Sue Townsend (1) (1946–2014)

Author of The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾

For other authors named Sue Townsend, see the disambiguation page.

44+ Works 15,256 Members 306 Reviews 38 Favorited

About the Author

Sue Townsend was born in Leicester, England on April 2, 1946. She left school at fifteen and worked a series of jobs before becoming a full-time author. She was best known for her books about the neurotic diarist Adrian Mole including The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 ¾, The Growing Pains of show more Adrian Mole, Adrian Mole: The Wilderness Years, Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction, and Adrian Mole: The Prostrate Years. Her other works include The Queen and I, Number Ten, The Public Confessions of a Middle-Aged Woman Aged 55¾, and The Woman Who Went to Bed for a Year. She died after a stroke on April 10, 2014 at the age of 68. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Image credit: Sue Townsend

Series

Adrian Mole

Queen in Hell Close

Works by Sue Townsend

Popular Recent

The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾ (1982) 3,582 copies

The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole (1984) 1,741 copies

Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years (1999) 1,392 copies

Adrian Mole and The Weapons of Mass Destruction (2004) 1,186 copies

The Queen and I (1992) 1,107 copies

The True Confessions of Adrian Albert Mole (1989) 828 copies

Adrian Mole: The Wilderness Years (1993) 822 copies

The Adrian Mole Diaries: The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ & The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole (1986) 643 copies

The Woman Who Went to Bed For a Year (2012) 626 copies

Adrian Mole: the Prostrate Years (2009) 502 copies

Number Ten (2002) 476 copies

Adrian Mole: From Minor to Major (1982) 451 copies

Queen Camilla (2006) 406 copies

The Lost Diaries of Adrian Mole, 1999-2001 (2008) 336 copies

Adrian Mole: The Lost Years (1994) 275 copies

Rebuilding Coventry (1988) 255 copies

The Public Confessions of a Middle-Aged Woman (2001) 248 copies

Ghost Children (1997) 122 copies

The Queen in Hell Close (Pocket Penguins S.) (2005) 66 copies

The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole: The Play (1985) 33 copies

Sue Townsend Boxed Set: The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole / the Growing Pains of Adrian Mole / Adrian Mole: the… (1995) 27 copies

Adrian Mole: The Collected Poems (2017) 15 copies

Adrian Mole collection 8 Books set. (Sue Townsend Adrian Mole series collection set.) (The secret diary of Adrian Mole… (2012) 12 copies

Adrian Mole and the Small Amphibians 12 copies

Mr Bevan's Dream: Why Britain Needs Its Welfare State (1989) 11 copies

Bazaar and rummage ; Groping for words ; & Womberang (1984) 11 copies

Ten Tiny Fingers, Nine Tiny Toes (Modern Plays) (1990) 11 copies

Sue Townsend: Plays : 1 : Womberang, Bazaar & Rummage, Groping for Words, the Great Celestial Cow, the Secret Diary of… (1996) 11 copies

Adrian Mole: From Minor To Major, Adrian Mole: The Wilderness Years (1993) 7 copies

The Great Celestial Cow (1984) 7 copies

The Adrian Mole diary 1986 (1985) 7 copies

The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole AND Adrian Mole: The Wilderness Years (2005) 7 copies

True Confessions of Margaret Hilda Roberts Aged 14 ¼ (2013) — Author — 4 copies

Penguin Readers Level 3: The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 ¾ (ELT Graded Reader) (2021) 4 copies

You, Me and Wii (NHB Modern Plays) (2015) 2 copies

Adrian Mole, The Later Years: True Confessions of Adrian Albert Mole, Adrian Mole: The Wilderness Years, and Adrian… (2018) 2 copies

The Adrian Mole Collection: The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole/True Confessions of Adrian Albert Mole/Adrian Mole: The… (2012) 2 copies

Number Ten A2 Poster (2003) 1 copy

The Secret Diary of a Provincial Man 1 copy

Ladies of Letters: Irene Spencer and Vera Small 1 copy

Adrian Mole: The Web Years 1 copy

Das Intimleben des Adrian Mole, 13 3/4 Jahre, Jubiläumsausg. 1 copy

Mole Cooks his Goose 1 copy

Страдания Адриана Моула = The growing pains of Adrian Mole ; Признания Адриана… (2004) 1 copy

Work Explorer

Associated Works

Just William (1922) — Foreword, some editions — 702 copies

The Pleasure of Reading (1992) — Contributor — 188 copies

Pastors and Masters (1925) — Foreword, some editions — 122 copies

Memoirs of Miss Sidney Bidulph (1761) — Introduction, some editions — 103 copies

The Pleasure of Reading: 43 Writers on the Discovery of Reading and the Books that Inspired Them (2015) — Contributor — 82 copies

An Oxford Book of Christmas Stories (1986) — Contributor — 68 copies

The Virago Book of Christmas (2002) — Contributor — 52 copies

Utterly Utterly Merry Comic Relief Christmas Book (1986) — Contributor — 46 copies

Round the Christmas Fire: Festive Stories (2013) — Contributor — 34 copies

Wicked: Women's Wit and Humour from Elizabeth I to Ruby Wax (1995) — Preface, some editions — 17 copies

Growing Up Stories (1995) — Contributor — 10 copies

Top Teen Stories (2004) — Contributor — 6 copies

The secret diary of Adrian Mole aged 13 3/4 : Songbook (1985) 3 copies

Adrian Mole: The Complete Television Series (2012) — Original books — 2 copies

Tagged

1980s (50) 20th century (67) adolescence (53) Adrian Mole (199) books about books (36) Britain (48) British (265) British fiction (43) British literature (98) children (42) children's (113) children's literature (50) comedy (171) coming of age (72) diary (343) ebook (55) England (154) English (105) English literature (80) fiction (1,895) funny (83) general fiction (47) humor (1,324) literature (83) non-fiction (38) novel (223) own (65) paperback (42) politics (40) read (193) Roman (39) satire (62) series (86) short stories (36) Sue Townsend (58) to-read (367) UK (72) unread (69) YA (88) young adult (178)

Common Knowledge

Legal name: Townsend, Susan Lillian
Other names: Townsend, Susan Elaine
Townsend, Sue Lillian
Birthdate: 1946-04-02
Date of death: 2014-04-10
Burial location: cremated (scattered in undisclosed woodland)
Gender: female
Nationality: UK
Country (for map): England, UK
Birthplace: Leicester, Leicestershire, England, UK
Place of death: Leicester, Leicestershire, England, UK
Places of residence: Leicester, Leicestershire, England, UK
Education: South Wigston High School
Occupations: novelist
playwright
screenwriter
columnist
Awards and honors: Thames Television Playwright Award, Womberang (1981)
Honorary MA from the University of Leicester (1991)
James Joyce Award (2007)

Members

Reviews

Das Intimleben des Adrian Mole, 13 3/4 Jahre alt: d.… by Sue Townsend

Gut geschrieben und humorvoll. Mich hat es trotzdem nicht gepackt.

Flagged

Katzenkindliest | 64 other reviews | Apr 23, 2024 |

The Woman Who Went to Bed for a Year by Sue Townsend

I haven't finished this book. I went away for the weekend and found it on the bedside table in the spare bedroom. As I'd forgotten to bring the book I was actually reading, this seemed ideal. I hadn't finished it by the time the weekend was over, and I couldn't be bothered to ask if I could borrow it till I had.

Our heroine is 50 year old Eva, fed up with her husband, her borderline autistic twins who have just departed for University, and life itself. So she retires to bed. Her husband, her mother, her mother-in-law are all aghast, but there she stays. We pop along from time to time to Leeds University with the twins and meet their delusional 'friend' Poppy. We go to work with her husband Brian, and see glimpses of his affair. We meet odd-job man Alex, war veteran Stan. All of these characters are larger than life, but none of them gave me the laugh-out-loud moments the book jacket promised.

The central premise, that Eva is completely fed up with being taken for granted, is certainly worth exploring, but I was by turns irritated and bored by the whole thing. But then I didn't get on with Adrian Mole either.… (more)

Flagged

Margaret09 | 35 other reviews | Apr 15, 2024 |

The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4 by Sue Townsend

Yes, there were a few funny scenes with Grandma, Bert, and Pandora, but mostly it was distress after distress:

Could be re-titled "Secret Diary of Adrian SPOTS."

Glad he joined The Good Samaritans and took on Bert, who was full of surprises.

Never solved mysteries: Why father did not pursue work?
Why father let mother cheat right in front of him?
Why father allowed to treat dog so bad?

Scotland was a saving time for the plot!

Flagged

m.belljackson | 64 other reviews | Jan 27, 2024 |

Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4 by Sue Townsend

So completely of it's time, and provides good documentation of how things were back then. Even reading it in the early 90s it was evident how things have changed. Adrian comes across as being physically and emotionally underdeveloped in a family that probably didn't want him.

Flagged

geekmoose | 64 other reviews | Sep 26, 2023 |

See More Reviews