William the Detective

Last updated

William the Detective
William the Detective.jpg
First edition (ninth impression)
Author Richmal Crompton
Illustrator Thomas Henry
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Genre Children's literature
Publisher Newnes
Publication date
1935
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback) & Audio book
Followed by Sweet William  

William - The Detective is a book in the Just William series written by Richmal Crompton. Modern editions contain ten stories; it originally contained eleven: In a (for the series) rare example of moral panic, the eleventh, entitled "William and the Nasties" has been removed from reprints of the book since 1986 because, though ultimately anti-Nazi, it was considered inappropriate after the atrocities of the Holocaust, especially for a book aimed at children. William and the League of Perfect Love has also been removed from some editions under pressure from the animal-rights activists it satirises.[ citation needed ].

The stories

  1. William and the Campers
  2. William the Invisible – William swears he can discover the secret of invisibility, but finds the task more difficult than he had expected.
  3. William the Conspirator – The Outlaws start a campaign for Free Speech.
  4. William the Rat Lover – William starts a sanctuary for the protection of rats and even has a Rat Fortnight. But when his costume for Miss Chesterfield's Children's Animal Fete is ruined, they help him without knowing it.
  5. William and the Tablet
  6. William and the League of Perfect Love
  7. Waste Paper Wanted – William and Ginger believe they have accidentally given away an important manuscript belonging to Robert's intellectual friend Ward.
  8. William the Persian
  9. William and the Monster
  10. A Present from William

Removed story: William and the Nasties – William and his friends attempt (unsuccessfully) to imitate Nazi stormtroopers by driving a Jewish shopkeeper from his business. ("Nasties" is William's mispronunciation of "Nazis".)


Related Research Articles

<i>The Wind in the Willows</i> 1908 English childrens novel by Kenneth Grahame

The Wind in the Willows is a children's novel by the British novelist Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. It details the story of Mole, Ratty and Badger as they try to help Mr. Toad, after he becomes obsessed with a motorcar and gets into trouble. It also details short stories about them that are disconnected from the main narrative. The novel was based on bedtime stories Grahame told his son Alastair. It has been adapted numerous times for both stage and screen.

<i>The Soft Machine</i> 1961 novel by William S Burroughs

The Soft Machine is a 1961 novel by American author William S. Burroughs. It was originally composed using the cut-up technique partly from manuscripts belonging to The Word Hoard. It is the first part of The Nova Trilogy.

<i>The Invisibles</i> Comic book series written by Grant Morrison

The Invisibles is a comic book series published by the Vertigo imprint of DC Comics from 1994 to 2000. It was created and scripted by Scottish writer Grant Morrison, and drawn by various artists throughout its publication.

<i>Bone</i> (comics) Comic book series by Jeff Smith

Bone is an American independently-published graphic novel series, written and illustrated by Jeff Smith, originally serialized in 55 irregularly released issues from 1991 to 2004.

The Three Investigators is an American juvenile detective book series first published as "Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators". It was created by Robert Arthur Jr., who believed involving a famous person such as movie director Alfred Hitchcock would attract attention. Random House, which is owned by Bertelsmann, is the U.S. publisher and still has some of the rights to the books. Other rights are possessed by the heirs of Robert Arthur, Jr. and the German publisher Kosmos. The characters known as the "Three Investigators" are three boys named Jupiter Jones, Peter Crenshaw and Bob Andrews.

<i>The Nasty Girl</i> 1990 film

The Nasty Girl is a 1990 West German drama film based on the true story of Anna Rosmus. The original German title loosely translates as "The Terrible Girl."

William Kotzwinkle is an American novelist, children's writer, and screenwriter. He was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. He has won the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel for Doctor Rat in 1977, and has also won the National Magazine Award for fiction. Kotzwinkle has been most known for writing the novelization of the screenplay for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.

Terrific Whatzit Fictional animal character

The Terrific Whatzit is a fictional superhero turtle appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. DC's first talking animal superhero, the Terrific Whatzit first appeared in Funny Stuff #1 and was created by Martin Naydel.

Charlie Bone is a series of ten children's fantasy, school and adventure novels written by British author Jenny Nimmo, first published by Egmont 2002 to 2010. It is sometimes called "the Charlie Bone series" after its main character. A series of five books was announced in advance, completed in 2006, and sometimes the books were called the "Red King Quintet" until its continuation.

The Magician's House is a quartet of children's fantasy books by William Corlett. Two mini-series were produced in 1999 for British television, which were directed by Paul Lynch. The series featured Jennifer Saunders and Stephen Fry voicing some of the animal characters.

JLA: Pain of the Gods

JLA: Pain of the Gods is a trade paperback which compiles issues #101-106 of the American comic book JLA, published by DC Comics. This story arc was written by Chuck Austen and penciled by Ron Garney.

Invisible Scarlet O'Neil is a 1940-1956 American comic strip written and drawn by Russell Stamm, who had previously been an assistant to Chester Gould on Dick Tracy. The strip focused on Scarlet O'Neil, a plainclothes superhero with the power of invisibility.

The Just William series is a sequence of thirty-eight books written by English author Richmal Crompton. The books chronicle the adventures of the unruly schoolboy William Brown.

<i>Bert Feggs Nasty Book for Boys and Girls</i>

Bert Fegg's Nasty Book for Boys And Girls is a humorous book first published by Methuen in 1974 which purports to have been written by a psychopathic character, Dr. Fegg. In fact, the book is the work of Terry Jones and Michael Palin, who adapted a range of material from scripts written for the television comedy series, Monty Python's Flying Circus. Some material was later used in the duo's later TV series, Ripping Yarns (1975–78). The first edition was sold bearing a sticker on the front cover which read "A Monty Python Educational Product".

<i>The Tales of Beedle the Bard</i> Book by J. K. Rowling

The Tales of Beedle the Bard is a book of children's stories by the author J. K. Rowling. There is a storybook of the same name mentioned in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the last book of the Harry Potter series.

<i>The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume II</i>

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume II is a comic book limited series written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Kevin O'Neill, published under the America's Best Comics imprint of DC Comics in the United States and under Vertigo in the United Kingdom. It is a sequel to the original volume of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and like its previous installment is a pastiche of various characters and events from Victorian literature; though it borrows a great number of characters and elements from various literary works of writers such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Ian Fleming, Robert Louis Stevenson and Bram Stoker, it is predominantly a retelling of The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells.

The Pied Piper of Hamelin has appeared many times in popular culture.

<i>Freddy the Politician</i>

Freddy the Politician (1939) is the 6th book in the humorous children's series Freddy the Pig written by American author Walter R. Brooks and illustrated by Kurt Wiese. In this story, the Bean farm animals start a bank, and elect their first president, two institutions appearing through the rest of the series. Their honest and innocent approach is soon challenged by strangers from Washington.

<i>Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk</i> 2010 short story collection by David Sedaris

Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary is a collection of animal-themed humorous short stories by memoirist and humorist David Sedaris. The collection was published in September 2010.

<i>Mouseheart</i> Series of adventure novels by Lisa Fiedler

The Mouseheart series is an ongoing series of children's adventure novels by Lisa Fiedler. The series currently comprises three books, the first of which was released in 2014 by Margaret K. McElderry Books.