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        Not Pete Atkin >> Off-topic >> Just William
        
(Message started by: Kevin Cryan on Today at 13:37)

Title: Just William
Post by Kevin Cryan on Today at 13:37

It might be interest to those who have followed Pete's career in broadcasting to know that Richmal Crompton’s Just William is one of 35 titles chosen (http://kcryan.wordpress.com/2009/04/28/the-chidrens-laureates-childrens-books/) to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Children's Laureateship. (http://www.childrenslaureate.org.uk/About-the-award).

I don’t know whether or not Anne Fine, the laureate who choice Just William is, has ever listened to Martin Jarvis' readings (http://www.bbcworldwide.com/spokenword/interviews/mjarvis.htm) of the Just William stories – many of which were either produced or directed by Pete – or whether or not they influenced her choice in any way, but I can say they are so very good that I still read many of the stories without feeling any sense that I might be wasting my time, or reading something that is beneath me.

Kevin Cryan

Title: Re: Just William
Post by Murray McGlew on 29.04.09 at 12:18

Following the Martin Jarvis link in Kevin's post I was surprised to find that Richmal Crompton was a woman. I don't know why I assumed otherwise, I've never seen the name used for a man either. Still, my track record is not good; I went for twenty years thinking Harper Lee was male.

Title: Re: Just William
Post by Seán Kelly on 12.05.09 at 15:13

Didn't she mean everyone to think that she was a man by using a non-gendered but slightly male sounding name? Probably thought us boys would be put off otherwise Murray (probably right too!)
S

Title: Re: Just William
Post by Ian Chippett on 12.05.09 at 15:54

Sean wrote:

<<Didn't she mean everyone to think that she was a man by using a non-gendered but slightly male sounding name? Probably thought us boys would be put off otherwise Murray (probably right too!) >>

I wasn't put off Enid Blyton (not until comparatively recent years anyway) by her name. I was a big Noddy fan (had the Collected Works at one point) and remember with pleasure "The Boy Next Door," which I read and re-read. I remember Clive reviewing a TV programme about Enid and marvelling at the speed with which she wrote, probably even faster and more prolific than Clive.

Ian C

Title: Re: Just William
Post by Rob Spence on 12.05.09 at 16:33

on 05/12/09 at 15:13:38, Seán Kelly wrote :

Didn't she mean everyone to think that she was a man by using a non-gendered but slightly male sounding name? Probably thought us boys would be put off otherwise Murray (probably right too!)
S

Err... Richmal was her name, her real name, so I don't think there's any question of using it. It is a rare name, true, but a proper one. I have a female colleague called Richmal, who, it strikes me, might well have been named after Ms Crompton. I'll have to ask.

Title: Re: Just William
Post by Ian Chippett on 12.05.09 at 18:32

Didn't the Beatles do a song called "Baby, You're A Richmal?" Probably not.

Ian C

Title: Re: Just William
Post by Leslie Moss on 26.05.09 at 10:48

When I was a kid I used to visit my grandparents' house in Derby. The house was a cornucopia of stuff for kids, and one day I was able to bring back home with me a whole set of thin red hardbacks - all of them Just William books. They were some of my most enjoyable reading as a kid. They got left behind when I left my parents home and subsequently, when they moved out the books found a good home and hopefully a new generation of readers.

Leslie

Title: Re: Just William
Post by Seán Kelly on 31.05.09 at 11:11

on 05/12/09 at 16:33:37, Rob Spence wrote :

Err... Richmal was her name, her real name, so I don't think there's any question of using it.

Thanks Rob - faulty memory syndrome (again... possibly!)