Frank Richards is the pen name of Charles Harold St John Hamilton, a prolific English writer, born in 1900. He is best known for writing the popular 'Billy Bunter' stories that appeared in the 'The Magnet' magazine. Born in Ealing, London, Hamilton became one of the most successful and enduring authors of British children's literature.
Hamilton began his writing career at the age of seventeen, and he quickly became a regular contributor to popular boys' story papers of the early 20th century. Under the pseudonym Frank Richards, he created the character Billy Bunter, a rotund boy with a voracious appetite, who was a student at the fictional Greyfriars School. Bunter's comic misadventures and his eternal optimism, despite frequent setbacks, made the character a household name.
Over his career, Hamilton is believed to have written around 100 million words, mostly in the form of short stories and serials for the Amalgamated Press. His work ethic was legendary, and he was known to produce upwards of 80,000 words per month. While the 'Billy Bunter' stories are his most famous, he also wrote under various other pseudonyms and created numerous other characters, including Tom Merry and Arthur Augustus d'Arcy.
Despite the popularity of his work during his lifetime, Hamilton's writing style and the world he depicted fell out of fashion in the post-war years. However, the nostalgic charm of his stories has continued to attract readers, and he retains a dedicated following. Charles Hamilton passed away in 1979, leaving behind a legacy as one of the most prolific writers of English children's fiction.
