This is the forth of the Billy Bunter books that I have read (and there are a couple more sitting on top of a plastic case for me to read) and it is actually the third in the series (if the statement on Goodreads is anything to go by, and there is no reason that I should doubt such a statement), not that I have been reading them in any particular order (I tried getting the first one from Ebay but surprisingly enough it never actually arrived, though who am I to accuse the fine seller that I purchased this book from as being a fraud, especially since he had a high Ebay rating – but don't let this statement be an indictment of Ebay, since I have purchased a few things over that particular internet site and I have only had bad luck twice – this time, and the time I purchased a computer game only to discover that it was a copy).

Anyway, Billy Bunter decides that he wants to play a prank on one of the students, namely Bob Cherry, due to an incident that occurred in class earlier that day. However, as is typical with the Fat Owl of the Remove, his plan goes wildly wrong, and he ends us sooting his teacher, Mr Quelch, as opposed to Bob Cherry. As such, the lazy bugger (though I am not suggesting that he swings that way, I am only using a term from my childhood) decides not to own up when Mr Quelch goes storming around Greyfriars, and instead Bob Cherry gets into trouble, which results in him getting expelled.

This is where the fun begins, because just before Bob Cherry's departure, all of his friends, Bunter included, go and say farewell to him in one of the rooms, and then proceed to barricade the door and refuse to leave until such a time as Bob Cherry is allowed to remain. This creates a rather difficult situation because, as anybody knows, this act is an affront to the authority of the school, and if the school were to back down, they would immediately lose face, and no doubt their reputation would suffer, so instead that try all sorts of tricks (including bringing Bob Cherry's father in, who gives Bob Cherry a word of encouragement and tells the school that he is quite proud of his son and supports him in his endeavour) to get them out, all of them failing.

I won't say how it ends, but as we can expect in books like this, everything ends up okay and everything goes back to normal (and nobody gets expelled) but also we find out that it all comes down to the fat-headed Billy Bunter pulling a trick that leave us puzzling as to whether Bunter actually has cunning (which, I must admit, he does, because it takes an awful lot of cunning to be able to sniff out food, and get your hands on things that you are not supposed to, despite the fact that half the time he ends up getting caught - namely because when food goes missing everybody instantly knows who the responsible party is).

Anyway, as I mentioned, the entire drama is about saving face. It is similar with the idea of the United States never negotiating with terrorists because the belief is that if they begin to negotiate with terrorists then it will only encourage terrorists all the more (despite the fact that their refusal to negotiate with terrorists tends to not reduce the amount of terrorism that goes on inside and out of the country, though in many cases a lot of people end up doing such things because they: don't actually appreciate the consequences; they believe that it will be different for them; they have nothing left to lose). As for the school the same thing applies. The whole idea of the school, especially a high-end private school like Greyfriars, is the ability to maintain discipline, and once the teachers give in to such demands, the ability to control, and maintain, discipline is suddenly undermined. However, it is clear that the students do not appreciate this, but more so, realise that Cherry has been tried and found guilty without any attempt to get to the bottom of the case (as is made clear when Cherry's father pays them a visit). This is a case where the ordinary, hard-working, student who respects and appreciates the authority of the school (with the exception of Billy Bunter, but then he is always an exception) realises that in this instance they have gone too far, and they have decided that they need to make a stand to make the school realise that there is always a limit to authority.

This is the third Billy Bunter book that I have read and unlike the other two that I had read this book seems to capture the essence of the character and the world that he inhabits. The book is set entirely in and around Greyfriars school and has no extraordinary characters and deals really only with events inside the school. Basically Billy Bunter sneaks into a room where a feast has been laid out and eats all of the food (which, surprise, surprise, does not belong to him). Angered at the fact that no food is safe (even behind a locked door) the Remove decide to hold a trial (to give Bunter a chance to defend himself, despite the fact that everybody knows that he is guilty) and when he is found guilty, is banished to 'Coventry' which is where nobody talks to him.

To get out of 'Coventry' Bunter tries to perform a lot of, well, devious acts, namely by appearinf to be a hero, or really sick. Of course he always gets found out, and despite the short time of having people either sympathise with him, or hold himself up as a hero, he is banished back into Coventry. However, when the opportunity comes where he actually saves sombody's life, nobody believes him and thus we have a version of 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf' set in Greyfriars school (and with a character like Billy Bunter, this was always going to be a story plot).

The thing that I liked most about this book was the numerous classical allusions that the author makes. For instance he describes one student, who demanded something, as being like Achilles ordering his Myrmidons. There are also numerous references to the Aeneid as well as to Horace's Odes (though the reason that the Aeneid is coming up a lot is because the students are studying that particular work, in Latin of course).

Thus we see Bunter on an endless quest for food, and trying many ways to get his hands on the said food. There seems to always be this promise of a postal order coming (from one of his titled relatives) though I suspect that these postal orders never actually arrive, though it has been suggested that when one does arrive, it does not contain huge amounts of money. One also wonders if Bunter actually has any 'titled' relatives, though we do meet his brother and hear that he has a sister going to the nearby girls school (which the Famous Five travel to occasionally).

I must admit that I do love the character of Ramjet Singh (his name is much longer but I cannot remember it off the top of my head) and the rather 'Indian' way that his speech comes out. Obviously it is not really the way that Indians speak (and I have known quite a few) but the way Richards writes it gives me the illusion of an Indian accent (though he is no doubt from a rather wealthy family, especially if he is attending a private school in England). The other thing that makes me think that Bunter's parents must have some money (and are probably wise enough not to send any everytime he asks) because I suspect that Greyfriars is not the cheapest school to be sending a child.

This is the second Billy Bunter book that I have read and the first book of 2013 and I must admit I was a little surprised, namely because Billy Bunter really only plays a supporting role in this book. I am not sure how many of the other books play out, but then again, Bunter being Bunter, he is not really the type of person that an entire adventure can revolve around, nor is he one that would necessarily be able to actually solve an adventure, on purpose that is.

Now, the main characters seem to be this group of people in the lower forth form known as the Remove and are referred to as the Famous Five (not the Enid Blyton ones either). The Famous Five at Greyfriars are as follows: Johnny Bull, Robert Cherry, Frank Nugent, Hurree Jamset Ran Singh (otherwise known as Inky, and probably the one with the coolest name, particularly since it is always written out in full), and the leader Harry Warton. Anyway, in this book, it comes to light that Harry Warton is to inherit a fortune, however the catch is that he has to finish school to do so, and if he doesn't the money goes to the crooked captain.

Now, we learn that this guy is hopeless when it comes to handling money, and when he discovers that his so called inheritance is to go to Warton he comes up with numerous plans (which all fail) to try to get Warton expelled from school. This is where Bunter comes in because Bunter happens to borrow clothes from his school mates to chat up a lady, and one of them happens to be Warton's hat, so when he runs into the captain outside of the school, and drops the hat, the captain believes that Bunter is Warton and tries to get onto his good side.

As it turns out, it is really easy to get onto Bunter's good side, and that is to offer him food, and he is also really easy to corrupt as well. In fact, for a part of the book Bunter is running around with a case of cigarettes which he smokes, up until he is busted by one of the sixth form prefects. The captain's plan was to lure Bunter to the races and to then sneak off and inform the school, but the Famous Five find out and intervene. However, it is quite amusing that Bunter then seems to have an idea that he is an expert on the horses, and spends the rest of the book trying to get his hands on a racing guide.

Look, this isn't a brilliant book, but it is fun and amusing. However, the only thing that actually makes it fun and amusing is the presence of Billy Bunter. Basically, without the rather cartoonish and over the top nature of his character, this book would actually be quite boring. It is quite noticeable that the cover has all of the characters drawn properly, with the exception of Billy Bunter, who looks a lot more like a cartoon than anything else.

My dad loved Billy Bunter as a kid, and I guess my interest in him developed when I discovered that the Billy Bunter books on his shelf were actually worth a bit. I sort of wondered initially whether Bunter was one of those fat kids that was actually quite intelligent, but my dad pretty much said that he was completely the opposite. In fact he is a thick as a brick.

Billy Bunter is the classic anti-hero, and while this is the only book that I have read so far, it has given me a taste of what the character is like. Basically Billy Bunter is a fat, lazy, stupid, greedy boy who seems to always get into trouble, hangs around like a bad smell, and is pretty much disliked by all of his peers. Despite this he is too stupid to realise that nobody likes him, though it is interesting to note that despite his peer's dislike of him, they will actually get him out of trouble.

Billy goes to a boarding school called Greyfriars, and is always trying to get out of class, and always looking for ways to steal food to fill his voracious appetite. In fact it has become clear that even while he is in danger, his lust for food seems to always take first base. I also suspect that most of the adventures that he goes on is not because he is looking for adventure, but because he simply stumbles onto them and is simply looking for a way out.

Take this story of instance. There is a young (and quite lazy) lord that attends Greyfriars (and the only reason he is a peer at his age is because his dad died and he inherited his seat, which does not happen any more). Anyway, his father had brought a number of antiquities back from Egypt, and when a rather sinister Greek learns of it, he comes to Greyfriars to attempt to kidnap him. However Bunter, who is looking for a way to get out of detention, pretends to be the young lord, and then the lure of a luxury yacht, with food on board, encourages him to continue to play the ruse, and to also ignore his peers. This in turn lands him up in a lot of hot water, but his desire not to become a prisoner overrides the fact that he can't swim (in fact I don't think he can actually do anything).

Anyway, I would have to say that Billy Bunter is a unique character, and while we see imitations of him, and of the books, appearing here there and everywhere, I have a feeling that nobody has ever managed to create a character as painfully annoying, and as equally pathetic at Billy Bunter. In fact the American version always seems to be some sort of unshaven slob that seems to carry copious amounts of drugs around with him. From what I gather at least Billy Bunter is neat and does not smell.