This is a collection of 4 Molesworth books. I finished the first (Down with skool, i think). It's good... but not as great as it's reputation. Yes, funny- clever, biting and so forth but also a bit predictably and a little tired. I will pick it up again for the other books, but found that one book of Molesworth goes a pretty long way. ( )

The Compleet Molesworth by Geoffrey Willans and Ronald Searle (co-creator and illustrator) had been on my TRL for ages. I was intrigued by the illustrations that were depicted on the cover and its comparison to my dear Roald Dahl. This is a classic children's series (bound together in its entirety here) about a boy named Nigel Molesworth who narrates his time in a boy's boarding school called St. Custard's. Willans captures the spirit of boyhood in a private boarding school especially well owing to his being a Headmaster himself. (This is even funnier once you get to know Headmaster Grimes who is particularly fond of the cane.) This book is replete with bad spelling (evidenced in the title) and absolutely stunning illustrations by Searle who was a satirical cartoonist (perfect for this series). Molesworth and his buddies get up to many hi-jinks and shenanigans which are generally instigated by our hero. Amidst all of this tomfoolery Willans and Searle have taken jabs at the inequalities of the classes by showcasing the Head Boy Grabber as only being placed in such a prestigious position because his parents shell out lots of money. (The Headmaster is greedy and generally does all he can to cut corners most notably with the selection of food offered to the students.) If you can get used to the bad spelling, grammatical errors, made-up slang, and seemingly arbitrary abbreviations for everything you will see why this has held up as a true children's classic. It's witty, cutting in its bluntness, and in general everything I hoped it would be. 10/10 ( )

I read and reread this when I was 13 or 14. It captured for me the sense of struggle against the teachers, the school system and the other boys that is such a big part of being a teenager. It is still hilarious. Sadly the master cartoonist, Ronald Searle, has recently died but his masterpiece lives on. ( )

A classic, as any fule kno. ( )