Just William: A BBC Radio Collection: Classic Readings from the BBC Archive

by Richmal Crompton, Martin Jarvis (Narrator)

A stunning collection of Just William stories, selected and read by Martin Jarvis.

Richmal Crompton’s stories featuring irrepressible schoolboy William Brown have been firm favourites with both young and old for decades. Perpetually scruffy, mud-stained and mischievous, he is a lovable scamp whose pranks usually end in disaster – for his harassed elders at least.

With friends Ginger, Douglas and Henry (the Outlaws) and the angelic thorn-in-his-side, the lisping Violet Elizabeth Bott, William has rightly joined the literary, and radio, immortals.

Martin Jarvis, who has been hailed as ‘the wizard of the talking book’ by The Daily Telegraph, has made the voice of William his own, and this collection of 54 laugh-out-loud stories will delight long-standing fans and first-time listeners alike.

Also included are two bonus interviews with Richmal Crompton, recorded in 1965 and 1968.

The stories included in this collection

  'The Christmas Truce'
'Only Just in Time'
'The Midnight Adventure of Miss Montague'
'William and the Musician'
'William Leads a Better Life'
'William and the Twins'
'William’s Birthday'
'William and the Little Girl'
'The Outlaws and Cousin Percy'
'William and the Princess Goldilocks'
'The Sweet Little Girl in White'
'A Birthday Treat'
'The Outlaws and the Triplets'
'A Bit of Blackmail'
'William Makes a Night of It'
'William and the Lost Tourist'
'The Leopard Hunter'
'The New Neighbour'
'William the Philanthropist'
'William and the Prize Cat'
'William Holds the Stage'
'William and the School Report'
'All the News'
'Aunt Arabelle in Charge'
'William’s Goodbye Present'
'William the Salvage Collector'
'William’s Day Off'
'Entertainment Provided'
'William and the Brains Trust'
'William and the Bomb'
'William Goes Shopping'
'Violet Elizabeth Runs Away'
'William and the Real Laurence'
'The Outlaws and the Hidden Treasure'
'William and the Fairy Daffodil'
'The Best Laid Plans'
'Mrs Bott’s Hat'
'William Starts the Holidays'
'William Plays Santa Claus'
'William and the Snowman'
'Revenge is Sweet'
'William and the Black Cat'
'William and the Russian Prince'
'William’s Busy Day'
'William – The Great Actor'
'William and the White Elephants'
'Finding a School for William'
'William Clears the Slums'
'Parrots for Ethel'
'William’s Truthful Christmas'
'Boys will be Boys'
'William and the Ebony Hair-Brush'
'William and the Old Man in the Fog '

Musical 'Won't You Be My Ginger?' composed and performed by Richard Dworsky (piano) (c) 1995 Inner Vista Music (BMI)

Audible Audio

Published December 7, 2017

About the author

Richmal Crompton Lamburn was initially trained as a schoolmistress but later became a popular English writer, best known for her Just William series of books, humorous short stories, and to a lesser extent adult fiction books.

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.