This is almost definitely the funniest Billy Bunter book (written by Frank Richards) because of its superb, funny and clever plot.
This is roughly how it goes: Billy Bunter, the ‘fat owl’ of the remove had been expecting a postal order. He had been expecting it for some while now but it just never seemed to come. Some cheeky boys had even asked if it was the one he was expecting in the second year or if it had grown whiskers in the post. Well now it had arrived. The problem was how he could get it. Bunter persuaded ‘Bob Cherry’, a decent chap to chuck it in at the window while he was writing out ‘beastly’ lines for Quelch, his form teacher. The letter sailed through the window as planned but Quelch just saw it as he turned his back to leave. He told Bunter he could get it after class, but that was too long for the ‘fat owl’, he wanted it now. Think how many buns and cakes and sweets and drinks he could get his fat hands on for a whole pound! His mouth just dribbled at the thought of it.
The next few chapters are all on him stealing the postal order and finding out it wasn’t his but Quelches: Bunter loses the postal order through a hole in his pocket and has to give it back to Quelch but of course he can’t because he’s lost it. Quelch doesn’t believe him and threatens to take him to the headmaster so Bunter hides in the school having the time of his life, stealing tuck and keeping out of the way of ‘beaks’ and ‘prees’ (teachers and prefects) who are all after his blood. Eventually his form master finds him, following a trail of sweets and biscuits and takes him to the headmaster’s office. He is saved by the vacuum cleaner! In which Quelche’s postal order is concealed in the dust bag. Bunter must have dropped it when he put it in his pocket in Quelche’s study and the cleaning ladies must have cleaned it up!
This is merely the skeleton of the book and Bunter goes on many ‘adventures’ when he is loose in the school. These include, narrow misses with ‘beaks’, him gorging at the tuck shop, nighttime wanderings, exciting chases and near misses! It is a classic and hilarious book full of funny happenings. Starring the ‘fat owl’ himself, Billy Bunter!