Charles Hamilton (writer)
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Charles Harold St. John Hamilton (August 8 1876 - December 24 1961) was possibly the most prolific English language writer ever. It is estimated that in his lifetime he wrote over a hundred million words, and had the equivalent of one thousand full-length novels published.
Much of his work was published in the weekly boys' papers of the time, and at times he was writing at least six stories each week, using over twenty different pen-names.
He is most famous for his work as Frank Richards for the weekly paper The Magnet, but he also wrote weekly tales of Tom Merry and Co. of St Jim's for The Gem (as Martin Clifford), Jimmy Silver and Co. of Rockwood School for The Boys Friend and The Popular (as Owen Conquest), and Bessie Bunter of Cliff House for The School Friend (as Hilda Richards, supposedly Frank Richards' sister).
His most famous creation were the Billy Bunter stories set in Greyfriars School. The Billy Bunter stories were serialised in The Magnet from 1908 until the paper shortage during World War Two ended the paper in 1940. After World War II, Hamilton wrote a number of Bunter books later published by Charles Skilton and Cassells. He also wrote the scripts for the BBC's Billy Bunter television series starring Gerald Campion, which ran from 1951 to 1961.
In the 1970s Howard Baker began to publish facsimilies of every issue of The Magnet, but fell just short of completing the series after declining sales caused financial problems for the company.
Bunter Books by Charles Hamilton writing as Frank Richards
- Billy Bunter of Greyfriars School 1947
- Billy Bunter's Banknote 1948
- Billy Bunter's Barring Out 1948
- Billy Bunter in Brazil 1949
- Billy Bunter's Christmas Party 1949
- Bessie Bunter of Cliff House School 1949
- Billy Bunter's Benefit 1950
- Billy Bunter Among the Cannibals 1950
- Billy Bunter's Postal Order 1951
- Billy Bunter Butts In 1951
- Billy Bunter and the Blue Mauritius 1952
- Billy Bunter's Beanfeast 1952
- Billy Bunter's Brainwave 1953
- Billy Bunter's First Case 1953
- Billy Bunter the Bold 1954
- Bunter Does His Best 1954
- Billy Bunter's Double 1955
- Backing Up Billy Bunter 1955
- Lord Billy Bunter 1956
- The Banishing of Billy Bunter 1956
- Billy Bunter's Bolt 1957
- Billy Bunter Afloat 1957
- Billy Bunter's Bargain 1958
- Billy Bunter the Hiker 1958
- Bunter Out of Bounds 1959
- Bunter Comes for Christmas 1959
- Bunter the Bad Lad 1960
- Bunter Keeps it Dark 1960
- Billy Bunter's Treasure Hunt 1961
- Billy Bunter at Butlins 1961
- Bunter the Ventriloquist 1961
- Bunter the Caravanner 1962
- Billy Bunter's Bodyguard 1962
- Big Chief Bunter 1963
- Just Like Bunter 1963
- Bunter the Stowaway 1964
- Thanks to Bunter 1964
- Bunter the Sportsman 1965
- Bunter's Last Fling 1965
External links
- Frank Richards (http://www.collectingbooksandmagazines.com/bunter.html) biographical information from an Australian fansite.
- Charles Hamilton email group (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Charles_Hamilton/)
- Charles Hamilton (http://www.sweb.cz/smeagol/charles_hamilton.htm) fan page.
- Anthology Study Guide (http://www.universalteacher.org.uk/langlit/anthologysection2.htm#text15) Analysis of the world Richards' created in the Billy Bunter stories and an explanation of idiom used.
- Boys' Weeklies by George Orwell (http://www.netcharles.com/orwell/essays/boysweeklies1.htm) Essay on the genre focussing on the "Frank Richards'" stories in The Magnet.
- Frank Richards After the Magnet (http://www.gatewaymonthly.com/904richards.html) part 1 of an article on Hamilton's post war career.
- Frank Richards After the Magnet (http://www.gatewaymonthly.com/1004richards.html) part 2