Sue Townsend RIP

[prendrelemick]

Sue Townsend, creator of Adrian Mole, died yesterday aged 68.

I don't suppose she will ever be regarded as a literary great, but I found her style lovely, so simple and fit for purpose. She captured beauty and vigour in ordinary conversational English as well as anybody has.

Her sense of humour and her comic timing were of the best. Her books were truly funny. I recall laughing out loud in public places many times while reading. " The Queen and I" ( my favourite. )

[DieterM]

Damn—may she rest in peace indeed! Always loved Adrian Mole, and simply adored "The Queen and I"! I always thought that being able to make people laugh, and rather naturally & seemingly effortlessly so, was more difficult than to write "serious" literature. So, in my eyes, she was one of'em truly underrated talents. Thanks for informing us about her death, prendrelemick; they won't talk about it here in France!

[mona amon]

I've only read The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ - enjoyed it very much.

[Anne Catherick]

Yes, very sad. She did write superbly, and apparently was planning another Adiran Mole book!

[AuntShecky]

I'm sorry to say that I've never heard of her-- my loss. I knew a Sue Townsend once. She was a gym teacher. Probably not the same person.

[Hawkman]

How tragic. Funny how one remembers the book and completely forgets the name of the author.

[aliengirl]

I read about her death in the newspaper today. I've heard of her but never read any of her works. From the above posts it concludes that I should go for The Queen and I or The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole.

[Paulclem]

The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole was great. Belly laugh humour is difficult to write but she managed it well. A sad loss.

[kev67]

I remember reading Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4 and its follow-up back in the 80s. I was only a couple of years older myself. They were very funny. Sue Townsend did not enjoy the best of health. She became diabetic, lost her sight, and suffered kidney failure. She did well to hang on as long as she did.

[mal4mac]

Forgot the name of the author? Sue Townsend is (was :() a British institution and she's not to be forgotten - I guess non-Brits may be excused... I also read "Adrian Mole" as a teenager and found it very funny and touching. It was so good to see teenage awkwardness portrayed with such humour and care. It made me better able to live with my awkwardness! I recently read "The Queen and I", which, like Mick, I found extremely funny. There's a whole series of "Adrian Mole" books, I've read a couple, and I've seen most of the TV adaptations. They seemed, to me, to keep up the standard of the first Adrian Mole book. ... pause for quick Google search... there are actually eight Adrian Mole books! I love the title of the final in the series, "Adrian Mole: The Prostrate Years". Sounds like the one that would speak to me now...