'We have, in the nick of time, a Play of the Year: Alan Bennett's The Lady in the Van is a wonderfully bittersweet comic diary of the years in which a lethally dotty and very smelly old bat parked her unroadworthy vehicle in Bennett's Camden garden, thereby providing him with a roughly equal amount of journalistic copy and guilty landlordly irritation.
Sheridan Morley, Spectator
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
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
Praise for Alan Bennett:
'Has you laughing as well as mopping your eyes. Utter genius
(Daily Mail)"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
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Book Description paperback. Condition: New. Language: ENG. Seller Inventory # 9780571316762
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. Adapted by the author from his autobiographical memoir, The Lady in the Van tells the story of Miss Mary Shepherd, whom Alan Bennett first came across when she was living in the street near his home in Camden Town. Taking refuge with her van in his garden originally for three months, she ended up staying fifteen years. Funny, touching and unexpectedly spectacular, The Lady in the Van marked the return to the stage of one of our leading playwrights.The Lady in the Van with Maggie Smith opened at the Queen's Theatre, London, in December 1999. Presents a bittersweet comic diary of the years in which a lethally dotty and very smelly old bat parked her unroadworthy vehicle in author's Camden garden, thereby providing him with a roughly equal amount of journalistic copy and guilty landlordly irritation. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780571316762
Book Description Paperback / softback. Condition: New. New copy - Usually dispatched within 4 working days. Presents a bittersweet comic diary of the years in which a lethally dotty and very smelly old bat parked her unroadworthy vehicle in author's Camden garden, thereby providing him with a roughly equal amount of journalistic copy and guilty landlordly irritation. Seller Inventory # B9780571316762
Book Description Condition: Brand New. 128 pages. 7.80x4.96x0.39 inches. In Stock. Seller Inventory # __057131676X
Book Description Condition: New. 2014. Paperback. . . . . . Seller Inventory # V9780571316762
Book Description Condition: New. 2014. Paperback. . . . . . Books ship from the US and Ireland. Seller Inventory # V9780571316762
Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # 26340680-n
Book Description PAP. Condition: New. New Book. Shipped from UK. Established seller since 2000. Seller Inventory # F2-9780571316762
Book Description Paperback. Condition: New. In 1974 Miss Shepherd parked her van in Alan Bennett?s driveway; and there she stayed until her death in 1989. Ten years later Miss Shepherd was immortalized in Bennett?s play, which premiered in 1999 with Maggie Smith in the title role. . Seller Inventory # 532748
Book Description Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. Neuware - Presents a bittersweet comic diary of the years in which a lethally dotty and very smelly old bat parked her unroadworthy vehicle in author's Camden garden, thereby providing him with a roughly equal amount of journalistic copy and guilty landlordly irritation. 128 pp. Deutsch. Seller Inventory # 9780571316762