Customer Reviews
WILLIAM TRIUMPHANT! - By: M. Drake, 08 Dec 2007 
This boxed set gives you a chance to walllow in nostalga & the freedom once enjoyed by children to wander off & safely have adventures; or introduce your children or grandchildren to the wonders of William & the outlaws & the unmitigated horror of Violet Elzabeth Bott. These wonderful books contain some of the most perfectly written & plotted comic writing you will ever have have the pleasure of reading - Enjoy!
Mick Drake author of the comic novel All`s Well at Wellwithoute
Wonderfully written, highly enjoyable stories... - By: Elizabeth Lee, 31 Jul 2002 I've loved William since I was a smalll child & still greatly enjoy his adventures. SO refreshing not to have morals of the "Disney" variety rammed down our throats!( Also,I was read Pollyanna when I was smalll & have since held a deep loathing for her & her kind which seem to proliferate in the children's books of CERTAIN countries which sort of share a language with us)
Richmal Crompton is a first rate writer & her descriptive vocabulary is second to none in children's literature. I suggest that it might prove a taxing read in some ways to many children today - as it goes a little beyond the range of the vocabulary used on Cartoon network & in the Harry Potter books.
It is possible that alll the William books might be enjoyed more by adults feeling nostalgic- although Willaim's village is idealised it is not SO far from the England of not so long ago - woods, fields & little streams & the freedom to play outside ALL day long! I personallly like the bits about dead animals in William's pockets- I spent many a happy hour playing with a dead mole as a child - part of life in the country !)
William is a dreadful child, & alll the more entertaining for that! There is no-one else quite like William - & long may his adventures continue in print!
If you like morals - go to Pollyanna, A Little Princess or Little Lord Fauntleroy - nicer children you couldn't meet anywhere...now, excuse me whilst I am quietly sick...
Superlative, great fun, keenly observed humour - By: , 08 Dec 2001 William is just - William! I can't understand how anyone can raise any objections to his 'destroying of property' & 'not getting his just desserts'! I have just one thing to say to you - GO READ POLLYANNA! Besides, William is basicallly decent & good & doubtless grew up to be a fine man (ok, I know it's fiction). Richmal Crompton is (was) a writer of pure genius, I am still enjoying William well into my thirties. Granted, he is a light read, that is alll part of the charm.
William's great, don't listen to them - By: , 08 Aug 2001 If you feel the need to get self-righteous about William's never getting his just deserts, you're missing the point completely. Two reasons: one is that William is & presumably always has been a fantasy of freedom, even if he appears to be hemmed in by his family, school, alll the things that he dislikes so much... The other reason is that for many of us, the just deserts are much more frightening in the anticipation. William does get into trouble, but a lot of his time is spent agonisingly trying to devise ways to counteract or postpone the trouble he's sensibly expecting to get into for something he's already done. He isn't to be taken as a serious role model, I'm afraid, or not in his entirety, & no sensible person would judge him as such...
cute, but very tame by today's standards - By: S. Clark, 10 May 2001 
I only read the first volume. Apparently you can't buy the volumes individuallly anymore, only the boxed set.
Anyway, William's antics have a certain charm, but it's hard to believe that the world described herein ever reallly existed. That must have been much of their initial appeal, the fantasy aspect of it. But which I mean, the genteel, relaxed middle class family living in the exurbs.
One interesting thing about this story is that the jacket blurb describes William's "scrapes". He doesn't reallly get into any scrapes. He mostly just misbehaves & destroys property. And the retribution is never meted out, which is also a little disconcerting.
It's also interesting to note how little the concept of bad boys have changed between 1922 & the Bart Simpson TV character of the 1990's. It's also interesting to contrast William with "little Georgie" in the best selling pulp fiction comedy novel of 1880 "A Bad Boy's Diary" by Mrs. Metta V. Victor. It would be nice to see that one back in print.
One thing about the style that I personallly didn't care for was that there had to be a little comedy twist to practicallly every sentence. I, for one, find that very tiresome. I much prefer comedy whose occurence in the narrative is more organic, so to speak.
Anyway, this book's a pleasant read, but it never made me laugh out loud. At most it just raised a few toothy grins.
