The Richmal Crompton Collection
The Richmal Crompton Collection comprises books and archive material accumulated during the author's lifetime. It has been given to the University by her family on long term loan.
Just William by a fan
The book collection contains many different editions of the William stories, with a variety of jackets and in a range of languages, as well as her much less well known novels for adult readers, some fifty titles. An unusual feature for this type of collection is that it also includes the author’s personal library, from which can be seen the eclectic nature of her own reading.
The wealth of archive material ranges from jottings of ideas for William stories, fan letters and drawings sent to her by children, through to business letters and accounts. One strength of the collection is the many typescripts of radio plays featuring Just William, and there is a small selection of memorabilia surrounding this much loved character, including “The book of the film” which accompanied the 1939 feature film.
A range of published biographical material gives insight into the life of Richmal Crompton herself.
Richmal Crompton PresentationClick here to find an interim list of items in the Collection, prepared by the Trustees.