Showing results for "alan bennett"

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 INSTANT #1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER**A TIMES BOOK OF THE SUMMER'Alan Bennett is our greatest living writer' Daily Mail'A legend of British letters' Financial Times'In an age of curated self-belief, his vulnerabilities feel refreshing, his reticence almost radical' The Times**20 September. Have a notion for a radio series - Awkward Conversations.Enoug...

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...

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...

A unique collection of some of the finest and funniest writing by one of England's best-known literary figures."[Bennett] does what only the best writers can do—make us look at ourselves in a way we've never done before." —Michael PalinAlan Bennett's first major collection since Writing Home contains previously unpublished work—including the title piece, a poignant memoir of his family and of growing up in Leeds—along with his much...

Discover the Incredible True Story Behind the Major Motion Picture, Starring Maggie SmithFrom acclaimed author and playwright Alan Bennett, whose smash hit The History Boys won a Tony Award for Best Play, comes the screenplay of The Lady in the Van. This major motion picture adaptation stars Dame Maggie Smith in an unforgettable performance.The Lady in the Van is the remarkable true story of Bennett's experiences with an eccentric homeless woman, Miss Mary Sh...

Alan Bennett reads A.A. Milne's much-loved stories about a small bear and his friends - from Winnie the Pooh, The House at Pooh Corner and A Party for Pooh.'If you were looking for the distilled essence of pure English cosy nostalgia, this audiobook may well be it... Every child should listen to it.' - The TelegraphWhat is the connection between a bear of very little brain and a honey pot? Usually it's the very sticky paw...

NOW A MAJOR FILM STARRING DAME MAGGIE SMITH'The first book that ever made me laugh out loud' Adam Kay'Utter genius' Daily MailIn 1974, the homeless Miss Shepherd moved her broken down van into Alan Bennett's garden. Deeply eccentric and stubborn to her bones, Miss Shepherd was not an easy tenant. And Bennett, despite inviting her in the first place, was a reluctant landlord. And yet she lived there for fifte...

When the Water Rat invites the unassuming Mole to spend his first day ever in a boat on the river, and wise Badger comes along for the ride as well, so begins a marvellous season of adventure for the three friends. Mr Toad (he of Toad Hall) completes a happy foursome, but his tendency to get into hot water leads him into some rather hair-raising scrapes of his own.From an idyllic riverside picnic to a snowy encounter in the Wild Wood, and from poop-pooping in Toad's shiny new motor car to ...

The Clothes They Stood Up In is Alan Bennett's first story. Like Charles Dickens' novels which were first published in magazines, it originally appeared in the London Review of Books - which the author says 'seems to me (and not just because I occasionally contribute to it) the liveliest, most serious and also the most radical literary periodical we have'.

The Shielding of Mrs Forbes Graham Forbes is a disappointment to his mother, who thinks that if he must have a wife, he should have done better. Though her own husband isn't all that satisfactory either. Still, this is Alan Bennett, so what is happening in the bedroom (and in lots of other places too) is altogether more startling, perhaps shocking, and ultimately more true to people's predilections. The Greening of Mrs Donaldson Mrs Donaldson is a conventional middle-class woman beached on...

Richard Briers, Adrian Scarborough and Terence Rigby star in this full-cast dramatisation, narrated by Alan Bennett.When Mole abandons his spring cleaning one morning, he surfaces into the sunlight and encounters the Water Rat. Mole stays with Ratty in his snug waterside home, and soon he meets Ratty’s friends: Badger, who lives in the Wild Wood, and the incorrigible Toad of Toad Hall. This timeless tale of waterside Britain has been loved by generations of children and acclaimed as a clas...