This book is a favourite of September 2009 Guest Editor Joanna Nadin:
Reading The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾ (at 13 and ¾) was the first time I picked up a book and thought, “Oh My
God, that is me! That is how dull my life is.” It still makes me rock
with laughter twenty-five years on. Without Adrian, Rachel Riley simply
wouldn’t exist, and she certainly wouldn’t be studying politics A
level.
The LoveReading Comment: An ‘80s publishing sensation that has never gone out of fashion. It’s almost impossible not to laugh-out-loud at the brilliant dry humour that bubbles out of Sue Townsend’s writing. At thirteen years old, Adrian Mole has more than his fair share of problems - spots, ill-health, parents threatening to divorce, rejection of his poetry and much more - all recorded with brilliant humour in his diary.
Sue left school at fifteen and started writing immediately. For twenty years nobody knew that Leicester housewife, Mrs Townsend, was a writer. She joined a writers' group at Leicester's Phoenix Theatre and was soon installed as the Writer in Residence there.
