Richmal Crompton was born in Lancashire in 1890. The first story about William Brown appeared in Home magazine in 1919, and the first collection of William stories was published in book form three years later. In all, 38 William books were published, the last one in 1970, after Richmal Crompton's death. Louise Rennison is the author of the Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series. Thomas Henry (1879-1962) was an English illustrator best known for his illustrations of the Just William series.