Just William makes his mark in this hilarious collection of twelve classic stories. Whether it's trying to arrange a marriage for his sister or taking a job as a boot boy as step one in his grand plan to run away, William manages to cause chaos wherever he goes. Features a charming introduction by one of William's famous fans, the wonderful comic writer Sue Townsend.

A joyful anniversary edition celebrating the 100th anniversary of the first publication of Richmal Crompton's bestselling, much-loved classic Just William - updated for a new generation of readers. Featuring the original text illustrations by Thomas Henry and an introduction by Sue Townsend. 'William is as fresh and funny as ever' - Chris Riddell 'Gloriously funny' - Sue Townsend, author of The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4 There is only one William. This tousle-headed, snub-nosed, hearty, lovable bundle of mischief has been harassing his unfortunate family and delighting his hundreds of thousands of admirers since 1922. Whether he's meant to be babysitting, putting on a show with his trusty gang of friends, the Outlaws, or meeting his faithful dog, Jumble, William Brown always has a new scheme up his sleeve. His intentions are good but nothing ever quite goes to plan in this hilarious collection of eleven stories about everyone's favourite troublemaker. Enjoy more of William's adventures in More William, William Again, William the Outlaw and William at Christmas.

When Aunt Lucy tells William that 'a busy day is a happy day', William does his best to keep himself very busy indeed. Unfortunately, not everyone appreciates his efforts to cheer up Christmas Day - and when a conjuring trick with an egg goes very badly wrong, William finds himself in more trouble than ever! These fourteen fantastic Just William stories are as funny as ever.

William is back and just as mischievous as ever! Dive into this collection of classic adventure stories by Richmal Crompton, featuring the endearing and troublesome William Brown - updated for a new generation of readers. Bursting with fun, adventure and wit, this centenary anniversary edition features Thomas Henry's original inside illustrations and an introduction by Louise Rennison. 'William is as fresh and funny as ever' - Chris Riddell 'Gloriously funny' - Sue Townsend, author of The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4 There is only one William. This tousle-headed, snub-nosed, hearty, lovable ball of mischief has been harassing his unfortunate family and delighting his hundreds of thousands of admirers since 1922. In this collection of fourteen stories, William Brown has his sights set on the stage. When William gets to work writing, directing and performing in his very own play, he intends to amaze and impress his audience - whether they like it or not! Enjoy more of William's adventures in Just William, More William, William the Outlaw and William at Christmas.

William Brown is back in this 100th anniversary edition of More William, featuring fourteen funny, classic Just William adventures by Richmal Crompton - updated for a new generation of readers. This edition featurres timeless original artwork from Thomas Henry, and an introduction by Martin Jarvis. 'William is as fresh and funny as ever' - Chris Riddell 'Gloriously funny' - Sue Townsend, author of The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4 There is only one William. This tousle-headed, snub-nosed, hearty, lovable ball of mischief has been harassing his unfortunate family and delighting his hundreds of thousands of admirers since 1922. William Brown and the Outlaws are up to their old tricks with more hilarious mischief, mayhem and muddles. When Aunt Lucy says that 'a busy day is a happy day', William does his best to keep himself very busy indeed. Unfortunately, not everyone appreciates his efforts. Including fourteen fantastic stories, More William is as funny as ever. This delightful children's classic features the original inside illustrations by Thomas Henry. Enjoy more of William's adventures in Just William, William Again, William the Outlaw and William at Christmas.

When Julia Gideon is widowed during the Second World War with five children to look after, she is left to manage Westover House with insufficient means for its upkeep. Urged by her solicitor brother to downsize and turn the family home into flats, she reluctantly agrees. However, as her new tenants move in it soon becomes clear that the manor house cannot contain the fiery personalities that are now living under its roof . . . From the hard up Godfrey and his wife Cynthia, who must share a flat with his brother Hubert and the uncouth Trixie; to Julia's elderly aunts, Letitia and Lucy, who aspire to very different lives in their old age; and the faux-French Mrs Pollock whose overbearing presence in her daughter Ann-Marie's life is protective to the point of suffocation - life is anything but simple at Westover. As heated relationships simmer away and family feuds break through to the surface, Richmal Crompton's Westover is a keenly observed study of what happens when domestic life doesn't run so smoothly . . .

It is the summer of 1892 and fifteen-year-old Tilly Pound has come to Linden Rise - the holiday cottage of the genteel but dysfunctional Culverton family - to work as a housemaid. She starts as just another member of 'the help' but, as the years pass and the 19th century judders its unwieldy way into the 20th, this tough and resourceful young woman becomes an anchor in a fragmenting world. Mr and Mrs Culverton are trapped in a loveless marriage, rocked by his obvious infidelities and marked by her helplessness and fragility. Their children are raising themselves until Tilly arrives, and it remains to be seen whether her lively good sense can change their lives for the better . . . A beautifully written, razor-sharp saga that paints a vivid portrait of the fraught and nuanced relationships between parents and their children, Linden Rise is full of the charming child characters that Richmal Crompton always evokes so beautifully.

Frost at Morning is the heartbreaking story of four young children who, deserted by their parents, have been sent off to a vicarage that takes in children as paying guests. There's Philip, a sensitive boy whose father has remarried and gained a more preferable stepson; anxious little Monica, with a mother spiralling towards alcoholism; adopted Geraldine, whose desperate desire be loved actively repels people; and beautiful, vain Angela, who is ignored by her eccentric novelist mother. Left to themselves they grow to depend on one another and, as they leave the vicarage and return to their fractured homes, it becomes clear that a bond has formed that will hold them forever. . . As the years pass, their adult lives connect and intertwine, and the damage inflicted by their childhoods creeps ever closer to the surface. Can they build themselves anew? Or will happiness elude them forever? An exquisitely written and poignant story, Richmal Crompton's Frost at Morning is a wonderful exploration of childhood and an evocative portrait of interwar Britain.

Weatherley Parade is the compelling saga of the lives and loves of the Weatherley family, spanning the years 1902 to 1940. The story begins with Arthur Weatherley returning - tired and broken - from the Boer War to his wife and three children, and closes with his grandchildren facing the Battle of Britain. In the years between are births and death, public triumphs and private tragedies, all wrought against a backdrop of British history. As the Weatherley's lives are marked by infidelity, alcoholism, and scandal, Edwardian England fades into the First World War and the young men and women - damaged by war and caught in the wake of a rapidly changing society - strive for a future in the shadow of the rise of Nazi Germany . . . A sumptuous, multi-generational saga and immaculately rendered period piece, Weatherley Parade's sprawling cast of children and eccentrics is full of all the charm and character of Just William.

The quartet at the heart of this delightful novel are the four Gainsborough siblings: beautiful but vain Lorna, ultra-sensitive Adrian, nature-loving Laurence and thoughtful, strange little Jenifer. We join them in 1900 - four happy children at the heart of a loving family, idolizing their strikingly beautiful mother, shrinking from their emotionally damaged Aunt Lena and ill-tempered governess, Miss Marchant. As their world widens on the journey to adulthood - through the advent of the motor car, the horrors of the First World War, the trials and tribulations of unrequited love and unfulfilled dreams - they must fight to keep that happiness. But with Lorna compelled to make everyone love her, Adrian's artistic genius crippled by over-sensitivity to criticism, and Laurence so intent on success in business that he forgets to really live, will Jenifer's clear-sighted pragmatism be enough to save them? A beautiful exploration of love and family, Quartet has a vivid cast of characters worthy of Elizabeth Gaskell and paints a wonderful, affectionate portrait of childhood to rival Richmal Crompton's Just William.

Felicity - Stands By is a delightful, charming set of short stories by Richmal Crompton, following the adventures (and misadventures) of a young woman, Miss Norma Felicity Montague Harborough. Having finished school, Felicity returns to the family seat to live with her grandfather Sir Digby, sufferer of the infamous Harborough gout and the Harborough temper. Always well-meaning and often hapless, Felicity sets about to organize and matchmaker those around her: including rescuing her friend Sheila from the affections (and affectations) of local poet Marmaduke Eltham; joining travelling band 'The Oranges'; and saving some rather important political papers from the clutches of a thief. Her escapades are a series of witty, warm and entertaining vignettes, sure to enchant anyone who loved the bestselling Just William series.

Even as a child all Vicky wants is love. She seeks it from her governess; she expects it from the lowly, loyal gardener, Andrew; but most of all, she is desperate for it from the one person who can't see beyond shadows of the past and open his heart to her - her father. As Vicky grows up, her beauty blossoms, and when she meets vivacious artist, Philip - a passionate, fiery-haired man who crashes into her carefully ordered life - everything changes. Falling in love and being loved in return fills a hole in Vicky she wasn't even aware she had. But it's the start of the twentieth century and times are changing. Not even Vicky can control the developments of the age. Yet, as the seasons come round with comforting regularity, so too do the familiar patterns of human life in Richmal Crompton's There Are Four Seasons.

When Lettice Helston's high-society marriage breaks down, leaving a hole in her life, she flees her London life for the comfort of her friend Dorrie. But an unexpected detour to the charming village of Steffan Green introduces her to new friends, some in dire need of her help, and uncovers a decades old scandal that could have disastrous consequences for present generations. With the help of parson's wife and ex-suffragette, Mrs. Fanshaw, along with an ensemble of well-drawn and quirky characters, Lettice begins to find peace and consolation by immersing herself in her new country life. But is there someone else who can finally bring her happiness? Steffan Green by Richmal Crompton is a delightful account of country living in the 1930s, full of honest, wry and humorous observations about social class, adversity and human nature.

Happily married for thirty years with three children that have long since grown up, Christopher Mainwaring finds himself at a total loss following the death of his beloved wife, Susan. Yet the joyful marriage he remembers may not have been all it seemed, for no one in the family knows of the troubling words his wife uttered to him from her death bed . . . Alluding to a possible affair that took place many years ago with a close family friend, the grieving widower is haunted by visions of Susan's infidelity and seeks to find out the truth. In his quest to unearth his wife's potential duplicity, Christopher finds himself looking to his children's complex lives for answers: Joy who is now married with children and concerns of her own, the professionally inept but kind-hearted Frank and his neurotic wife Rachel, and Derek, whose delusions of grandeur with his struggling business causes much distress for his long-suffering wife, Olivia. Portrait of a Family by Richmal Crompton provides universal reflections and intimate insights into the dynamics of family life with a startling clarity that will stay with the reader long after the final page has been turned.

Richmal Crompton's adult novels are an absolute delight and every bit as charming as her beloved Just William series. The Old Man's Birthday is both a nostalgic treat for fans of the gentler brand of interwar fiction, and a dry satire of British village life. Matthew Rowston is turning ninety-five. A lovable rogue approaching his dotage, he has very little time for the high moral standards and rigid ideas of propriety espoused by his spinster daughter. Things get interesting when he invites his estranged son, the bright and lively Stephen, and his beautiful partner to his celebratory dinner. Over the course of the day, Matthew walks around the village, introducing the pair to his large and varied clan, from the aging Jolly-hockey sticks granddaughter who is considering a torrid affair of her own, to his elderly bookish bachelor son and the lovely great-granddaughter struggling to find her place in the world, doomed to work as a clerk in her dull and dismal father's firm. Teeming beneath the calm surface of village and family life, lies a whole world of secrets and desires, hopes and dreams. Mrs Dalloway with a dash of dry humour, Mapp and Lucia with a slightly melancholy tone, this is the perfect heritage read for fans of 1930s fiction at its best.

I don't think that people are people to her any longer. They're just mirrors. If she can see the right picture of herself in them, she likes them. If she can't, she dislikes them. Stella Markham is the apple of her aunt's eye: gentle, kind, beautiful and accomplished - the model of a perfect child. Her guardians love her and her playmates worship her. Sensitive and thoughtful, she is the very image of nineteenth century loveliness - that is, until things don't go her way. From Richmal Crompton, the bestselling author of the Just William stories, Narcissa follows Stella from childhood through courtship and motherhood, detailing the triumphs and tragedies of a woman who is willing to do anything to maintain the image of her own perfection, sacrificing those she loves to her own vanity.

She glanced at her watch. They would be in Merlin Bay in less than half an hour now. Her heart began to beat more quickly. Something was waiting for her at Merlin Bay. She didn't know what it was yet, but she would know soon-in a day, in a week, perhaps. Certainly, when she passed this spot again at the end of the visit, she would know why Michael had wanted her to go there. So begins Mrs. Paget's month-long holiday as she journeys with the rest of her family to visit her grown-up daughter Pen and her grandchildren, who have moved to Cornwall to reap the benefits of the fresh Cornish air. But teeming beneath the calm surface of seaside life lies a whole world of secrets, infatuations, hopes and dreams. Over the course of their stay, visitors and residents of Merlin Bay become entangled in each other's lives, disrupting the stability of Pen's seemingly calm domestic life. From the elderly Mrs. Paget, who visited the bay on her honeymoon nearly fifty years ago but who has never returned, to Pen's teenage daughter Stella, struggling to find her place in the world and feeling her first pangs of desire whilst her younger siblings play innocent childhood games on the beach, in Merlin Bay Richmal Crompton skillfully depicts the trials and tribulations of British domestic life. Will the hopes and desires of each family member be realized by the end of their stay? And what secret will Mrs. Paget unearth? Richmal Crompton's adult novels are an absolute delight and every bit as charming as her beloved Just William series. A nostalgic treat for fans of the gentler brand of interwar fiction, this is the perfect heritage read for fans of 1930s fiction at its best.

Aged just seventeen Hermione is passed from the hands of an inattentive mother into an engagement with a young man she barely knows. Glad to have her pretty daughter married and celebrated by their social circle, Hermione's mother gives little thought to the fitness of the match. Hermione now finds she must grow up, and grow into a life with a man who is not her natural partner. Following Hermione and her family from the late eighteen hundreds through the First World War and the changing society of the post-war era, in Marriage of Hermione Richmal Crompton explores the strains and joys of an imperfect marriage with a warm and humorous eye. Richmal Crompton's adult novels are an absolute delight and every bit as charming as her beloved Just William series. A nostalgic treat for fans of the gentler brand of interwar fiction, this is the perfect heritage read for fans of 1930s fiction at its best.

Richmal Crompton created William, the pugnacious anti-hero of thirty books selling over 8 million copies in her lifetime; but their author once hinted that a 'Frankenstein monster' had ambushed her forty novels for adults. Persephone Books publishes a 1948 novel about the life of two families during the inter-war years. Instead of seeing William at odds with adults, we are shown the matriarchs around whom their families spin; but whether they direct their children gently or forcefully, in the end they have to accept them as they are.We see that families can both entrap and sustain; that parents and children must respect each other; and that happiness necessitates jumping or being pushed off the family roundabout.

When Viola learned of her husband Humphrey's affair, it seemed obvious that she must divorce him so he could be with the woman soon to bear him a child, but now she must deal with her highly-strung and sensitive son Hilary and her sister Frances' sudden move to London alone, without Humphrey's steadying presence. And while Humphrey tries to deal with the fact that his romantic choices have ended his marriage, his family is also living through numerous personal upheavals. His twin aunts Harriet and Hester are heading for a breakdown, with Harriet looking after all aspects of her sister's life while Hester is desperate for something to call her own, and Aggie, Humphrey's mild-mannered and absent minded sister-in-law, is a widowed mother to three children she doesn't understand: Joey, hateful of his office job and eager for the freedom of farm work; solid, quiet Monica who spends her days not at Oxford reading and studying, and Elaine, desperate to leave Reddington behind and have control of her own life. Humphrey's sister Doreen and her daughter Bridget have a fraught relationship, with Bridget torn between her mother's desire for her to make a marriage that will increase their social standing and the affection she feels towards her best friend's brother, Terry. Will this family ever manage to find happiness and equilibrium? Journeying Wave by Richmal Crompton explores the changes sparked by Viola and Humphrey's divorce, letting us into the inner thoughts, feelings and dreams of an extended family. We visit numerous points of view, revealing just how rich and varied our internal lives truly are - and how there are many paths to happiness.

Summer has arrived and the Cotteril children are looking forward to the Holiday. For Thea, Susan, Peter and Jane it's always a special time of year, as they escape their lives in the suburbs and visit the delights of the countryside with their mother and father. All sorts of exciting adventures await them as they explore unfamiliar surroundings and meet a collection of fascinating new neighbours. For Peter and Jane the magic of the Holiday is as alive as ever and they delight in discovery: exploring inside gardens, visiting a new sweet shop and finding plenty of places to play hide and seek. But for Thea and Susan, the two eldest, their experience of the Holiday starts to change. As they begin to move into the dizzyingly complicated sphere of the Grown-Ups, Richmal Crompton's The Holiday becomes a journey of discovery into what it is to be an adult . . .

Bringing together a memorable cast of characters, Chedsy Place is a warm and witty novel, filled with the humour, piercing observation and remarkable characterization that makes Richmal Crompton one of the world's best-loved writers. When Richard Beaton inherits Chedsy Place, he feels nostalgic as he returns to his beloved family home. For him it is locked in the past - a place of warm childhood memories - and he cannot afford to keep it. But for his wife, Celia, walking round the grand house sparks the kernel of an idea: to restore it to its former glory by opening its doors once more for Christmas - only this time, to paying guests. Horrified by the idea, Robert watches as the guests arrive from far and wide: the domineering Judith Kimball with her shy secretary Sidney Lattimer, and the chauffeur, who takes a shine to Sidney; the Paynter family with their excitable twin daughters, Cicely and Angela; Miss Nettleton, who travels indomitably about the British Isles seeing the sights; Mrs Stephenson-Pollitt, who retires 'into the silence' each afternoon to seek communion with the spirits, and her nephew, Brian, who is destined for the clergy but must battle with his conscience when he meets Angela. As the guests settle in for Christmas, Robert knows that Chedsy Place will never be the same again . . .

"Caroline knows best." Caroline's mother ran away from her father when Caroline was four years old, and her father and stepmother died fifteen years later, leaving her with a young step-brother and two young step-sisters to bring up. Orphaned, and in the care of their eldest sister, the three children grow up in a world where one thing is true: "Caroline knows best." The children adore her, but as they grow up and spread their wings, tension creeps into formerly happy relationships as Caroline cannot bear to relinquish her hold on them. Having sacrificed her own life for the children, to whom she is practically a mother, Caroline values loyalty above all else; but when she invites a guest into her home, she is not prepared for the resulting shift in allegiances in her long-established realm. First published in 1936, Caroline offers a nuanced study of family relationships, of women trapped by duty and respectability, and how good intentions can sometimes have unwanted consequences. One of Richmal Crompton's 'lost' adult novels, Bello is proud to bring eleven of these titles back into print for the first time since original publication.