The Queen and I
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Product Description
Product Description
A seminal comic masterpiece of our time, now published for the first time in Penguin.
THE MONARCHY HAS BEEN DISMANTLED
When a Republican party wins the General Election, their first act in power is to strip the royal family of their assets andtitles and send them to live on a housing estate in the Midlands.
Exchanging Buckingham Palace for a two-bedroomed semi in Hell Close (as the locals dub it), caviar for boiled eggs, servants for a social worker named Trish, the Queen and her family learn what it means to be poor among the great unwashed. But is their breeding sufficient to allow them to rise above their changed circumstance or deep down are they really just like everyone else?
About the Author
Sue Townsend became Britain's bestselling author of the 1980s with her books THE SECRET DIARY OF ADRIAN MOLE AGED 13 3/4 and THE GROWING PAINS OF ADRIAN MOLE. She is the author of seven other novels, including THE QUEEN AND I and GHOST CHILDREN, andmost recently her collected journalism, THE PUBLIC CONFESSIONS OF A MIDDLE AGED WOMAN (AGED 55 3/4), was published in 2001. She is also well known as a playwright, and lives in Leicester.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
The Queen was in bed watching television with Harris. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
The Queen was in bed watching television with Harris. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is clever humour at its best. The book details the escapades of the Royal Family when they are moved into council estates following a republican victory in the general election. Sue Townsend's humourous style, as seen in Adrian Mole, is retained and this book achieves the almost unachievable in actually being more funny than Mole. The novel does give an insight into the problems of the British welfare system, but this does not prevent it from being hilarious. Everyone really MUST read this book.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Many of the good things said about this book by other reviewers are true - it is funny (although the jokes are often repetitive), well-observed, and compassionate, and Townsend shows skill and dexterity in exploring some aspects of the disenfranchised Royals' relationships with each other and with 'The common people' which had not previously occurred.
She also demonstrates finesse in making many of the other inhabitants of 'Hell Close', the Royal Family's new neighbours, interesting and often likeable characters rather than the collection of stereotypes they initially appear to be.
I found the book entertaining, and was moderately keen to get back to it each time my reading was interrupted, in order to find out what happened next.
So what's my problem?
The ending.
I'd have quite liked one.
Yes, given the events of the book, it's difficult to see how Townsend *could* have brought things to a conclusion - but that shouldn't have excused her from trying.
Instead she writes herself into a corner and has to resort to one of the oldest authorial cliches known to bring the book to a close.
A really serious disappointment, after so much literary foreplay, to be left completely without a climax.
She also demonstrates finesse in making many of the other inhabitants of 'Hell Close', the Royal Family's new neighbours, interesting and often likeable characters rather than the collection of stereotypes they initially appear to be.
I found the book entertaining, and was moderately keen to get back to it each time my reading was interrupted, in order to find out what happened next.
So what's my problem?
The ending.
I'd have quite liked one.
Yes, given the events of the book, it's difficult to see how Townsend *could* have brought things to a conclusion - but that shouldn't have excused her from trying.
Instead she writes herself into a corner and has to resort to one of the oldest authorial cliches known to bring the book to a close.
A really serious disappointment, after so much literary foreplay, to be left completely without a climax.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The queen and her family are taken from Buckingham palace and placed in a housing estate by the new republican party. I haven't got a bad word to say about this book, yes the characters date the book slightly but due to fictional way they are described you can easily get past this.
The story is wonderfully written and the characters are enjoyable and realistic. The royal families individual reactions to their new situation are realistic and charming, their descriptions play on the publics perceptions of the royal family perfectly.
But the real heroes are the welcoming locals who are proud of where they come from and what they have worked for.
Each chapter is so readable pages pass with out your noticing until the end arrives leaving you wanting more! Wonderful!!
The story is wonderfully written and the characters are enjoyable and realistic. The royal families individual reactions to their new situation are realistic and charming, their descriptions play on the publics perceptions of the royal family perfectly.
But the real heroes are the welcoming locals who are proud of where they come from and what they have worked for.
Each chapter is so readable pages pass with out your noticing until the end arrives leaving you wanting more! Wonderful!!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Far too many errors in Kindle version
Bought this recently and reread it for first time since it was published in the 90s. Was as funny as I remembered, but was very disappointed by the sheer number of errors in the... Read more
Published 15 hours ago by tortoise
Funny
I love the Queen and I. Sue Townsend's adult novels are so much better than the Adrian Mole stuff in my opinion and this is one of her best
Published 1 month ago by jandap
My review
Recently purchased this cassette for my Mum. She asked me to look for it for her as she likes to listen to these types of cassettes. She was very happy with it.
Published 5 months ago by listener19
Witty, funny and touching.
I loved this Sue Townsend novel. As usual, she is fantastic in her descriptions of English everyday life, being at the same time funny, witty and ironic. Read more
Published 11 months ago by B. V. Palmeiro
The Queen and I
One of the most amusing books I have read for a long time. I am already recommending it to my friends. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Seearpy
Don't Bother With This Drivel
This is a nasty spiteful little book, Written from the murky depths of the politics of envy, it viciously attacks the Royal Family who cannot realistically fight back. Read more
Published 18 months ago by EvilEmpire
A lighthearted read, a caricature
As you'd expect from a book by Sue Townsend, "The Queen and I" is funny. It is a lighthearted read which makes a serious point. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Tanya Humphrey
DO NOT BUY THE KINDLE VERSION OF THIS - BUY THE BOOK INSTEAD
I would like to start by saying that this is one of my all time favourite books of all time...its brilliant! It's an excellent read all round. Read more
Published 20 months ago by daveypinside
OK
This is the first Sue Townsend I have read. I read the whole thing one very rainy day whilst on holiday. Read more
Published on 17 Aug 2009 by Night Worker
Not quite my cup of... "royal-ty"
I have read almost every book by Sue Townsend, starting from "The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole" and have always appreciated her ability to convey strong emotions combined with a... Read more
Published on 8 Dec 2008 by I LOVE BOOKS
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