BBC Audio Just William: A Radio Collection: Classic readings from the archive

Martin Jarvis does a wonderful job of reading these very enjoyable and entertaining stories full of imagination and adventure.

My husband loved these books as a kid, so I bought it to add to our library. It says it is for ages 9-11, but really it can be funny for any age. It is a book of short stories about William and all the trouble he manages to get into. It would be great for bedtime stories. Or it would be nice to read during a family vacation. It is funny and light-hearted, and everyone can enjoy.

Libro in perfetto stato

I read the William books as a young child. They were red hardback books that I'd inherited from my older siblings. However, we didn't have this particular book, so I've now read it for the first time.William is the sort of boy who, if he were a real boy, and existed in this day and age, would probably be sent to an institution, or at the very least be heavily sedated with Ritalin, or something even worse.Apart from William, the Brown family consists of Mr. and Mrs. Brown and William's older siblings, Robert and Ethel.Mrs. Brown is resigned and patient as regards William's escapades, while Mr. Brown mostly contents himself with exclaiming “He's mad, mad, I say!”William's exploits are actually more than minor misdemeanours and, instead of mildly putting up with them, it might have been more fitting had the parents set some firm limits. But then of course the book wouldn't have been so funny.This book was published in 1922 (I read the books for the first time in the 50s), and it contains quite a few old-fashioned and thus unfamiliar words and expressions. It is eloquently written; the author doesn't talk down to the reader, and puts to good use her rich, extensive vocabulary.One linguistic feature that puzzles me is that, while the rest of the family talk in an absolutely refined and educated manner, William, though gifted with amazing powers of persuasion and articulation, expresses himself in a distinctly ungrammatical and “common” way, which in fact more resembles the speech of their servants, (William's family is middle-class, and they were endowed with both a Cook and a housemaid, as far as I recall, and perhaps more servants.)In this book, William wanders into a nearby mansion and finds himself mistaken for a servant boy, “the new Boots” (whatever that is), and tries his hand at this, until it all ends tumultuously. In a later chapter his Great-Aunt Emily comes to visit; her only occupations are eating and sleeping, and when she sleeps she snores in an impressive and entertaining manner. The ever resourceful William avails himself of the opportunity to augment his pocket money by inviting the village children to come to witness/listen to this fascinating performance, and soon they're all lining up and paying all they've got to witness the show. Subsequently, Great-Aunt Emily cuts short her stay, which had been threatening to become exceedingly long-lasting, and Mr. Brown, who was not enamoured of her, rewards William with half-a-crown. (And I recall a time when half-a-crown was quite a large sum!).The book contains innumerable further hilarious episodes, including one in which Mrs. Brown was so irresponsible as to entrust William with looking after a toddler for the afternoon, though Robert was shocked at her naïve trust in her younger son.I'm not a person that generally laughs aloud when watching a funny film or reading a funny book, but found myself doing so several times when reading this book. Since I've heard that laughing is extremely good for one, maybe I should read or re-read all the William books! I highly recommend them, including this one, to all.

What an awsome set of books! Found this one for a gift for a 9 Yr old and he loves it. His parents are very happy (and have since bought more) Originally written in 1922, it is incredible how many books there are of 'Just William'. Anyone who is having problems finding suitable, engaging and fun books for an 9/10/11/12 yr old boy, get these. I thoroughly recommend...