Richmal Crompton (1890-1969) is best known for her thirty-eight children¿s books featuring William Brown, which were published between 1922 and 1970. Born in Lancashire, Crompton won a scholarship to Royal Holloway in London, where she trained as a schoolteacher, graduating in 1914, before turning to writing full-time in 1923. Alongside the William stories, Crompton wrote forty-one novels for adults, including Family Roundabout, Portrait of a Family , and The Holiday ,__ as well as nine collections of short stories.