By M&C News Oct 31, 2007, 15:28 GMT
It is a book that Booklist is calling, “In the wake of the popularity of the movie The Queen, this crafy work of satire should find an appreciative American audience.”
Alan Bennett has written a novella called The Uncommon Reader about Queen Elizabeth and can be described as, “a delicious and very funny what-if: What if Queen Elizabeth at the age of 70-something were suddenly to become a voracious reader? What if she were to become an avid fan of Proust and Balzac, Turgenev and Trollope and Hardy? And what if reading were to lead her, in turn, to becoming a writer? Mr. Bennett’s musings on these matters have produced a delightful little book that unfolds into a witty meditation on the subversive pleasures of reading,” the NYT states.
Apparently, the Queen is known for not having read a book. Publishers Weekly notes, “Bennett has fun with the proper behavior and protocol at the palace, and the few instances of mild coarseness seem almost scandalous. There are lessons packed in here, but Bennett doesn't wallop readers with them. It's a fun little book.”
Farrar, Straus and Giroux is the publisher, and the book finishes at 128 pages. More information can be found reading the NYT article.
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