In no time, however, I was drawn in by Bennett's spot on reminiscences and comments upon current happenings. Many television, stage and radio plays followed, along with screenplays, short stories, novellas, a large body of non-fictional prose and broadcasting, and many appearances as an actor.

TheBookAtWar by Andrew Pettegree is the perfect present for bibliophiles and history buffs alike – a fascinating exploration of the role of books in wartime. The entries begin on 24 February 2020, with the diarist chipper about the unlikelihood of the new virus in Milan having much effect on London living, and chunter on to the autumn of 2021 when the crisis appears to be in the rearview mirror (we know, although he does not, that Omicron is lurking in the wings). Christmas is just around the corner, but DON’T PANIC: we’re here to provide you with the ultimate festive gifting inspiration, and remind you that books are certainly the easiest presents to wrap…! Alan Bennett's collection of prose, Untold Stories, won the PEN/Ackerley Prize for Autobiography, 2006.This radical essay explores patriarchy and capitalism’s impact on beauty ideals, and inspires us to embrace our own disobedient bodies. He makes his ideas and success sound like mere chance, or perhaps through being with the right people at them right time.

HMQ pictured in the paper at an investiture wearing gloves, presumably as a precaution against Coronavirus. Across the world, and throughout time, there have been people who have risen to the challenge of leading others. Bennett's lugubrious yet expressive voice (which still bears a slight Leeds accent) and the sharp humour and evident humanity of his writing have made his readings of his own work (especially his autobiographical writing) very popular. His television series Talking Heads has become a modern-day classic, as have many of his works for the stage, including Forty Years On, The Lady in the Van, A Question of Attribution, The Madness of King George Ill (together with the Oscar-nominated screenplay The Madness of King George) and an adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. The book is a lovely small hardback with a great cover and pretty inside cover pages, but I just felt I wanted it to be longer.

Bought today and have no idea when this was published but it feels just like sitting with Alan Bennett for a chat. Our national treasure at work during the pandemic – sharing his everyday thoughts, alongside his increasing physical infirmities, in his own inimitable way. His television series Talking Heads has become a modern-day classic, as have many of his works for the stage, including Forty Years On , The Lady in the Van , A Question of Attribution , The Madness of King George Ill (together with the Oscar-nominated screenplay The Madness of King George ) and an adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows . As said I had already read this somewhere else, thought the book would be extra entries to his diaries of lockdown, but unfortunately not. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average.