Wednesday, the 21st of July, and time for Shelf Control once again! Shelf Control is a weekly feature hosted by Lisa at Bookshelf Fantasies, and celebrates the books waiting to be read on your TBR piles/mountains. To participate, all you do is pick a book from your TBR pile, and write a post about it–what its about, why you want to read it, when you got it, and such. If you participate, don’t forget to link back to Lisa’s page, and do also leave your links in the comments below as I’d love to check out your picks as well!
Richmal Crompton’s William books were a favourite of my mom’s as a child and while I didn’t read any as a child, I did read them when I was much older and enjoyed them very much as well (of course, I haven’t read anywhere close to the full series of Williams). Until a friend of mine mentioned a few years ago some of Crompton’s books written for adults (William by the way is as enjoyable for adults as well), I hadn’t realised she had written any. But looking them up, I found she’s actually written quite a few. I kept planning to pick some up from then, but still haven’t gotten down to it.
Today, my pick for Shelf Control is one of these, Steffan Green. First published in 1940, Steffan Green is a standalone novel. The story is of Lettice Helston, whose high-society marriage breaks down, which sees her flee her glamorous London life and go to her friend, Dorrie for comfort. She makes an unexpected detour (the result of taking a wrong turn) to a charming village, Steffan Green. Here, she meets new friends, encounters a scandal and also finds herself completely absorbed into village life. This ‘delightful account’ of life in the country in the 1930s, tells of how Lettice finds peace and happiness in a completely different life.
I enjoy books set amidst village life, telling us stories of the people, relationships, gossip, village events and such–and the fact that this is set in the 1930s, makes it sound all the more delightful. It sounds from its description and the few reviews I’ve read on Goodreads like a charming read with plenty of humour and just the thing for me.
Are you a William fan? Which is your favourite book or books? Have you read any of Richmal Crompton’s books for adults? Which ones and how did you find them? Looking forward to your thoughts!
Cover image and description from Goodreads as always.
Lisa’s pick this week is another author on my TBR, Kirstin Hannah, Night Road. Find the post here
p.s.: I have since read and reviewed the book; full review here
Literary Potpourri 
I read a few of the earlier William books when I was a kid, probably the first four or five, though nothing since I was 13 or 14. Emily has a box set of a recent-ish paperback edition, though I haven’t looked at them, and even a couple of vintage copies she’s kept since before she met me which I might pick up now. But her books for adults? Not come across them at all though I knew she’d written some. I’m intrigued now! 🙂
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The Williams are great fun; I don’t really know why I never had any as a child since my mother loved them so–she often bought me Blyton; Dunnos, and her other favourites. But I think you’d enjoy dipping into them.
I hadn’t heard of her books for adults till my friend mentioned them; and only then did I find how many they were. If I remember right, my friend also mentioned that Crompton hadn’t intended the Williams as children’s books when she first wrote them
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I think I must have truly realised they were intended for an adult audience when there were punny jokes (like William mistakingly saying ‘My love is like a bottled cherry’ instead of Botticelli) which adults would appreciate, and knowing observations about the way the Outlaws thought and spoke which I thought a bit disrespectful to kids in general; however, their hearts were always in the right place, which I admired, and the jokes at the expense of Violet Elizabeth Bott and William’s brother Robert were always sympathetic to William’s cause.
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I think also the instance where one of the gang writes about someone sitting on a copse, and William or one of the other wonders why anyone would sit on a dead body; I can’t quite remember the words, but children wouldn’t have enjoyed it so much
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I had several of the Just William series on audiobook when I was younger (on cassette tapes!)
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I have a small stack of paperbacks–while the covers have been modernized but they have retained the original illustrations inside.
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They sound nice – that’s the one thing you don’t get with audiobooks!
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Yes, they’re lovely with a lot of period detail in the clothes and such.
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Here’s one for instance
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The only audiobook I had on cassettes was one of the Miss Marple books.
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I’ve never heard of these! Now I’m going to have to investigate the William books!
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Hope you enjoy them; they are really good fun; the first few complete with illustrations are on Project Gutenberg
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