The Just William series is a vintage children’s book series from Britain. William Brown is an imaginative boy who frequently gets into trouble, often because he’s acting out things that he’s read in books and seen in movies. He lives with his parents and his older sister Ethel and older brother Robert. William also has a group of friends, a sort of club that they call the Outlaws, although what they consider “outlaw” activities is frequently romanticized. William sometimes means well but messes up because of his misconceptions. Other times, William can be self-serving, just trying to get something he wants or turn a situation to his advantage.

This series lasted over a period of decades, but William is always a young boy, about 11 years old. His siblings’ ages vary between the books, from about 17 to about 21 or 22, which is just one of the inconsistencies found throughout the series. Some recurring characters are called by different last names in different books, and William’s mother is called either Mary or Margaret, depending on the book.

I think it’s important to note that some inappropriate racial language appears in the stories, and the series has faced some criticism because of the way that the children treat animals in the story. Of even more serious concern is a particular story that appears in the book William the Detective, where William suspects a Jewish shop owner of cheating him and gets people in town to gang up on him in a sort of parody of the Nazis in Germany. The story was published in 1935, and not everyone took the Nazis seriously at the time. The story ends fairly well, with William saving the shop owner from a thief and relations between them are repaired, but in light of later events in the real world, this story became very uncomfortable and was removed from later printings of the book.

I find the series interesting because the author tried to incorporate current events into the stories. The books published during WWII feature patriotic themes, with William and his friends taking part in air raid precautions, trying to help the war effort, and meeting evacuee children who were sent to their town. However, some of the pre-war books have some content that might not be appropriate for modern children. I think adults who are interested in vintage books or studying what children in the past were reading could find the original versions of the books interesting. Adults who introduce modern children should be aware of the content of the books.

In spite of some of the controversies about this series, it has been very popular in Britain for decades, enjoyed by generations of families, and there are many people who are nostalgic about it. It has been adapted for radio, film, and television many times.

The series is by Richmal Crompton.

Books in the Series

Just William (1922)

More William (1922)

William Again (1923)

William the Fourth (1924)

Still William (1925)

William the Conquerer (1926)

William the Outlaw (1927)

William in Trouble (1927)

William the Good (1928)

William (1929)

William the Bad (1930)

William’s Happy Days (1930)

William’s Crowded Hours (1931)

William the Pirate (1932)

William the Rebel (1933)

William the Gangster (1934)

William the Detective (1935)

Sweet William (1936)

William the Showman (1937)

William the Dictator (1938)

William and Air Raid Precautions (1939)

William and the Evacuees (1940)

William Does His Bit (1941)

William Carries On (1942)

William and the Brains Trust (1945)

Just Williams’s Luck (1948)

This is the only book in the series that is a novel instead of a collection of short stories.

William – The Bold (1950)

William and the Tramp (1952)

William and the Moon Rocket (1954)

William and the Space Animal (1956)

William’s Television Show (1958)

William the Explorer (1960)

William’s Treasure Trove (1962)

William and the Witch (1964)

William and the Pop Singers (1965)

William and the Masked Ranger (1966)

William the Superman (1968)

William the Lawless (1970)