William, the Outlaw

William and the Outlaws are back, and boredom is once again the spark for rebellion. On a perfect afternoon, William, Ginger, Douglas, and Henry grumble their way toward school, turn schoolboy complaints into mock politics, and then abandon lessons altogether for a grand life of freedom in the woods. Their outlaw fantasy quickly collapses into comic hardship on Ringers' Hill, where sour berries, stubborn fires, and empty rabbit snares test their resolve. Worse still, school authorities appear on the horizon, forcing William into a desperate trick with a signpost, only for the boys to be confronted by a fierce stranger who turns out to be Professor Fremlin, a geologist delivering an impromptu lesson. Humiliated and hungry, the Outlaws retreat, then plunge into a new holiday adventure when they discover the shy, eccentric amateur scientist Mr. Galileo Simpkins has moved nearby. As they trail a mysterious black coat, eavesdrop on adult vanity and snobbery, and scheme around Miss Poll's gate, William's restless ingenuity keeps colliding with the absurdities of grown-up life. Comic, mischievous, and defiantly adventurous, these episodes capture the Outlaws at their most inventive and most doomed. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.