The book (according to the foreword) records the more outstanding incidents of the period when Biggles was new to school life. Such episodes were, Johns emphasised, not everyday affairs but were exceptions to the rule and departures from the ordinary monotony of a school day.
Whether to consider the accounts of his exploits as a series of chapters in a book or as separate short stories is largely a matter of debate. The book comprises 14 chapters with a foreword but was serialised in 6 instalments which do not necessarily observe the plot boundaries as they would for discrete short stories. The events also run in fair chronological order. The first chapter, detailing Biggles' interview with the headmaster on his arrival at the school, hardly has any storyline at all, while the last part of the book, which deals with Biggles' part in capturing a poacher, spans several chapters. For these reasons, it is perhaps arguable that the narrative had not been written up as a series of separate short stories and the text should be treated as chapters in a book.
Whether to consider the accounts of his exploits as a series of chapters in a book or as separate short stories is largely a matter of debate. The book comprises 14 chapters with a foreword but was serialised in 6 instalments which do not necessarily observe the plot boundaries as they would for discrete short stories. The events also run in fair chronological order. The first chapter, detailing Biggles' interview with the headmaster on his arrival at the school, hardly has any storyline at all, while the last part of the book, which deals with Biggles' part in capturing a poacher, spans several chapters. For these reasons, it is perhaps arguable that the narrative had not been written up as a series of separate short stories and the text should be treated as chapters in a book.
