Nigel Molesworth
Encyclopedia
Geoffrey Willans
Herbert Geoffrey Willans , an English author and journalist, is best known as the co-creator, with the illustrator Ronald Searle, of Nigel Molesworth, the "goriller of 3b and curse of St. Custard's"....
), with cartoon illustrations by Ronald Searle
Ronald Searle
Ronald William Fordham Searle, CBE, RDI, is a British artist and cartoonist, best known as the creator of St Trinian's School. He is also the co-author of the Molesworth series....
.
The Molesworth books were the result of an approach by Willans to the cartoonist, Searle, to illustrate a series of books based on a column he had been writing for Punch
Punch (magazine)
Punch, or the London Charivari was a British weekly magazine of humour and satire established in 1841 by Henry Mayhew and engraver Ebenezer Landells. Historically, it was most influential in the 1840s and 50s, when it helped to coin the term "cartoon" in its modern sense as a humorous illustration...
. They appeared in instalments in the children's magazine The Young Elizabethan
The Young Elizabethan
The Young Elizabethan was a British children's literary magazine of the 20th century.The magazine was founded in 1948 as Collins Magazine for Boys & Girls. In 1953, two weeks before the coronation of Elizabeth II, the magazine changed its name to The Young Elizabethan to honour the new queen...
, described by Molesworth as "the super smashing New Young Elizabethan ahem (advert.)". Searle had grown disillusioned with his (very popular) St Trinian's School
St Trinian's School
St Trinian's is a fictional girls' boarding school, the creation of English cartoonist Ronald Searle, that later became the subject of a popular series of comedy films....
series but had promised his publisher Max Parrish another Christmas best-seller. Searle was initially sceptical about another school-based project but was won over by the examples he was given to read by Willans. Between the initial publication in 1953 and Willans' death in 1958 (aged 47) three books were completed and most of a fourth (Back in the Jug Agane) written; the Compleet Molesworth anthology was also under way. The first book, Down With Skool, was published in October 1953 and by that Christmas had sold, according to Searle, 53,848 copies surpassing the performance of the previous year's The Terror of St. Trinian's.
St. Custard's
Nigel is a schoolboy at St Custard's, a fictional (and terrible) prep schoolPreparatory school (UK)
In English language usage in the former British Empire, the present-day Commonwealth, a preparatory school is an independent school preparing children up to the age of eleven or thirteen for entry into fee-paying, secondary independent schools, some of which are known as public schools...
located in a carefully unspecified part of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is ruled with an iron fist by Headmaster Grimes (BA, Stoke on Trent), who is constantly in search of cash to supplement his income and has a part-time business running a whelk stall. Other masters include Sigismund Arbuthnot, the mad maths master, who frequently appears as Molesworth's nemesis in his daydreams.
St Custard's has 62 pupils and, according to Molesworth, "was built by a madman in 1836". Students include Grabber, the head boy and winner of the Mrs Joyful Prize for Rafia-work, whose father owns a publishing business; Peason, Molesworth's "grate frend" and companion on his frequently-imagined interplanetary adventures; Fotherington-Tomas, the school sissy; and Molesworth 2, Nigel's annoying younger brother. The school's traditional local rivals are Porridge Court, who regularly beat them at sporting events.
Nigel's spelling is extremely uneven, a feature found endearing by fans. The phrase "as any fule kno", appended to many of Nigel's pronouncements, has achieved fame beyond its author, and can sometimes be seen in the mainstream British press (usually in a satirical
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
context; the phrase often appears in Private Eye
Private Eye
Private Eye is a fortnightly British satirical and current affairs magazine, edited by Ian Hislop.Since its first publication in 1961, Private Eye has been a prominent critic and lampooner of public figures and entities that it deemed guilty of any of the sins of incompetence, inefficiency,...
). It was also used as the title of a Deep Purple
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...
song.
The books in the series are, in order of publication:
- Down with Skool! A Guide to School Life for Tiny Pupils and their Parents (1953)
- How to be Topp: A Guide to Sukcess for Tiny Pupils, Including All There is to Kno about Space (1954)
- Whizz for Atomms: A Guide to Survival in the 20th Century for Fellow Pupils, their Doting Maters, Pompous Paters and Any Others who are Interested (1956)
- Published in the U.S. as Molesworth's Guide to the Atommic Age
- Back in the Jug Agane (1959)
- The Compleet Molesworth (1958)
- Molesworth (2000 Penguin reprint), ISBN 0-14-118600-3
They are part of a British tradition of children's books set at boarding schools (called school stories
School story
The school story is a fiction genre centering on older pre-adolescent and adolescent school life, at its most popular in the first half of the twentieth century. While examples do exist in other countries, it is most commonly set in English boarding schools and mostly written in girls and boys sub...
) which also includes the likes of the Billy Bunter
Billy Bunter
William George Bunter , is a fictional character created by Charles Hamilton using the pen name Frank Richards...
stories and Jennings
Jennings (novels)
The Jennings series is a collection of humorous novels of children's literature concerning the escapades of J C T Jennings, a schoolboy at Linbury Court preparatory school in England. There are 25 in total, all written by Anthony Buckeridge...
novels, and most recently the Harry Potter
Harry Potter
Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
books. Unlike these others, however, the Molesworth books do not consist of linear storylines, but rather feature Molesworth's wisdom on a variety of topics, as well as his fanciful daydreams. The topics covered extend from boarding school life, to reflections on the culture of 1950s Britain. Television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
(then still relatively novel to British households), space travel
Spaceflight
Spaceflight is the act of travelling into or through outer space. Spaceflight can occur with spacecraft which may, or may not, have humans on board. Examples of human spaceflight include the Russian Soyuz program, the U.S. Space shuttle program, as well as the ongoing International Space Station...
and the atomic age
Atomic Age
The Atomic Age, also known as the Atomic Era, is a phrase typically used to delineate the period of history following the detonation of the first nuclear bomb Trinity on July 16, 1945...
, the Davy Crockett craze and "How to be a young Elizabethan" all feature, as well as more timeless topics such as Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
, the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
(with N. Molesworth, Ace Reporter), and girls.
Author Simon Brett
Simon Brett
Simon Brett is a prolific writer of whodunnits. The son of a chartered surveyor, he was educated at Dulwich College and Wadham College, Oxford, where he got a first-class honours degree in English...
later wrote two sequels to the series in which a grown-up Nigel offered his observations on subjects such as jobs, family, holidays and D.I.Y.
- Molesworth Rites Again (1983)
- How To Stay Topp (1987)
Major characters
Some of the students at St Custard's:- Nigel Molesworth, the self-styled "curse of st custards" and "gorila of 3B"
- Molesworth 2, his younger brother. Described by Nigel as "uterly wet and a weed it panes me to think i am of the same blud". May be called George
- Peason, Molesworth's "grate frend". Molesworth and Peason build numerous inventions together
- Gillibrand, another of Molesworth's classmates. It is mentioned in passing that his father is a GeneralGeneralA general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
- Grabber. Head boy of the School, "captane of everything" (especially "foopball") and "winer of the mrs joyful prize for rafia work". His parents are extremely rich, and Molesworth cynically opines that Grabber "could win a brownies knitting badge for the ushual amount"
- Basil Fotherington-ThomasFotherington-ThomasBasil Fotherington-Thomas is a classic fictional character in a series of books by Geoffrey Willans and Ronald Searle starring the archetypal English prep school boy of the 1950s - Nigel Molesworth - who is the supposed author....
. A weed and a sissySissySissy is a pejorative term for a boy or man who violates or does not meet the traditional male gender role. Generally, sissy implies a lack of the courage and stoicism which are thought important to the male role...
. He has curly blond locks and is prone to skip around the school girlishly saying "Hello clouds, hello sky"
Some of the staff at St Custard's:
- Headmaster GRIMES. Headmasters "are always very ferce and keep thousands of KANES chiz moan drone"
- Sigismund Arbuthnot, the mad maths master
- The Matron
(Many of the staff are anonymous.)
Quotes
- "'Reality,' sa molesworth 2, 'is so unspeakably sordid it make me shudder.'" (Whizz for Atomms)
- "As any fule kno" - e.g. "a chiz is a swiz or a swindle, as any fule kno."
- [on music] "I can only tell you that if you get the whole lot of minims crotchets and quavers mixed up together it is like an atomic xplosion cheers cheers cheers." (How to Be Topp)
- [on grandmothers] "Most boys have 2 grans" (Down With Skool); "Grandmothers are all very strikt and they all sa the same thing as they smile swetely over their gin and orange. It is a grandmother's privilege to spoil her grandchildren GET OFF THAT SOFA NIGEL YOU WILL BRAKE IT." (How to Be Topp)
- [On LatinLatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
] "Fancy a grown man saying hujus hujus hujus as if he were proud of it it is not english and do not make SENSE." (How to Be Topp) - [on sport] "It is a funny thing tho your side always gets beaten whichever skool you are at. That is like life i supose." (How to Be Topp)
- [on grown ups] "Grown ups are what's left when skool is finished."
- [on History] "History started badly and hav been geting steadily worse."
- [on smoking] "You have caught me. Sir, like a treenTreensThe Treens are fictional aliens in the Dan Dare stories. They debuted in Dan Dare: The First Story, which was serialized in the Eagle comic magazine from Volume 1, Number 1 to Volume 2, Number 25...
in a disabled spaceship." - [on Colin WilsonColin WilsonColin Henry Wilson is a prolific English writer who first came to prominence as a philosopher and novelist. Wilson has since written widely on true crime, mysticism and other topics. He prefers calling his philosophy new existentialism or phenomenological existentialism.- Early biography:Born and...
] "Advanced, forthright, signifficant."
In other media
In 1987 the character was reprised for a four-part BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
series Molesworth. Written by Simon Brett
Simon Brett
Simon Brett is a prolific writer of whodunnits. The son of a chartered surveyor, he was educated at Dulwich College and Wadham College, Oxford, where he got a first-class honours degree in English...
, the series portrayed Molesworth in middle age, still surrounded by many of the characters from his youth. Molesworth was played by Willie Rushton
Willie Rushton
William George Rushton, commonly known as Willie Rushton was an English cartoonist, satirist, comedian, actor and performer who co-founded the Private Eye satirical magazine.- School and army :William George Rushton was born 18 August 1937 in the family home at Scarsdale Villas,...
, with Penelope Nice
Penelope Nice
-Filmography:*Revolting People - Cora Oliphant *Doctors - Sarah Shapiro *Mr. Bean *Bodger and Badger *Drop the Dead Donkey - Nurse...
as his wife Louise, and Clive Swift
Clive Swift
Clive Walter Swift is an English character comedy actor and songwriter. He is best known for his role as character Richard Bucket in the British television series Keeping Up Appearances. He is less known for his role as character Roy in the British television series The Old Guys...
as the now aged ex-headmaster Grimes.