally created for a grown-up audience. She saw Just William as a potboiler (Cadogan, 1993) and, whilst pleased by its success, seemed frustrated that her other novels and short stories did not receive the same recognition.
Her first published tale, concerning a little boy named Thomas, a forerunner of William, who reacts against authority, was published in The Girls’ Own Paper in 1918. 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 were as successful as William.
Crompton's fiction centres around family and social life, dwelling on the constraints that they place on individuals while also nurturing them. This is best seen in her depiction of children as puzzled onlookers of society's ways. Nevertheless, the children, particularly William and his Outlaws, almost always emerge triumphant.
The William books have been translated into nine languages and have been sold all over the world. Source Wikipedia
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