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Young World
Band of outlaws
PAROMITA PAIN
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William continues to be an everlasting memorial to the exhilarating times of childhood.
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"William" — the name sounds innocuous enough doesn't it? Yet William is extraordinary, simply because he is a 11-year-old, freckled face who has held generations in sway with his tricks and mischief. His creator Richmal Crompton is among the most famous writers of humour in the 20 century. Her creation does not end with William but a repertoire of characters, most of whom are William's victims, including his hapless family. Times are never pleasant for William because unreasonable parents and other adults inhabit the world. They never appreciate his perfectly scientific method of removing old paint by burning it off his door, his bows and arrows with which he never really wanted to hit doors and windows and his gifts of eloquence.
Life is full of discovery. Along with his dedicated band of outlaws — Ginger, Douglas and Henry. William imagines he is Red-Hand, the fierce chieftain, living on a diet of toffee melted in rain water over a smoking fire to which orange juice is added and engaging in blood curdling battles. He passes through frequent periods of immense unpopularity with the world in general especially during Christmas, the season's spirit William never enhances. Whether he is wrecking the Sunday school's carol singing outing, standing in as Santa at the old folks' home or making a plant pot out of Ethel's best hat, William is irrepressible wherever he goes.
In a series of books titled Just William, William Again and so on, Richmal Crompton records the adventures of this tousle-headed, snub-nosed, hearty, lovable imp of mischief.
It was in 1922 that the first William book was published. William continues to enthral, for boyhood does not go out of fashion. Today, William remains an everlasting memorial to those exhilarating times.
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