Sue Townsend  (b. 1946)

Adrian Mole

The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole by Sue Townsend

This book was written by an English author who became very famous because of it, it was first published in 1985.

Adrian Mole is an acne-plagued thirteen year old boy who explains his thoughts and experiences in his secret diary every day. Some of the facts Adrian mentions are really sad or even tragic. His parents are always on the verge of divorce because his mother likes a neighbour, Mr Lucas. He volunteers to help the aged and gets stuck with a revolting old man who treats him very badly, he thinks he's an intellectual but still can't manage to do very well at school, he soon falls in love with Pandora but she starts going out with his best friend and the only person who seems on his side is his mad old grandma.

Anyway, most of the entries in the diary are humorous details which come out of the extreme naivety and ignorance of the character. the book is really funny and worth while reading.

The book was an immediate success in Britain and (the same as Harry Potter) it has had many sequels, The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole, The True Confessions of Adrian Albert Mole,The Wilderness Years, The Cappuccino Years, and finally, so far, Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction.

In these books Adrian becomes older every time but preserves his ingenuity and humour.

 

If you can't see the player, click here.