William the fourth - Richmal Crompton

'He's - he's more like a nightmare than a boy.'

Whether he's occupying a bear suit that's slightly too small for him, cloaked in mystery as a fortune-teller or attired in the flowing robes of a Fairy Queen, William is unmistakeably himself: trouble in human form. Only Great-Aunt Jane manages to take William on at his own game - and win!

Richmal Crompton was born in Lancashire in 1890. The first story about William Brown appeared in Home magazine in 1919, and the first collection of William stories was published in book form three years later. In all, thirty-eight William books were published, the last one in 1970, after Richmal Crompton's death