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Jennings #9
Jennings for Instance
Jennings is certain that Mr Wilkins will forget all about the Form Three maths test if they butter him up a bit by welcoming him back with a nice pot plant and a get-well-soon card. How could Jennings know that his plan would backfire so abominably?
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1958
44 people want to read
About the author
Anthony Buckeridge
110 books45 followersAnthony Malcolm Buckeridge was born in London but following the death of his banker father in the First World War he moved with his mother to Ross-on-Wye to live with his grandparents.
At the end of the war they returned to London where he developed a taste for theatre and writing. A scholarship from the Bank Clerks' Orphanage fund permitted his mother to send him to Seaford College boarding school in Sussex. His experiences as a schoolboy there were instrumental in his later work, particularly in his famous Jennings series of novels.
Following the death of his grandfather, the family moved to Welwyn Garden City where his mother worked in promoting the new suburban utopia to Londoners. In 1930 Buckeridge began work at his late father's bank but soon tired of it. Instead he took to acting including an uncredited part in Anthony Asquith's 1931 film 'Tell England'.
After marrying his first wife, Sylvia Brown, he enrolled at University College London where he involved himself in Socialist and anti-war groups and he was later to become an active member of CND. Unfortunately at university he did not take a degree after failing Latin.
By then the couple had two children and, with a young family to support, he found himself teaching in Suffolk and Northamptonshire, which again provided further experiences for his later work. During the Second World War, he was called up as a fireman and wrote several plays for the stage before returning to teaching in Ramsgate.
He used to tell his pupils stories about the fictional character Jennings, who was based on an old school chum of his, Diarmid Jennings. Diarmid was a prep schoolboy boarding at Linbury Court Preparatory School, where the headmaster was Mr Pemberton-Oakes.
After World War II, he wrote a series of radio plays for the BBC's Children's Hour chronicling the exploits of Jennings and his rather more staid friend, Darbishire. 'Jennings Learns the Ropes', the first of his radio plays, was broadcast on 16 October 1948. And then in 1950, the first of 26 Jennings novels, 'Jennings Goes to School' was published.
'Jennings Follows a Clue' appeared in 1951 and then Jennings novels were published regularly through to 1977 before he reappeared in the 1990s with three books that ended with 'That's Jennings' in 1994. The books were as well known and as popular as Frank Richards' Billy Bunter books in their day and were translated into a number of other languages.
The stories of middle class English schoolboys were especially popular in Norway where several were filmed. The Norwegian books and films were rewritten completely for a Norwegian setting with Norwegian names and Jennings is called "Stompa". And in France Jennings was, rather oddly, known as Bennett!
He also wrote five novels featuring a north London Grammar School boy, Rex Milligan, one other novel, 'A Funny Thing Happened: The First [and only] Adventure of the Blighs' (1953), wrote a collection of short stories, 'Stories for Boys' (1957), his autobiography, 'While I Remember' (1999) and edited an anthology, 'In and Out of School' (1958).
In 1962 he met his second wife, Eileen Selby. They settled near Lewes where he continued to write and from where he also appeared in small (non-singing) roles at Glyndebourne.
He was awarded the OBE in 2003.
He died on 28 June 2004 after a spell of ill health with his second wife Eileen and three children, two from his first marriage, surviving him.
Gerry Wolstenholme
September 2010
At the end of the war they returned to London where he developed a taste for theatre and writing. A scholarship from the Bank Clerks' Orphanage fund permitted his mother to send him to Seaford College boarding school in Sussex. His experiences as a schoolboy there were instrumental in his later work, particularly in his famous Jennings series of novels.
Following the death of his grandfather, the family moved to Welwyn Garden City where his mother worked in promoting the new suburban utopia to Londoners. In 1930 Buckeridge began work at his late father's bank but soon tired of it. Instead he took to acting including an uncredited part in Anthony Asquith's 1931 film 'Tell England'.
After marrying his first wife, Sylvia Brown, he enrolled at University College London where he involved himself in Socialist and anti-war groups and he was later to become an active member of CND. Unfortunately at university he did not take a degree after failing Latin.
By then the couple had two children and, with a young family to support, he found himself teaching in Suffolk and Northamptonshire, which again provided further experiences for his later work. During the Second World War, he was called up as a fireman and wrote several plays for the stage before returning to teaching in Ramsgate.
He used to tell his pupils stories about the fictional character Jennings, who was based on an old school chum of his, Diarmid Jennings. Diarmid was a prep schoolboy boarding at Linbury Court Preparatory School, where the headmaster was Mr Pemberton-Oakes.
After World War II, he wrote a series of radio plays for the BBC's Children's Hour chronicling the exploits of Jennings and his rather more staid friend, Darbishire. 'Jennings Learns the Ropes', the first of his radio plays, was broadcast on 16 October 1948. And then in 1950, the first of 26 Jennings novels, 'Jennings Goes to School' was published.
'Jennings Follows a Clue' appeared in 1951 and then Jennings novels were published regularly through to 1977 before he reappeared in the 1990s with three books that ended with 'That's Jennings' in 1994. The books were as well known and as popular as Frank Richards' Billy Bunter books in their day and were translated into a number of other languages.
The stories of middle class English schoolboys were especially popular in Norway where several were filmed. The Norwegian books and films were rewritten completely for a Norwegian setting with Norwegian names and Jennings is called "Stompa". And in France Jennings was, rather oddly, known as Bennett!
He also wrote five novels featuring a north London Grammar School boy, Rex Milligan, one other novel, 'A Funny Thing Happened: The First [and only] Adventure of the Blighs' (1953), wrote a collection of short stories, 'Stories for Boys' (1957), his autobiography, 'While I Remember' (1999) and edited an anthology, 'In and Out of School' (1958).
In 1962 he met his second wife, Eileen Selby. They settled near Lewes where he continued to write and from where he also appeared in small (non-singing) roles at Glyndebourne.
He was awarded the OBE in 2003.
He died on 28 June 2004 after a spell of ill health with his second wife Eileen and three children, two from his first marriage, surviving him.
Gerry Wolstenholme
September 2010
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
September 23, 2016
C'est ce genre de livres qu'on peut terminer en deux jours, et ça fait du bien de changer de temps en temps et lire des histoires de jeunes, et rigoler. Bennett reste l'un des personnages qui ont marqué mon enfance et j y lirai encore plus surement.
April 1, 2014
Sometimes you need a comfort read. I've been reading Anthony Buckeridge's Jennings for nearly fifty years now. I think they get better, seeing the humour through an adult's eyes. Yes, jolly japes at the private school aren't what really happened, anymore than they are shown in other school books up to the Harry Potter series. But Mr Buckeridge can write. He is very funny. I laugh put loud. I even laugh until tears are running. There's very few writers who can do that for me.
I collect Buckeridge books. I don't know where I bought this one from, its not an edition shown here. Armada 1969.
You won't get them cheap unless you,re lucky.
I wonder what modern ten year olds think to them. Must ask my grandson.
I collect Buckeridge books. I don't know where I bought this one from, its not an edition shown here. Armada 1969.
You won't get them cheap unless you,re lucky.
I wonder what modern ten year olds think to them. Must ask my grandson.
March 5, 2024
Parfois ça fait du bien de lire un livre léger qui par bien des aspects me fait penser aux aventures de Tom Sawyer !
January 11, 2015
A solid entry in the series.
Highlight: Jennings writes to Aunt Angela with what he imagines to be a series of cleverly veiled references to the fact that she has forgotten to buy him a bicycle.
Highlight: Jennings writes to Aunt Angela with what he imagines to be a series of cleverly veiled references to the fact that she has forgotten to buy him a bicycle.
May 17, 2021
Thanks to having an older brother I discovered Jennings at just the right age but had to content myself with just 2 or 3 books in the canon. Mind you they were delightful enough to be read many times.
I was delighted to find a hardback edition of a Jennings story I did not know recently: “Take Jennings for Instance. ” I plunged into the watery confusion of Jennings and Darbishire, having pulled the wool over a master’s eyes about their true intentions during their Saturday outing, trying to learn how to row a boat which leads inevitably to a series of unexpected consequences and which quickly took me far away from any present concerns. Every so often I drank in the unique bouquet of the pages. A smell so evocative of the joys of reading .
Buckeridge’s lifetime experience of teaching boys combined with an exquisite eye for detail and the vivid way he brings the boys and masters to life never fails.
I also now have indelibly stamped on my brain the date of the Spanish Armada - 1588 - a date I certainly never bothered to recall in school but which, thanks to Jennings choosing it for his combination lock I shall be able to trot out confidently at pub quizzes to come.
I was delighted to find a hardback edition of a Jennings story I did not know recently: “Take Jennings for Instance. ” I plunged into the watery confusion of Jennings and Darbishire, having pulled the wool over a master’s eyes about their true intentions during their Saturday outing, trying to learn how to row a boat which leads inevitably to a series of unexpected consequences and which quickly took me far away from any present concerns. Every so often I drank in the unique bouquet of the pages. A smell so evocative of the joys of reading .
Buckeridge’s lifetime experience of teaching boys combined with an exquisite eye for detail and the vivid way he brings the boys and masters to life never fails.
I also now have indelibly stamped on my brain the date of the Spanish Armada - 1588 - a date I certainly never bothered to recall in school but which, thanks to Jennings choosing it for his combination lock I shall be able to trot out confidently at pub quizzes to come.
June 3, 2018
It's only a few days since I read the original radio plays upon which this book was based. That perhaps detracted from the enjoyment of it to a degree as it took the element of surprise out of it, but at the same time the full novel is much more engaging than the radio plays. It's nice to have fuller description and narrative to draw you into the story, not just dialogue. It's not one of the greatest of the Jennings books by any means, but it's enjoyable and it has its very good moments. Possibly the original plays are funnier at times - though perhaps someone reading the book before the plays might think otherwise. Maybe the plays just have a greater degree of intensity about them, more wit crammed into a shorter space, instead of stringing it out or diluting it. The plays had to keep up the pace to keep listeners entertained constantly. The novels allow the story to progress at a more leisurely pace and in greater detail.
April 4, 2020
Another very enjoyable novel in which Jennings gets into and out of scrapes in a Buckeridgean world of pre-teen schoolboys where boys and adults, though they may misunderstand each other, are basically good.
This story focuses on the activities of the Form III Natural History Society and its passion for collecting bugs and amphibians. It also involves bicycles and an unsanctioned boat trip which result in the introduction of Dr Hipkin and his redoubtable wife.
One of my favourite words as I get older is ‘sunlit’. This Jennings story strikes me as being blessed with a sunlit world view that I very much enjoy retreating into.
I know these stories can all be read as marking a socially unacceptable view of education. I accept that, but rejoice in the world they present as not impossible to achieve – a blissful, largely untroubled secure childhood.
This story focuses on the activities of the Form III Natural History Society and its passion for collecting bugs and amphibians. It also involves bicycles and an unsanctioned boat trip which result in the introduction of Dr Hipkin and his redoubtable wife.
One of my favourite words as I get older is ‘sunlit’. This Jennings story strikes me as being blessed with a sunlit world view that I very much enjoy retreating into.
I know these stories can all be read as marking a socially unacceptable view of education. I accept that, but rejoice in the world they present as not impossible to achieve – a blissful, largely untroubled secure childhood.
January 15, 2018
An outing of the natural history club doesn't allow Jennings and Derbishire an opportunity to go boating and explore an island so Jennings comes up with a plan. What could go wrong?
Eventually Jennings and Derbishire do get to go boating but, as usual, everything does not go exactly according to plan. Later Mr. Wilkins has car trouble. Jennings buys a padlock for the bicycle that Aunt Angela gave him that has an easy-to-remember combination. Finally, everything comes together on Awards day.
The only down note is that, as a device to tie up all the loose ends, General Merridew, the school's most distinguished Old Boy, must come down with the gout and be unable to attend the annual presentation of prizes.
Eventually Jennings and Derbishire do get to go boating but, as usual, everything does not go exactly according to plan. Later Mr. Wilkins has car trouble. Jennings buys a padlock for the bicycle that Aunt Angela gave him that has an easy-to-remember combination. Finally, everything comes together on Awards day.
The only down note is that, as a device to tie up all the loose ends, General Merridew, the school's most distinguished Old Boy, must come down with the gout and be unable to attend the annual presentation of prizes.
March 26, 2019
Cheerfully excellent reversion to childhood!
May 28, 2020
I was staying with friends and read one of the kids' books. To be fair, twelve years earlier I may well have enjoyed it.
March 23, 2023
I’m still rooting out old copies of these stories in book shops. Always laugh out loud scenarios , and this was no exception.
January 27, 2025
I get the distinct feeling that Buckeridge, after peaking with Thanks to Jennings, has now run out of steam. Situations are more contrived than ever, and Jennings' redeeming qualities have been sadly forgotten in the effort to engineer high-jinx.
Highlight: Jennings writes to Aunt Angela with a few 'subtle' reminders that she promised him a new bicycle.
Lowlight: Jennings forgets that ink cannot be rubbed out like pencil, and not only this, but he believes any object made of rubber will do it.
Highlight: Jennings writes to Aunt Angela with a few 'subtle' reminders that she promised him a new bicycle.
Lowlight: Jennings forgets that ink cannot be rubbed out like pencil, and not only this, but he believes any object made of rubber will do it.
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February 10, 2020Following on from the very good 'Thanks to Jennings', the series takes a sharp nosedive here. We even have to wait 200 pages for an 'I...I...corwumph!' from my favourite character, Mr Wilkins!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews