This is a biography of Charles Harold St John Hamilton, better known as Frank Richards, who was such a prolific writer that he wrote the equivalent of one thousand novels in his lifetime. Although he produced westerns, romances, marine adventures and detective stories it was his witty school stories and anti-hero comic character, Billy Bunter that became legendary. His school stories were mainly written for the "Magnet" and " Gem", weekly papers that 80 years after their inception are still reprinted and collected because of Frank Richards stories. The author discusses the literary quality and social attitudes of the stories and their resilient appeal, building up a portrait of the author. She has also written a biography of Richmal Crompton - "The Women Behind William" and "Your'e a Brick, Angela" with Patricia Craig.
- ISBN10 0670819468
- ISBN13 9780670819461
- Publish Date 27 October 1988
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 6 December 1991
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
- Imprint Viking
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 272
- Language English