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The Public Confessions of a Middle-Aged Woman

by Sue Townsend

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
2457108,239 (3.38)5
"Over the last decade, Sue Townsend has written a monthly column for Sainsbury's Magazine, which covers everything from hosepipe bans and Spanish restaurants to writer's block and the posh middle-aged woman she once met who'd never heard of Winnie-the-Pooh." "Collected together now for the first time, they form a set of pieces from one of Britain's most popular and acclaimed writers that are funny, perceptive and touching - exactly those qualities that have helped the diaries of Adrian Mole sell, in total, nearly seven million copies worldwide."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved… (more)
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Showing 1-5 of 7 (next | show all)
Public Confessions of a Middle-aged Woman by Sue Townsend (2003)
  arosoff | Jul 10, 2021 |
Sue Townsend is the funniest author I know and I enjoy being made/allowed to laugh aloud occasionally, so I’m now steadily making my way through all her books.

This book is a collection of Sue’s articles from her monthly column for Sainsbury’s Magazine. At first, I was a bit disappointed by these articles since they seemed a bit short and lacking in substance. But soon I was totally addicted as with her other books.

As a child, I read in one of my father’s Somerset Maugham books that the easiest way to be funny was to tell the truth. And this is what Sue does – she tells the truth about the various ups and downs of her life, including her serious health problems.

Sue is able to write about anything, as is indicated in the last lines of her articles when she needs to create a specific number of extra words to give the article the exact length required by her editor.

The first article in the collection that riveted me was “Janet and John”, where she satirizes the idealized and simplistic family life depicted in these, our first reading books.

“They got on remarkably well, unlike most brothers and sisters I know, --- They spent a lot of time shouting, ‘Look, Spot, look! Look at the ball! Fetch the ball!’”

When Daddy came home from work, he sat in his armchair and read the newspaper. Mummy smiled serenely as she prepared tea. She then came to the kitchen door and shouted, ‘Come here, Janet! Come here, John!’

Sue hints at an “alternative” Janet and John book she has come across, called “Janet and John go into care”.

“Daddy is getting ready for work. ‘Where are my gloves, Mummy?’ he asks. ‘Look, Daddy, look, there are your gloves’, snaps Mummy, ‘though why you would want to wear gloves in August defeats me!’

Spot runs in and knocks Daddy’s briefcase over. A copy of Health and Efficiency slithers out and falls open at a picture of nudists playing tennis. John runs in, ‘Look, Janet, look!’ Daddy hits John on the head with his pipe, kicks Spot and leaves for work. Mummy dries her tears and walks to the village shop. She is still upset by the row with Daddy, and slips a tin of corned beef into her wicker basket.

Mummy is arrested for shoplifting ---. John looks up and sees Mummy in the back of a police car.”

And so on.

Another column discusses the advantages of being king (were Charles to become king, for instance).

“having twenty-four hour room service (every day) --- They don’t lie awake at night worrying about class, agonizing, ‘Am I upper-lower-middle?’ or ‘Am I lower-working scum?’ Kings can confidently assert, ‘I am upper, upper, upper’ and know that no British person will contradict them.”

To sum up, this is a brilliant, relaxing read. It is addictive and unputdownable, one of Sue’s best.

I have a great admiration for Sue Townsend who gifted us with all those hilarious books in the midst of her own grave health problems and growing blindness. She gives us an accurate representation of British life in these last decades as well as making us split our sides laughing. ( )
  IonaS | Mar 1, 2017 |
Sue Townsend describes the book as representing " a sort of sanitized autobiography" , which I suppose it is. Sue was commissioned by a magazine to write about "800 wise and witty words each month" and essentially that comprises this collection of short essays. Overall it was an enjoyable read, a nice break from the " February Gloomies" that sometimes descend upon me after too many days of rain/overcast here in Vancouver.

Sue writes on a variety of topics, her humourous take on purchasing her first Aga " ... it was love at first sight. The warmth, the classic lines,the strength, the fact that Agas are always hot and ready for action appealed to me. The Aga has many of the qualities that one would like , but so rarely gets, from a lover." She also writes a fair bit about her young adult children in both fun and serious ways. Other topics include travel, writing itself, her increasing loss of sight due to diabetes and many other topics.

Overall, it was a good read, but not fantastic. After some 334 pages of short essays I am looking forward to book with a cohesive plot. 3. 7 stars. ( )
3 vote vancouverdeb | Feb 18, 2013 |
Interesting and amusing on topical subjects ( )
  JuneTodd | Aug 6, 2009 |
This is a collection of monthly columns written by Townsend for Sainsbury’s Magazine. They cover many topics with a perception that will hit the funny bone. This is probably not the book that you will read cover to cover, but dip into for cheerful entertainment. ( )
  VivienneR | Nov 17, 2008 |
Showing 1-5 of 7 (next | show all)
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This collection of monthly pieces represents a sort of sanitized autobiography and is carefully entitled the Public Confessions (the Private Confessions will never be written.)
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"Over the last decade, Sue Townsend has written a monthly column for Sainsbury's Magazine, which covers everything from hosepipe bans and Spanish restaurants to writer's block and the posh middle-aged woman she once met who'd never heard of Winnie-the-Pooh." "Collected together now for the first time, they form a set of pieces from one of Britain's most popular and acclaimed writers that are funny, perceptive and touching - exactly those qualities that have helped the diaries of Adrian Mole sell, in total, nearly seven million copies worldwide."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

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A collection of magazine columns written by Sue Townsend, creator of Adrian Mole.
Sue Townsend's "The Public Confessions of a Middle-Aged Woman" (Aged 55 ) is a wonderful collection of non-fiction pieces, giving us an insight into Sue's hilarious world. Sue Townsend is the much-loved comic author who brought us the bestselling "Adrian Mole" series. Enter the world of Susan Lilian Townsend - sun-worshippers, work-shy writers, garden centre lovers and those in search of a good time are all welcome...This sparkling collection of Sue Townsend's hilarious non-fiction covers everything from hosepipe bans to Spanish restaurants, from writer's block to slug warfare, from slob holidays to the banning of beige. These funny, perceptive and touching pieces reveal Sue, ourselves and the nation in an extraordinary new light. Sit back and chortle away as one of Britain's most popular and acclaimed writers takes a feather to your funny bone. "The Public Confessions of a Middle-Aged Woman (Aged 55 )" is Sue Townsend's brilliantly witty collection on non-fiction pieces. "Anyone who loved "The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole" will enjoy this collection of witty and sharply observed jottings from the inimitable Sue Townsend. Great stuff" ("OK!"). "Full of homely, hilarious asides on the absurdities of domestic existence...What a fantastic advertisement for middle-age - it can't be bad if it's this funny" ("Heat") "A welcome addition to any bookshelf" ("Hello!"). "It's as if Townsend has caught our idiosyncrasies on candid camera and is showing a rerun of all the silly clips...the ideal dip-in-and-out book" ("Time Out"). Sue Townsend is Britain's favourite comic author. Her hugely successful novels include eight Adrian Mole books, "The Public Confessions of a Middle-Aged Woman (Aged 55 )", "Number Ten", "Ghost Children", "The Queen and I", "Queen Camilla" and "The Woman Who Went to Bed for a Year", all of which are highly acclaimed bestsellers. She has also written numerous well-received plays. She lives in Leicester, where she was born and grew up.
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Penguin Australia

2 editions of this book were published by Penguin Australia.

Editions: 014100861X, 0241961769

 

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