Charles Skilton originally had the idea for publishing the books after seeing an article about Frank Richards in the Picture Post of 11th May 1946 entitled Do You Remember Billy Bunter? You can read the original article here.
Frank Richards originally requested a flat fee of so much per 1,00 words, but Skilton persuaded him to write them on a royalty basis. The first volume sold 25,000 copies almost immediately (the maximum allowed at the time due to paper rationing) and earned Frank Richards over £1,000. Cassell took over publication in 1952 with volume 11. The first 16 volumes were illustrated by R J Macdonald, but following his death C H Chapman took over with volume 17. The first volume cost 5/-, volumes 2-18 cost 7/6, 19-25 cost 8/6, 26-30 cost 9/6, 31-33 cost 10/6 and 34-38 cost 11/6
Volumes 34-38 were published after Charles Hamilton's death. Allegedly, volume 34 was completed and the following 4 volumes written by an unknown author, though this is disputed by Charles Hamilton's niece. An alternative explanation for the falling off in quality may simply be that Hamilton was old and frail, and his memory and eyesight not as good as they once were, Hamilton's niece asserts that the books were written by Hamilton, with a friend George Foster proofing the books for errors.
+ Volumes 1, 6, 8, 15, 16, and 25 were reprinted in September 1982 by the Quiller Press; edited by Kay King (which meant updating the slang) and with illustrations by Victor Ambrus, priced at £4.95 each. They were not successful.
* A number were also reprinted in facsimile format (including hard covers) by Hawk Books in the 1990s.
# Some were reprinted by Armada books in paperback format (although the series also reprinted individual Magnet stories in paperback novel format).
No. |
Title |
|
Author |
Published |
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
Billy Bunter of Greyfriars School |
* + # |
Frank Richards |
September 1947 |
2 |
Billy Bunter’s Banknote |
* |
Frank Richards |
October 1948 |
3 |
Billy Bunter’s Barring-Out |
* |
Frank Richards |
October 1948 |
4 |
Billy Bunter in Brazil |
* # |
Frank Richards |
March 1949 |
|
Bessie Bunter of Cliff House School |
* |
Hilda Richards |
1949 |
5 |
Billy Bunter’s Christmas Party |
* |
Frank Richards |
October 1949 |
6 |
Billy Bunter’s Benefit |
* + # |
Frank Richards |
March 1950 |
7 |
Billy Bunter Among the Cannibals |
* |
Frank Richards |
September 1950 |
8 |
Billy Bunter’s Postal Order |
* + # |
Frank Richards |
May 1951 |
9 |
Billy Bunter Butts In |
* |
Frank Richards |
December 1951 |
10 |
Billy Bunter and the Blue Mauritius |
* |
Frank Richards |
March 1952 |
11 |
Billy Bunter’s Beanfeast |
* |
Frank Richards |
November 1952 |
12 |
Billy Bunter’s Brainwave |
|
Frank Richards |
July 1953 |
13 |
Billy Bunter’s First Case |
* |
Frank Richards |
October 1953 |
14 |
Billy Bunter the Bold |
# |
Frank Richards |
March 1954 |
15 |
Bunter Does His Best |
* + |
Frank Richards |
September 1954 |
16 |
Billy Bunter’s Double |
* + |
Frank Richards |
March 1955 |
17 |
Backing Up Billy Bunter |
|
Frank Richards |
September 1955 |
18 |
Lord Billy Bunter |
|
Frank Richards |
April 1956 |
19 |
The Banishing of Billy Bunter |
|
Frank Richards |
September 1956 |
20 |
Billy Bunter’s Bolt |
* |
Frank Richards |
March 1957 |
21 |
Billy Bunter Afloat |
* |
Frank Richards |
August 1957 |
22 |
Billy Bunter’s Bargain |
* |
Frank Richards |
March 1958 |
23 |
Billy Bunter the Hiker |
* |
Frank Richards |
August 1958 |
24 |
Bunter Out of Bounds |
|
Frank Richards |
March 1959 |
25 |
Bunter Comes For Christmas |
* + |
Frank Richards |
September 1959 |
26 |
Bunter the Bad Lad |
* |
Frank Richards |
March 1960 |
27 |
Bunter Keeps It Dark |
|
Frank Richards |
August 1960 |
28 |
Billy Bunter’s Treasure Hunt |
|
Frank Richards |
March 1961 |
29 |
Billy Bunter at Butlins (with 2 different covers) |
|
Frank Richards |
June 1961 |
30 |
Bunter the Ventriloquist |
* |
Frank Richards |
October 1961 |
31 |
Bunter the Caravanner |
* |
Frank Richards |
March 1962 |
32 |
Billy Bunter’s Bodyguard |
* |
Frank Richards |
September 1962 |
33 |
Big Chief Bunter |
|
Frank Richards |
March 1963 |
34 |
Just Like Bunter |
|
Frank Richards |
September 1963 |
35 |
Bunter the Stowaway |
|
Frank Richards |
March 1964 |
36 |
Thanks to Bunter |
|
Frank Richards |
September 1964 |
37 |
Bunter the Sportsman |
|
Frank Richards |
April 1965 |
38 |
Bunter’s Last Fling * |
|
Frank Richards |
September 1965 |
* Originally entitled Bunter to the Rescue, it was renamed as a consequence of being the last of the sequence |
Miscellaneous
|
The Autobiography of Frank Richards |
|
Frank Richards |
1952 |
|
The Autobiography of Frank Richards [Memorial Edition] |
Frank Richards |
1962 |
|
Greyfriars School - a Prospectus |
|
J.S. Butcher |
1965 |
|
