From one of England's most celebrated writers, a funny and superbly observed novella about the Queen of England and the subversive power of readingWhen her corgis stray into a mobile library parked near Buckingham Palace, the Queen feels duty-bound to borrow a book. Discovering the joy of reading widely (from J. R. Ackerley, Jean Genet, and Ivy Compton-Burnett to the classics) and intelligently, she finds that her view of the world changes dramatically. Abetted in ...

The vivid account of a war correspondent shot down over Germany and taken prisoner.Bennett was one of several journalists to fly a night raid over Berlin in November 1943. This is the vivid testimony of an American journalist shot down over Berlin. After he was captured in Berlin, he was taken on a tour of Germany and shown what the civilian population was being subjected to. Bennett spent the rest of the war in Stalag Luft I, where he started the newspaper POW WOW, secretly read by...

Poignant, funny, contemplative, personal, and political: Alan Bennett's fourth collection of diaries is the latest installment in a singular record of a singular life.*20 September. Have a notion for a radio series—Awkward Conversations.Enough Said* is Alan Bennett's fourth collection of diaries and prose. Covering the turbulent years of 2016 to 2024, the diaries take us through lockdown, Brexit, the reign of Johnson, the rise of Trump, and the death of the...

Clive Dunlop was a masseur of exceptional talents. His 'services' were much in demand amongst the great and the good and after his untimely death at the age of 34 they -- the film stars and politicians, the writers and publishers, the TV pundits and celebrity chefs -- are gathered for his memorial service. The conduct of the service is a great worry for the priest taking the service, but it proves to be a test for the congregation.This is Alan Bennett at his absolute best with an e...

From Alan Bennett's Baffled at a Bookcase, to Lucy Mangan's Library Rules, famous writers tell us all about how libraries are used and why they're important. Tom Holland writes about libraries in the ancient world, while Seth Godin describes what a library will look like in the future. Lionel Shriver thinks books are the best investment, Hardeep Singh Kohli makes a confession and Julie Myerson remembers how her career began beside the shelves. Using memoir, history, polemic and some short ...

Like everything Bennett does, these stories are playful, witty and painfully observant of ordinary people's foibles. They all have brilliant twists, are immensely entertaining and highly moral. And all are modern classics.The Laying on of HandsThe painfully observant account of a memorial service for a masseur to the famous.The Clothes They Stood Up InThe comic tale of an elderly couple's trials after their flat is stripped ...

Alan Bennett's second story. This time, set in the 1970s, in classic Bennett country, Yorkshire. 'On the many occasions Midgley had killed his father, death had always come easily. He died promptly, painlessly and without a struggle. Looking back, Midgley could see that even in these imagined deaths he had failed his father. It was not like him to die like that. Nor did he.' Midgley is determined to deny his father a last occasion to be disappointed in him. He will do the right thing and s...

'To be or not to be?' may be The Question, but it is not the only one. Hamlet, Part II, for example, answers a question about Hamlet that has plagued scholars, readers and play-goers for over four hundred years: What happened next? Prince Lear tackles yet another conundrum: What happened just before the start of King Lear, setting in motion the improbable events of Act I, scene 1? And in Fatal Loins, the question answered by the play is directly posed in the prologue: 'If Juliet and Romeo ...

The Ransomes had been burgled. "Robbed," Mrs. Ransome said. "Burgled," Mr. Ransome corrected. Premises were burgled; persons were robbed. Mr. Ransome was a solicitor by profession and thought words mattered. Though "burgled" was the wrong word too. Burglars select; they pick; they remove one item and ignore others. There is a limit to what burglars can take: they seldom take easy chairs, for example, and even more seldom settees. These burglars did. They took everything.This swift-...

A collection of articles, reviews, essays, and diaries from the celebrated writer: "A wonderful book, the wit of which spills over even into the index" ( The Times, London).Bringing together the hilarious, revealing, and lucidly intelligent writing of one of England's best known literary figures, Writing Home includes the journalism, book and theater reviews, and diaries of Alan Bennett, as well as "The Lady in the Van," his unforgettable account o...

The tie-in to the film from Fox Searchlight Pictures based on the Tony Award–winning play—includes the shooting script, the author's diary, and 40+ photos.Introduction by director Nicholas HytnerAn unruly bunch of bright, funny sixth-form (or senior) boys in a British boys' school are, as such boys will be, in pursuit of sex, sport, and a place at a good university, generally in that order. In all their efforts, they are helped and hindered...

"A play of depth as well as dazzle, intensely moving as well as thought-provoking and funny." — The Daily TelegraphIn The History Boys, Alan Bennett evokes the special period and place that the sixth form represents in an English boy's life. In doing so, he raises—with gentle wit and pitch-perfect command of character—not only universal questions about the nature of history and how it is taught but also questions...