Customer Reviews

Molesworth (Penguin Modern Classics)

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Ronald Searle was one of Britain's best-loved cartoonists, and Geoffrey Willans (if I remember correctly) a former teacher. If there is such a thing as a genius, then Willans and Searle together were one.

The Molesworth books purport to be instructional manuals by an English public schoolboy named Nigel Molesworth, about how to survive the school experience. From the day the first was published in 1953, they became a wild success, especially with schoolchildren. They are still in print and still eminently applicable (which says something both about the quality of the books, and about the nature of the British school system, which even at that point hadn't changed much in 400 years).

The wild misspelling that permeates them caused hysteria among parents, and their removal from many school libraries (the books, not the parents). Nevertheless, many phrases from them have since gone into the English lexicon, particularly "enuff said" and "as any fule kno".

The quartet consists of:

Down with Skool
How to be Topp
Whizz for Atomms
Back in the Jug Agane

and an omnibus edition,

The Compleet Molesworth, reprinted by Penguin as
Molesworth

These are considered absolute classics in the UK along with gems such as 1066 and all that. Whether they're intelligible in the US is another matter; but I didn't think Monty Python would be, and I was wrong about that...

The reviews here are sparse, I see, so look at Amazon UK for a fuller perspective.

I see also that the second-hand price of some of the individual volumes is becoming ludicrous, so best just to go straight for the Penguin. The original "Compleet Molesworth" was actually missing a small part of "Back in the Jug Agane" (which is why I bought the individual volumes), but I don't know about the Penguin.

I hope perhaps this has provided some context; now you can look at Amazon UK :-)

P.S. If you can't remember Britain in the 50's and need a cultural glossary, see my So You'd Like To... Guide.

That the quadriga (how pretentious!) produced by the author and artist is screamingly funny is to vastly under-rate the brilliance of their oeuvre (oh jeeze...).

Eternal truths about children and the deformative pressures of society upon them are illuminated with style that cuts, bludgeons, and pierces yet produces only tears of laughter.

The books were published in the 1950's and Ronald Searle (b 1920 -) shot to the top decades ago. Geoffry Willans (1911 - 1958) wrote at least a half dozen more books after MOLESWORTH. I read these when in my early twenties; now in my 60s, I can't wait to read them again.

As another reviewer pointed out; these are children's books for adults and adult's books for children but are much, much more than children's books!

I read "How to be Topp" years ago when I was a schoolkid (USA publics...). Everyone should read these-- and I mean your kids, while they are in elementary or Jr High school.
"Molesworth 2 start blubbing because he have not got the reel RollsRoyce he wanted.." plus the picture of the trap for St. Nick: priceless.

I read a very enthusiastic review of this book & that encouraged me to buy it. But the repetitious immaturity of Molesworth & his friends became boring early on. I struggle to finish most books even if I'm not enthusiast about them. But I did not even get halfway through this one. Possibly, it would be more interestin to preteens.

This was indeed banned in England for its atrocious spelling. As a product of Grammar skools this has had me in stitches as a tiny and now as an -ahem- older chap. This has all of Searle's Molesworth books, and the illustrations are priceless. It is an exact copy of the dog-eared original I used to have un the U.K. so if you are worried it may be condensed, abridged or edited (as I wondered) fear not, here it is in all its glory. Descriptions of masters are wonderful and expecially moving is Nigel Fotherington-Thomas' Maters' speech for getting the benefactor award ("Cor blimey guv'nor, strike a lite etc etc")

All four Molesworth books in a single volume. Brilliant!
Nigel Molesworth reveals the Awful Truth behind one of Britain's most obscure public schools (St Custards) in his own unique style, wit and spelling. Very funny indeed.