Billy Bunter the Stowaway by Frank Richards.

Published March 1964 by Cassell & Co

Illustrated by C. H. Chapman.

            First things first. This is a remarkably well-written story. The narrative, 3^rd person sections are crisp & witty, free from tautology, and the dialogue is convincing, & includes the reiteration and standardisation typical of Hamilton.  Stylistically, it is written in the traditional Frank Richards manner. A style with which readers had been familiar for over fifty years.

            Lord Mauleverer has to travel to Egypt. His uncle, unable to accompany him, has asked Mr. Quelch to supervise the trip. The generous & kind-hearted Mauly invites Wharton & Co as his guests. Bunter is most definitely not invited, but, as we all know, the egregious owl has his means. Hence the title of the book!

             The purpose of the trip is to deliver a vase that may or may not be M’ing to Egypt. The chums travel to Egypt, have various adventures than includes kidnapping, and an escapade with a “snake,” then return home. Bunter suffers with sea-sickness, falls of donkeys, and is always on hand to inadvertently thwart plots. Traditional Greyfriars holiday fare.

            A better than average holiday yarn.

            So, is that it?

            Far from it!

            This book was published in 1964, three years after Hamilton’s death. Copyright is credited to “Una Harrison.” All Hamilton fans are familiar with the name Una, but she is not a Harrison.

            Popular wisdom has it that this was the rough draft for a BBC tv production, which was subsequently “padded out” by another writer.

            In the first chapter Bob Cherry exclaims “suffering crocodiles.” Now this could be genuine Hamilton, but it sounds more like Jennings. Later, Mr Quelch rewards Bunter with a ten-shilling note after the “M’ing” vase is saved from theft.  On another occasion, he is visibly relieved when Hurree Singh returns after being abducted. Does this sound like the gimlet-eyed, grim-visaged disciplinarian we all know?

Another interesting clue is the final sentence. In many, but by no means all, of the Billy Bunter books, the closing sentence contains the title of the story.  This was not so in this case.

This was possibly the best-written Bunter book for years? Was it written by the Master hand? Whatever the case, it is probably the last of the great Billy Bunter stories.