'Oh Norman,' said the Queen, 'the prime minister doesn't seem to have read any Hardy. Perhaps you could find him one of our old paperbacks on his way out.' Had the dogs not taken exception to the strange van parked in the royal grounds, the Queen might never have learnt of the Westminster travelling library's weekly visits to the palace. But finding herself at its steps, she goes up to apologise for all the yapping and ends up taking out a novel by Ivy Compton-Burnett, last borrowed in 1989. Duff read though it proves to be, upbringing demands she finish it and, so as not to appear rude, she withdraws another. This second, more fortunate choice of book awakens in Her Majesty a passion for reading so great that her public duties begin to suffer. And so, as she devours work by everyone from Hardy to Brookner to Proust to Samuel Beckett, her equerries conspire to bring the Queen's literary odyssey to a close. Subversive and highly enjoyable, The Uncommon Reader offers the perfect argument for reading, written by one of its great champions, Alan Bennett.

About the Author
Alan Bennett's many stage and television plays and his prose collection, Writing Home, have made him one of Britain's best-loved authors. He has a huge international reputation for his plays and films which include: Habeus Corpus, Kafka's Dick, Private Function, The Madness of George III and many others - often multi-prize winning.

Reviews
An exquisitely produced jewel of a book ... [but] beneath the tasteful gilt-and-beige cover seethes a savagely Swiftian indignation against stupidity, Philistinism and arrogance in public places, and a passionate argument for the civilising power of art. -- Jane Shilling * The Times *
...a masterpiece of comic brevity. -- Robert McCrum * The Observer *


Awards
Short-listed for Independent Booksellers' Week Book of the Year Award: Adults' Book of the Year 2008 and Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize 2008.



Book Information
ISBN 9781846680496
Author Alan Bennett
Format Hardback
Page Count 128
Imprint Profile Books Ltd
Publisher Profile Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 215g
Dimensions(mm) 175mm * 134mm * 14mm