Writing Home [Paperback]

Bringing together the hilarious, revealing, and lucidly intelligent writing of one of England's best known literary figures,Writing Homeincludes the journalism, book and theater reviews, and diaries of Alan Bennett, as well as The Lady in the Van, his unforgettable account of Miss Shepherd, a London eccentric who lived in a van in Bennett's garden for more than twenty years. This revised and updated edition includes new material from the author, including more recent diaries and his introduction to his Oscar-nominated screenplay forThe Madness of King George. A chronicle of one of the most important literary careers of the twentieth century, Writing Home is a classic history of a life in letters.

[A] wonderful book, the wit of which spills over even into the index....There's so much here...[Bennett] is angry, hilariously self-pitying and he writes beautifully. The Times (London)

Delightful. Time

A classic performance. Times Literary Supplement

Brilliantly perceptive...If anyone wants to define the distinctive Englishness of English writing, they can find it all in this book--modesty, irony, self-deprecating wit, and supremely good observation. Daily Telegraph

The book [contains] perhaps the funniest piece ever written about the theater...marvelous, marvelous, marvelous. The Independent

Irresistibly well written, wry, witty, every sentence a pleasure...Humane, observant, and sharply intelligent. Sunday Time

Alan Bennettis a renowned playwright and essayist, whose screenplay for The Madness of King Georgewas nominated for an Academy Award. He is also the author of The Clothes They Stood Up InandWriting Home. He lives in London, England

List of Illustrations
Introduction: In a Manner of Speaking

Past and Present
The Treachery of Books
Leeds Trams
Not History at All . . .
Uncle Clarence
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