7.6 /10 1 Votes
Country United Kingdom Publication date 7 October 1982 ISBN 0-413-50890-0 Genre Young adult fiction | 3.8/5 Goodreads Language English Pages 259 pp Originally published 7 October 1982 Publisher Methuen Publishing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Media type Print (Hardback & Paperback) Followed by The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole Adaptations The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole (1985) Similar Sue Townsend books, Adrian Mole series books, Children's literature | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ is the first book in the Adrian Mole series of comedic fiction, written by Sue Townsend. The book is written in a diary style, and focuses on the worries and regrets of a teenager who believes himself to be an intellectual. The story is set in 1981 and 1982, and in the background it refers to some of the historic world events of the time, such as the Falklands War and the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana as well as the birth of Prince William. Mole is also a fierce critic of prime minister Margaret Thatcher, listing her as one of his worst enemies.
Contents
Apart from the humorous events described in the diary, a lot of the book's humour originates from the unreliable narration of Mole, who naïvely, yet confidently, misinterprets events around him.
The book was first published in hardcover by Methuen on October 7, 1982. Sequels include (in chronological order):
Reception
The book was a best-seller, and had sold 1.9 million copies by November 1985.
Adaptations
A 7-part radio series on BBC Radio 4 featured extracts from the book read by Nicholas Barnes. Townsend adapted the book for the stage in 1984 with music by Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley for a 1985 television series.
A successful stage production ran at the Wyndham's Theatre, London, in 1984-1986, that included Simon Gipps-Kent and followed with a road tour.
A new musical theatre adaptation by Jake Brunger and Pippa Cleary opened at Leicester's Curve Theatre in March 2015. Townsend had been working on the project at the time of her death.