Figure 1.--
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Figure 1.-- |
There were several series of school books, including Billy Bunter, Biggles, and Jennings. Also boys were not expected to show their wealth and family connections at school, interesting in that the mere fact that they were attending these schools set them out as a privlidged minority. One of the most important school hero was Biggles, but he went on to become an important aviator. Jennings was set at a prep school rather than a public school. We are not familiar with all he different school series, but we hope that our British readers will provide more details here. One notable point. We know of no important English school literary character that came frm a state school. All the major characters were st at private schools.
James Bigglesworth or Biggles was one of the most popular boys' novels in the 1950s. These were
really children's literature, but the Biggles' books were so popular that Biggles have to be considred as an important English
literature character. James Bigglesworth, or Biggles as he is better known, was created by Captain W.E. Johns. Jone wrote 80 books about Biggles and his airplane adventures. The Biggles saga begins in India--Britain's most important colony. He was born in May or August 1899. As was the case for many British boys in India, Biggles was sent home to go to school at age of 12. (Some British boys were sent home for their prep school.) Biggles apparently had trouble with India's tropical climate. He was sent home to England because he coudn't take the climate. At about age 15, Biggles begins at Malton Hall boarding school which focuses on preparing the boys to enter a military academy. Biggles was not the normal English school story. In fact, it was an aviation adventure story. In many ways, however, Biggles was a school story set in the RAF. He is perhaps better known as an aviation hero.
One of the most famous British public (private) school boy is Billy Bunter. The series of books was written by
Frank Richards. At one time it was so popular that it was transmitted at 5.25pm for children and again two hours later for the
parents! Bunter's teacher was Mr. Quelch (Kynaston Reeves) and Harry Wharton, Bob Cherry, Inky, Ram Singh, Frank
Nugent, Mauly, and the bully Coker were his schoolchums at Greyfriars School. He loved jam tarts particularly.
Jennings is one of the most famous English school boy. Jennings as he was usually referred to is a prep school
boy. (Although elementary age boys, they used their last names. In fact I don't even know his first name.) The other famous
schollboy was Jennings who went to a state elementary school. The first Jennings story was serialised on the radio in 1948.
Two years later the first Jennings book was released, authored by Anthony Buckeridge. One musical, several plays, 22 books
and nearly 10 million sales later, the Jennings books are still enjoyed, and generation after generation have been able to read
about "that boy Jenning's exploits".
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