The Lady in the Van

by Alan Bennett

Life imitates art in The Lady in the Van, the story of the itinerant Miss Shepherd, who lived in a van in Alan Bennett's driveway from the early 1970s until her death in 1989. It is doubtful that Bennett could have made up the eccentric Miss Shepherd if he tried, but his poignant, funny but unsentimental account of their strange relationship is akin to his best fictional screen writing.

Bennett concedes that "One seldom was able to do her a good turn without some thoughts of strangulation", but as the plastic bags build up, the years pass by and Miss Shepherd moves into Bennett's driveway, a relationship is established which defines a certain moment in late 20th-century London life which has probably gone forever. The dissenting, liberal, middle-class world of Bennett and his peers comes into hilarious but also telling collision with the world of Miss Shepherd: "there was a gap between our social position and our social obligations. It was in this gap that Miss Shepherd (in her van) was able to live".

Bennett recounts Miss Shepherd's bizarre escapades in his inimitable style, from her letter to the Argentinean Embassy at the height of the Falklands War, to her attempts to stand for Parliament and wangle an electric wheelchair out of the Social Services. Beautifully observed, The Lady in the Van is as notable for Bennett's attempts to uncover the enigmatic history of Miss Shepherd, as it is for its amusing account of her eccentric escapades. --Jerry Brotton

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography, Short Stories, Humor, Audiobook, Plays

92 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Alan Bennett is an English author and Tony Award-winning playwright. Bennett's first stage play, Forty Years On, was produced in 1968. 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. 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 readings of the Winnie the Pooh stories are also widely enjoyed.

Reviews

[[ J o ] · Rating 4 out of 5]

I dislike rating plays because they are made to be watched, not read. So in reality the book of the play is probably a three star-it is interesting and funny, saddening, heartfelt, completely Bennettesque (of course) and the dialogue is just superb. But it can only really give you so much and there is very little description beyond the staging, which is fair enough, but not quite enough and the way Bennett writes it (I don't feel like I am worthy of calling him Alan) purposefully in that way means that it's mostly just a book full of dialogue.

However, adding the fact that I've seen the film (not the play, which would have been better but sadly cannot be rectified right now) I can add more to my opinion. Every word that Miss Shepherd says is Maggie Smith's-she portrayed her so wonderfully-and convincingly-that I simply can't get her out of my mind. Miss Shepherd the character-saying nothing of the actual real-life person-is superbly cantankerous and annoying, and so utterly devastatingly pitiful. Although she is one woman, she is an amalgamation of women from the previous generation who, via various "ideals" of what women should and should not do, were basically told to be either a Nun or a Wife.

She reminds me a lot of those annoying characters you get in sitcoms or comedy films-the ones that usually die first-who are hilarious and fun to see because they're not real and you don't have to put up with them. But Bennett did have to put up with her: for fifteen years until her death from the moment she wheeled her van in to his front garden. It is a wonderful tale, but it's not so much a tale as a long, drawn-out anecdote.

Beyond the superb dialogue there's not a lot you can get from the book, seeing as it's a play and meant to be performed and watched, not read inside one's head on a cold Winter's night (apparently it's Spring?). I believe there are other formats of The Lady in the Van: a short story and a longer story, but I'd wholeheartedly recommend you read any of them but watch the film because Maggie Smith rules the roost (and it was delightful to see all of the History Boys do their little cameos-big shout out to Andrew Knott especially).

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a Goodreads shelf called British Charm, and one of my favorites from that group is Alan Bennett's The Uncommon Reader, a delightful novella about what would happen if the Queen of England suddenly became an avid reader. My affection for that book inspires me to seek out anything Mr. Bennett writes.

Another Goodreader recommended The Lady in the Van, which is a bittersweet play based on a true story. In 1974, Bennett bumped into a woman named Miss Shepherd, who was delusional and living in an old van. After several weeks of Miss Shepherd parking the van on the street — and some neighbors complaining — it ended up in Bennett's obliging garden, where it would stay for about 20 years.

Yes, you read that right: A crazy old woman in a rundown van was living in Bennett's yard for two decades. At this point you may ask yourself what would YOU do if a crazy homeless person set up quarters in your yard. I consider myself a do-gooder, donate to charities and progressive causes and all that, but I doubt my generosity would extend as far as Bennett's. In the play, this action dovetails with his own mother's frailty, and Bennett contemplates the fact that he's putting his mother in a nursing home at the same time there's another sick elderly woman living on his lawn.

I described this play as bittersweet, because while the dialogue with Miss Shepherd is quirky and amusing, it is at heart a sad tale. It also underscores how as a society (pardon me for lumping together America and Great Britain, but clearly nobody has figured this out) we don't know what to do with crazy people, especially if they don't want to be institutionalized.

But rather than end this review on a sad note, I'd like to close with the fun first exchange between Bennett and Miss Shepherd. Bennett was standing by the convent in Camden Town and looking up at a crucifix on the wall.

Miss Shepherd: You're looking up at the cross. You're not St John, are you?

A. Bennett: St John who?

Miss Shepherd: St John. The disciple whom Jesus loved.

A. Bennett: No. My name's Bennett.

Miss Shepherd: Well, if you're not St John I want a push for the van. It conked out, the battery possibly. I put some water in only it hasn't done the trick.

A. Bennett: Was it distilled water?

Miss Shepherd: It was holy water so it doesn't matter if it was distilled or not. The oil is another possibility.

A. Bennett: That's not holy too?

Miss Shepherd: Holy oil in a van? Don't be silly. It would be far too expensive. I want pushing to Albany Street.

(Bennett pushes the van while Miss Shepherd directs.)

Miss Shepherd: What have we stopped for?

A. Bennett: This is Albany Street.

Miss Shepherd: The top of Albany Street. I want the bottom.

A. Bennett: That's a mile away.

Miss Shepherd: So? You're young. I'm in dire need of assistance. I'm a sick woman, dying possibly.

Later, when Bennett offers to let Miss Shepherd move the van into his garden to avoid being ticketed by police, she objects.

Miss Shepherd: There's a lot of ivy in your garden. Ivy's poison. I shall have to think about it. You're not doing me a favour, you know. I've got other fish to fry. A man on the pavement told me that if I went south of the river I'd be welcomed with open arms.

A. Bennett: I was to learn that to reject favours when offered was always Miss Shepherd's way. Time had to pass to erase any sense of obligation or gratitude, so that when eventually she did avail herself of the offer and bring the van in the feeling was that she had done me the favour. One laughs, but international diplomacy proceeds along much the same lines.

[Mahtab Safdari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imagine an eccentric old woman living in a van in your neighborhood. Her behavior is often difficult and sometimes unreasonable, yet she carries herself with a fierce pride and a lingering air of mystery. Even in such circumstances, she makes imperious demands, as though her authority were unquestionable.
Her van reeks, as one might expect when personal hygiene is nearly impossible. Inside, the scene is grim: cans with scraps of food, moths fluttering in the corners, piles of dirty clothes, scattered garbage, and even traces of human waste.
You may think that it cannot get worse, but now imagine her van parked in your own driveway…for fifteen years!
It’s the story of The Lady in the Van, based on the real-life experience of Alan Bennett and Miss Shepherd.
But that is only the surface; the story is more complicated than it first appears.
It’s a poignant, humorous, and unsentimental narrative that explores the complexities of human connection.
The van can be interpreted as a symbol of Miss Shepherd’s life, reflecting both her homelessness and her emotional isolation, yet also offering a space where she discovers identity and community.
The narrative also serves as a subtle critique of British society, particularly in the Thatcher era, highlighting the cracks in the social safety net that left Miss Shepherd to fall into homelessness. Sadly, those cracks remain visible today in most societies, where similar failures continue to push people into the same fate.
The Lady in the Van is less a conventional narrative and more a thoughtful, often humorous rumination on the “untidy business of living.”
But the most striking aspect of the book is how Bennett treats this woman. Coping with such a presence for so many years would challenge even the kindest soul, yet Bennett, in his deliberate and clever way, avoids any trace of sentimentalism in recounting the reality. He does not conceal his irritation or anger, nor does he attempt to present himself as virtuous or boast of his kindness. He never frames his actions as great favors. And yet, when you read between the lines, you discover one of the most caring, forgiving, and profoundly compassionate figures. Even within the dry wit of his prose, Bennett emerges as the embodiment of humanity — something rare and precious in our time. I have long admired him for his exceptional talent and intelligence, but here I find myself compelled to pay the deepest respect to the remarkable person behind the words.
Bennett never portrays Miss Shepherd as a caricature or dismisses her as a “crazy old lady.” Instead, he presents her as a complex individual marked by a tragic past. Only after her death does Bennett find the opportunity to piece together her story, discovering that she had fled the shadow of a fatal accident during the war, and that in her youth she had been a gifted pianist who once studied in Paris. These revelations lend her life a haunting depth, reminding us how much brilliance and dignity can remain hidden behind the veil of misfortune.
What drives people to choose such a life is still a mystery. Nowadays, the easiest response is to dismiss them with a label of mental illness, but the reality defies such simplicity...

[Emily B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short but sweet!
I loved the story, it’d so charming, witty and English. I could have read more than the 100 pages.

[Margitte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this short book for what it was. 99 pages. Well written. Great humor, a touch of compassion and sadness.

I wanted to read this book after The Uncommon Reader, which was often hilarious and really funny. The Lady In The Van did not disappoint.

Might write more later.

[Al · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very charming and funny, quirky I suppose, but also terribly sad. The world is full of brilliant, weird, interesting , folk, but how badly we treat anyone who doesn't fit.
Reminds me of this cafe I go to. Theres always this old guy loitering outside. Soon as a customer leaves, the cafe owner waves the old guy in, and invites him to polish off any food left. Then the old guy salutes the owner, and leaves.
Talk about break my heart !!
Yeah, sad and funny. And probably full of social messages

[Bettie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bettie's Books

Re-visit via film


Maggie Smith as Miss Mary Shepherd / Margaret Fairchild
Alex Jennings as Alan Bennett
Roger Allam as Rufus
Deborah Findlay as Pauline
Jim Broadbent as Underwood
Cecilia Noble as Miss Briscoe
Gwen Taylor as Mam
Frances de la Tour as Ursula Vaughan Williams
Nicholas Burns as Giles Perry
Pandora Colin as Mrs Perry

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alan Bennett’s classic’ The Lady in the Van’ (1989).

Whilst I’d previously read this as part of Bennett’s excellent collection ‘Writing Home’ (diaries etc, 1980-95) - I came across this individual edition and decided to revisit and reread.

‘Lady in the Van’ tells the unlikely and somewhat implausible although true story of the eponymous ‘lady’ Miss Shepherd, her various vans, other wheeled vehicles and how she ended up living for a number of years in Bennett’s driveway.

Composed from a collation of Bennett’s diary entries, ‘Lady in the Van’ recounts the events surrounding Miss Shepherd’s arrival in the neighbourhood, her transition to the aforementioned drive and the challenging relationship that ensued between her and Bennett, as troubled but charitable landlord and equally troubled sitting tenant ‘rubbing along together’ as it were.

As you’d expect, Bennett recounts the story brilliantly with his customary humour and pathos - a story of an everyday life and again a story that whilst making us laugh out loud, also captures and conveys the oft absurdity of life and relationships.

‘Lady in the Van’ is Bennett at his absolute height, it’s an extremely funny story infused with sadness, it’s a very human story of a misplaced and derailed life and the seemingly unappreciated, or rejected charitable attempts made by Bennett and others to help.

Whilst Miss Shepherd may be considered perhaps the quintessential unloveable eccentric, there’s a picture painted here of an ageing and damaged life, one with undoubtedly various mental health issues. It’s a touching, yet hopeful story infused with frustration and pathos - but never patronising or judgmental.

Brilliant Alan Bennett at his absolute best.

[J.C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm cheating a bit in this review, because I picked up Alan Bennett's "Writing Home" and zoomed straight to "The Lady in the Van", which I'd seen on television with Dame Maggie Smith in the role. I couldn't put it down. So instead of reviewing the whole book, "Writing Home" I just picked a random edition of this story to review. I will probably read the rest of the book, though, as Bennett's writing is so brilliant.
"The Lady in the Van". Wonderful. So comic, and yet so evocative and humbling; I want to say "wry" but there's too much compassion for that. As the blurb says, it evokes a period in London that's probably gone now, but all that is very much in the background. Forcibly in the foreground is Miss Shepherd, and her relationship with Alan Bennett - no, it's the other way round, it's Alan Bennett's relationship with her. She is 'an eccentric', 'a character', proudly independent (at least in her own mind) but utterly impossible to live with - and yet Alan Bennett did live with her, at least with her home, her unspeakable van, in his drive, for sixteen years. His humility as regards his attitude to her was humbling to me, when he describes how the ambulance workers, doctor and priest who attend her end do so without any sign of the repugnance he himself felt. He explains his allowing her to live in his front drive by saying he could get no peace at the thought of the attacks she suffered out in the open road.
You'll laugh aloud at some of the diary entries that form the basis for this short book. Generally Alan Bennett doesn't rise to the bait of humour in response, but I liked this unspoken offering:

January 1982. 'Do you see he's been found, that American soldier?' This is Colonel Dozo, captured by the Red Brigade and found after a shoot-out in a flat in Padua. 'Yes, he's been found,' she says triumphantly, 'and I know who found him.' Thinking it unlikely she has an acquaintance in the Italian version of the SAS, I ask whom she means. 'St Anthony, of course, the patron saint of lost things. St Anthony of Padua.'
'Well,' I want to say, 'he didn't have far to look.'

If you are squeamish, be prepared for some fairly revolting scatalogical descriptions of how she lived and what the van was like when Alan Bennett had to go through her things. But it is after her death that he discovers something of what her life was, and realises the legacy she left him in terms of his approach to his own writing.
There's a charming bit in a wheelchair that I won't spoil by quoting, but Maggie Smith does it full justice!

[Kirsten · Rating 1 out of 5]

Abandoning this one. I thought I would find it funny like the majority of its readers, but no, I find it abundantly tragic, that poor woman without means and probably without any income and there being no sanitary installations in her van, so she smells too, as the writer duly informs us. It being nonfiction makes it just worse.

[Marianne]

The Lady in the Van is a true story by British author, Alan Bennett. The radio play includes Maggie Smith playing Miss Shepherd. Essentially, it is an account of his interactions, over some twenty years, with the elderly Miss Shepherd, a homeless woman whose van was parked, at first in his street opposite his house, then later, in his front garden. Not until after she died, did Bennett learn very much at all about this secretive, opinionated, demanding old lady.

Entries often read thus: “April 1989. A staple of Miss S.’s shopping list these days is sherbet lemons. I have a stock of them in the house, but she insists I invest in yet more so that a perpetual supply of sherbet lemons may never be in doubt. ‘I’m on them now. I don’t want to have to go off them.’ I asked her if she would like a cup of coffee. ‘Well, I wouldn’t want you to go to all that trouble. I’ll just have half a cup.’”

It was after her death that Bennett finally ventured inside the van: “…I realised I had to grit my teeth (or hold my nose) and go through Miss Shepherd’s possessions.
To do the job properly would have required a team of archaeologists. Every surface was covered in layers of old clothes, frocks, blankets and accumulated papers, some of them undisturbed for years, and all lying under a crust of ancient talcum powder. Sprinkled impartially over wet slippers, used incontinence pads and half-eaten tins of baked beans, it was of a virulence that supplemented rather than obliterated the distinctive odour of the van. The narrow aisle between the two banks of seats where Miss Shepherd had knelt, prayed and slept was trodden six inches deep in sodden debris, on which lay a top dressing of old food, Mr Kipling cakes, wrinkled apples, rotten oranges and everywhere batteries – batteries loose, batteries in packets, batteries that had split and oozed black gum on to the prehistoric sponge cakes and ubiquitous sherbet lemons that they lay among”
Very entertaining.

[María · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me apetecía leer una comedia ligera y divertida y desde luego este libro no ha sido nada de eso. Es verdad que tiene momentos en los que no puedes evitar una sonrisa, pero esto es una historia real, esta mujer decía lo que decía y hacía lo que hacía porque tenía una enfermedad mental y vivió los últimos quince años de su vida en su furgoneta aparcada en el jardín de Alan Bennett, el cual se ocupó de alguna manera de esta señora y estableció con ella una amistad singular y entrañable.

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very funny true book about the dignity afforded an elderly citizen by Alan Bennett and his neighbours. Wonderfully written.

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Lady in the Van is a true story by British author, Alan Bennett. Essentially, it is an account of his interactions, over some twenty years, with the elderly Miss Shepherd, a homeless woman whose van was parked, at first in his street opposite his house, then later, in his front garden. Not until after she died, did Bennett learn very much at all about this secretive, opinionated, demanding old lady.

Entries often read thus: “April 1989. A staple of Miss S.’s shopping list these days is sherbet lemons. I have a stock of them in the house, but she insists I invest in yet more so that a perpetual supply of sherbet lemons may never be in doubt. ‘I’m on them now. I don’t want to have to go off them.’ I asked her if she would like a cup of coffee. ‘Well, I wouldn’t want you to go to all that trouble. I’ll just have half a cup.’”

It was after her death that Bennett finally ventured inside the van: “…I realised I had to grit my teeth (or hold my nose) and go through Miss Shepherd’s possessions.
To do the job properly would have required a team of archaeologists. Every surface was covered in layers of old clothes, frocks, blankets and accumulated papers, some of them undisturbed for years, and all lying under a crust of ancient talcum powder. Sprinkled impartially over wet slippers, used incontinence pads and half-eaten tins of baked beans, it was of a virulence that supplemented rather than obliterated the distinctive odour of the van. The narrow aisle between the two banks of seats where Miss Shepherd had knelt, prayed and slept was trodden six inches deep in sodden debris, on which lay a top dressing of old food, Mr Kipling cakes, wrinkled apples, rotten oranges and everywhere batteries – batteries loose, batteries in packets, batteries that had split and oozed black gum on to the prehistoric sponge cakes and ubiquitous sherbet lemons that they lay among”

The cover of this edition shows Maggie Smith as she portrayed Miss Shepherd in the movie of the same title, and also has a postscript written in 1994. Very entertaining.

[Jean-Luke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had Miss Shepherd, the eponymous Lady in the Van, had her way, she would have been The Lady Behind the Curtain. Or A Woman of Letters, except one of Alan Bennett's fictional creations already has that distinction. It hardly seems possible that she was a (mostly) real person, and had the Maysles brothers known of her existence they might have made a documentary. Possibly. She certainly had a wardrobe to rival that of Little Edie in Grey Gardens. Miss Shepherd was recently brought to life on the silver screen by the incomparable Maggie Smith (RIP), but Alan Bennett, who narrates the audio version of the original memoir, needs no help from anyone. Essay to book to play to film, it is a story he has retold in different formats across decades.

[Arwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very strange and oddly beautiful collection of essays about an eccentric homeless woman that the author allowed to live in her van on his property for 20-odd years. There's no sugar-coating, so you see their strange relationship develop over time with its odd intimacies and uncomfortableness, and a kind of affection. It really gives a face and a dignity to the "crazies" you see on the street everywhere in the world. A quick read and worth it.

[James Barker · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this pamphlet of a book two days before seeing the film... and gosh the film is so much better, partly because of the divine Maggie Smith but also because the film ain't the book!

What really interested me in the film was the many allusions to Alan Bennett's sexuality. Has he come out in glorious fashion without me knowing? I thought it was one of those unspoken secrets that everybody knows- surely many of us had uncles when growing up who were... well... different.. the eternal bachelors, the glorious examples of alternative living? Mine, for instance, listened to Richard Tauber and other operatic legends, read extensively (particularly history and politics) and adored Gracie Fields. Growing up in an impoverished council estate in the 1940s and 1950s all of that was quite niche.. except perhaps the love of Gracie.

The book, anyway, was an okay read although it left me a little cold. In contrast I had to "leave the room" after watching the film and have a little lie down. The immense power in the film was, to me, the comparison between Bennett's own ailing mother (who longed to live with him) and the Lady in the Van (who, kind-of, did, for a decade and a half). None of that is in the book. No doubt the film follows more closely the treatment Bennett did for the play version back in the day... in which case I would rather this tie-in housed the play rather than the original short story.. or, dare I say it, both? The "two Alans" in the film (the one who writes, the one who lives) was another great touch missing from the version in this book.

My advice: skip the book and check out the film. You know Maggie Smith can't fail you (just don't mention Sister Act 2).

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was the unlikely topic of conversation with a friend after a few drinks. Slightly dejected, he recounted his guilt over his grandmothers death and wondered if he had done enough as she spiralled into eccentricity. What brought on this rather morose reminiscence I asked, and he mentioned that he had recently seen the movie "The Lady in the Van", and she reminded him a little of his slightly-batty granny.

I looked it up when I got home, and seeing that it was based on a book, I promptly bought it. It was a short read - a brief memoir by Alan Bennett, who it turns out is not only a talented writer, but a pretty decent human being, as I don't think many people would tolerate a slightly mentally ill homeless pensioner camping in their garden. Most people wouldn't put up with this for a week - let alone 15 years. Of course these days they'd get whisked off to a nursing home, but back in the 1970s things we didn't have the factory-line ready and waiting for anyone who inconvenienced society like we do today, and the support of the street who allowed her to remain there allowed her to slip through the net. So instead of ostracising her and making her someone else's problem, the community sort-of embraces her, tolerating her, in many ways encouraging her. Despite the bizarre living situation, despite the smells and the physical problems, the missing mental pieces, I never felt sorry for her, as she seemed to be having a whale of a time tormenting the street and living a life of freedom, if not luxury.

It is written with humour, and a frank honesty that moved me. It was a short memoir, taking me less than an hour to read, but in that hour managed to give me a variety of emotions. I felt Alan's frustration, his confusion, his humour, his appreciation and ultimately, I felt a little bit of guilt over the fact that I don't think I would have been as patient... or as kind. It reminded me that sometimes kindness is letting people live, and existing with them, despite their problems and eccentricities, and not shutting up everyone who is slightly convenient in a hospital or home, to wither behind closed doors. But at the same time... it also reminded me that we have a severe lack of mental health facilities, and it was bittersweet, because who knows what her life could have been had she had medical treatment early on. Would she have hated an institutionalized life? Would she have improved, and been able to live independently in that flat that she wanted, and reconnect with her family? I tried to take a positive slant on Alan Bennett's kindness in allowing her to live there - but of course, there is a definite sadness to the fact she was in this situation to begin with.

I don't read a lot of memoirs / true fiction, but I'm glad I gave this one a chance and I'm looking forward to seeing the movie.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of the movie adaptation of this book, Maggie Smith is incredible, so when I started reading the book the voices were already there. I didn't realise just how well Maggie captured Miss Shepherd, all her mannerisms were spot on.

This is non-fiction, the book is taken from notes out of Bennett's diaries, he sat at his desk most days writing and his view was of a bright yellow van in his driveway occupied by brilliantly eccentric old lady. The book highlights her daily activities, accepting post, giving her shopping lists to people and scaring the crap out of Vincent Price. There are plenty of laughs as Bennett against his better judgement bows down to Miss Shepherd's demands and there are plenty of sad moments as you witness the way this poor old lady is living.

A brilliant read, very short but feels like an epic.

Blog review is here> https://felcherman.wordpress.com/2019...

[Sue Gerhardt Griffiths · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although only 99 pages this short memoir packed a punch. Poignant, thought-provoking and really funny at times. My first ever read by Alan Bennett, I think I need to explore more of his work.
The kindness Alan Bennett showed towards Miss Shephard is admirable - allowing an eccentric homeless woman to live in her van in his driveway for 15 years. Amazing! This little book was a beautiful read.

A few days later I watched the film. It was brilliant. Maggie Smith was magnificent.

[Smiley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this biography is readable and interesting since Alan Bennett wrote from his direct experience on a lady tramp who lived in her old van. The van itself parked in his land for 15 years was her home till she passed away. I like his ways of expressing himself considerately and kindly towards an elderly lady who wasn't his relative at all. I think it's his compassion, character and wisdom that shaped all of his motive and action in helping her live comfortably as much as she could. It's funny, I think, in the sense that they're both strangers but, Fortune might dictate their lives, they kept knowing each other and kept going in their own ways. It reminds me that everyone's getting older every day, month and year. Therefore, we need to do our best to our fellow human beings in any walk of life.

While reading, I thought and wondered why he was so humane and why some people were and are unthinkably cruel, selfish and ruthless. I think he did everything he thought he should do it to help her. Is it in the name of charity? I think not.

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

It just didn't sit well with me. The whole premise seems to be making fun of a person with a mental illness; a REAL person, because this is based on the author's real life. "Haha! I'm so smug and rich and I'm a writer! Let's all laugh at the crazy lady!" No, thanks.

[J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book takes the form of a collection of short diary entries. The book is only 100 pages and can easily be read in one sitting. Now a film and once a play it is a homage of sorts to a mentally vulnerable, homeless, cantankerous, eccentric woman called Miss Mary Shepherd who takes up residence in the author Alan Bennett's front drive in the 70's. Shabbily dressed with mismatched materials and stinking to high heaven Miss Shepherd disdains all help whilst languishing in squalor writing letters to the Vatican and various governments whilst listening to BBC radio 4 .Her van matches the disarray of its owner, spotty paint job, carpet and blankets slung over the roof, plastic bags with old clothes shoved under the bottom of the van and that is just the exterior! She is obnoxious and less than grateful when well wishers try to help her. There are several references to her elaborate toilet arrangement and brusque manner. Miss Shepherd is indeed a tragic, comedic character. 3 weeks turns into 15 years. Bennett is a reluctant good Samaritan but who can blame him.

"But Miss S. is never easy to help. After 12 last night I saw her striding up the Crescent waving her stick and telling someone to be off. Then I heard a retreating middle-class voice say plaintively: ‘But I only asked if you were all right.’"

The book is partly a mystery as Bennett tries to unravel Miss. Shepherd's past. Ultimately a quite amusing reflection on old age, illness and the desire to help others in the face of thanklessness. A fitting portrait to an unusual character.

[Natasha Leighton · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

[Marisol · Rating 4 out of 5]

La dama en la furgoneta es una novela corta basada en hechos reales, derivados de notas aleatorias que el escritor ponía en su diario a través de los años.

Como en una suerte de bitácora, van conformándose las piezas de un rompecabezas, que al final nos trae a un personaje de carne y hueso, Mary Shepard una anciana que vive en su vieja van, y que acaba estacionada en el jardín del escritor, conviviendo de una manera inusual por muchos años.

Aunque la relación es extraña, a veces impersonal y con ciertos toques de humor, si le rascamos debajo, podemos encontrar un profundo sentido de humanidad del escritor, pues qué persona es capaz de sacrificar un pedazo de su propiedad por un extraño con todo lo que conlleva, por otro lado Mary es una anciana con sus manías, sus ideas pero sobre todo con un mundo interior lleno de misterio con un toque de locura, pero que aún sin una casa, sin familia, y sin un objetivo claro, vive cada día, es una superviviente, enfrentando su vejez de la manera más digna, aún en condiciones realmente tristes.

El relato triunfa porque carece de sentimentalismos, cuenta los hechos de una manera racional y esto hace que cada lector pueda tomar la decisión de hasta donde profundizar, analizar y pensar sobre lo leído.

[Anna Ricco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un racconto lungo che ho assaporato in sole due sedi.. conoscevo lo scrittore per essere ironico grazie alla sovrana lettrice,per cui ho voluto recuperare altro di suo. Non è un vero e proprio racconto lineare, ma sono pezzi di appunti,recuperi dei suoi scritti nel corso degli anni che ha raggruppato qui e che riguardano tutti la signora S.,un personaggio a dir poco particolare. Ho apprezzato come sempre il suo raccontare piccoli episodi e sprazzi di conversazioni che ha avuto con questa eclettica signora,e di come lui si astiene sempre dal giudicare.. una storia toccante per come Bennett si prende cura di questa vagabonda scorbutica e che in sole poche pagine riesce ad avere tutto il nostro affetto. Sola al mondo, amante dei motori,un po' "tocca" e dal carattere schivo e irrispettoso, trova rifugio e calore nel vialetto del nostro scrittore,la sua vita passa inosservata a molti,ma il suo furgone che è la sua casa diventa parte del vicinato... Ironico nelle descrizioni di queste miss della signora, ma è decisamente una storia che ci scuote.

[Saïdeh Pakravan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Be honest with yourself at least, if not with me. Would you allow a filthy and foul-mouthed homeless woman of uncertain age to park her trailer in your yard and live there for decades until she dies? I wouldn't, I couldn't. But this is what Alan Bennett, the extraordinarily gifted and prolific British author and playwright put up with, with nary a harsh word, but with this memoir to show for it when the romance, such as it was, ended. Not a sentimental thought, not a feel-good message, not an emotional recounting of this relationship that can't have been easy every day. One shudders to think what a Nicholas Sparks or a Mitch Albom would have done with this material. But Bennett? Matter of fact as they come.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miss Shepherd is one of those unforgettable quirky characters that manages to jump from the page as soon as you read about her. Bennett himself describes her as Dickensian and he is not wrong.
What helps is Bennett's to the point writing style that builds just enough description with wry social commentary and personal experience.
A recent movie adaptation has cast Maggie Smith as our Lady in the Van and although she does not meet the physical description of this Miss Shepherd, I look forward to seeing her performance!

[Simone · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think my job has made me see the lack of humour in this book but I feel real compassion and sadness that ‘the woman in the van’ was so unwell that she was missed by services. The fact that she became so physically unwell and that she died alone. May be I missed the point. I’m glad that she got close enough to Bennet that she could perch on his drive and he could keep a watchful eye on her.

[yulia · Rating 5 out of 5]

as the basis for one of my favourite films, this book did not disappoint. it was so funny at some points, yet has this air of melancholy that adds this depth to the comedy. it wasn’t overfilled with bennett’s own musings or feels, instead the reader is left to deal with this unique portrayal of not just a character, but someone who was very much a real person. the way this is all crafted in 100 pages makes it simple yet incredibly reflective.