What do you think?
Rate this book
A box of Alan Bennett
Book by Bennett, Alan
250 pages, Paperback
First published October 19, 2000
30 people want to read
About the author
Alan Bennett
275 books1,120 followersLibrarian 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.
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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 27, 2025
Alan Bennett: Plays: 12 Full-Cast BBC Radio Dramas – eleven of the splendid works of Alan Bennett are reviewed on my blog, together with hundreds of other plays, novels, films, and here is the plug, the best gig might be this one https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20...
9 out of 10
Alan Bennett is one of the best writers of our times, at least I must think so, if I look at the list of eleven books that I have read and noted on so far https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... and that is just looking at two pages on Goodreads, there may be more, plus the films
The one play, which was made into a film as well, that I have in mind is:
- The Madness of King George
That is because we have a mad man in charge of the free world, Orange Woland (though his MAGA cult used to call him Orange Jesus, he is actually Satan, if this dichotomy really exists), is taking the world apart, in what was called a nuclear economic war, and this Armageddon is just part of it, there are the universities, the justice system
King George comes back, eventually, from the abyss in which he had descended, and I am laughing at the fact that the monarch used to refer to the ‘colonies’, and taking advantage of the fact that nobody reads this (I looked at the statistics of the blog and there were 4 readers today) I must say that they return to that status now
What with the new mad king they have elected (imagine that, vote for a Mad Dude, not have to put up with some Ceausescu, as we had to here, but anoint him through free will, granted, half the people hate him, and even MAGA, some of it, may see the folly) this is the Madness of King Donald, as The Economist puts it
And think of this quote “History is a commentary on the various and continuing incapabilities of men. What is history? History is women following behind with the bucket.” This is from another fabulous book by Alan Bennett – The History Boys https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20...
However, I have had another disappointment yesterday, comedian Maher, one that I used to like so much, wen to see this Orange Woland and not only that, but he came out bemused, enchanted by the ingenuity, openness and God knows what else, but fuck all, I just cancelled the subscription to the channel of this Joker
I mean, this has been going on for quite some time, in the name of dialogue, harmony and all that, he kept beating on democrats – who have many flaws, but still, it is kicking a fallen horse, right? - while those ghouls in the Orange Woland, aka Jesus, camp take abjection to new laws, so bye bye les amis de mon ami son mes amis
Let me mention yet another book by Alan Bennett https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... The Uncommon Reader, wherein the Reader is…The Queen, and she could not be further from this Mad New King in style, dedication – he has spent those 100 days or so destroying and…
- Playing golf for one third of the time, while the world was on fire
The Queen has died in the meantime, but she was such a role model, abnegation, dedication, respect for the people, while this would be king is just the opposite, arrogant, narcissistic to the point of illness, stupid and contemptible
Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se
There is also the small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse, all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have an idea how it can happen, let me know
As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/r...
Some favorite quotes from To The Hermitage and other works
‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’
9 out of 10
Alan Bennett is one of the best writers of our times, at least I must think so, if I look at the list of eleven books that I have read and noted on so far https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... and that is just looking at two pages on Goodreads, there may be more, plus the films
The one play, which was made into a film as well, that I have in mind is:
- The Madness of King George
That is because we have a mad man in charge of the free world, Orange Woland (though his MAGA cult used to call him Orange Jesus, he is actually Satan, if this dichotomy really exists), is taking the world apart, in what was called a nuclear economic war, and this Armageddon is just part of it, there are the universities, the justice system
King George comes back, eventually, from the abyss in which he had descended, and I am laughing at the fact that the monarch used to refer to the ‘colonies’, and taking advantage of the fact that nobody reads this (I looked at the statistics of the blog and there were 4 readers today) I must say that they return to that status now
What with the new mad king they have elected (imagine that, vote for a Mad Dude, not have to put up with some Ceausescu, as we had to here, but anoint him through free will, granted, half the people hate him, and even MAGA, some of it, may see the folly) this is the Madness of King Donald, as The Economist puts it
And think of this quote “History is a commentary on the various and continuing incapabilities of men. What is history? History is women following behind with the bucket.” This is from another fabulous book by Alan Bennett – The History Boys https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20...
However, I have had another disappointment yesterday, comedian Maher, one that I used to like so much, wen to see this Orange Woland and not only that, but he came out bemused, enchanted by the ingenuity, openness and God knows what else, but fuck all, I just cancelled the subscription to the channel of this Joker
I mean, this has been going on for quite some time, in the name of dialogue, harmony and all that, he kept beating on democrats – who have many flaws, but still, it is kicking a fallen horse, right? - while those ghouls in the Orange Woland, aka Jesus, camp take abjection to new laws, so bye bye les amis de mon ami son mes amis
Let me mention yet another book by Alan Bennett https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... The Uncommon Reader, wherein the Reader is…The Queen, and she could not be further from this Mad New King in style, dedication – he has spent those 100 days or so destroying and…
- Playing golf for one third of the time, while the world was on fire
The Queen has died in the meantime, but she was such a role model, abnegation, dedication, respect for the people, while this would be king is just the opposite, arrogant, narcissistic to the point of illness, stupid and contemptible
Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se
There is also the small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse, all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have an idea how it can happen, let me know
As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/r...
Some favorite quotes from To The Hermitage and other works
‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’
July 1, 2021
3 Novellas, which will take you about 2 hours to read each.
The adapted screenplay, The clothes they stood up in is a clever and ironic tale of the middle class marriage, its shows the stereotype of normative behaviour and expectatations that start to disintegrate when a harmless but ultimately transformative event upsets the humdrum routine.
Father father burning bright is also adapted from a screenplay. This is a look at a filial relationship which has led to a lifetime of misunderstanding. Realisation comes, as always, too late.
The lady in the van is constructed from Bennett's personal diaries, and describes a quite strange and improbable history of 20 years where a stranger lived in a van, in his driveway in Camden. A bittersweet retelling.
The adapted screenplay, The clothes they stood up in is a clever and ironic tale of the middle class marriage, its shows the stereotype of normative behaviour and expectatations that start to disintegrate when a harmless but ultimately transformative event upsets the humdrum routine.
Father father burning bright is also adapted from a screenplay. This is a look at a filial relationship which has led to a lifetime of misunderstanding. Realisation comes, as always, too late.
The lady in the van is constructed from Bennett's personal diaries, and describes a quite strange and improbable history of 20 years where a stranger lived in a van, in his driveway in Camden. A bittersweet retelling.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews