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Untold Stories [Paperback]

Alan Bennett (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
RRP: £9.99
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Book Description

Publication Date: 7 Sep 2006

Here, at last, is the astonishing sequel to Alan Bennett's classic Writing Home, updated for paperback.

The paperback of Untold Stories contains new unpublished diaries, as well as a poignant memoir of his family and of growing up in Leeds, together with his much celebrated diary for the years 1996-2004, and numerous other exceptional essays, reviews and comic pieces. Since the success of Beyond the Fringe in the 1960s Alan Bennett has delighted audiences worldwide with his gentle humour and wry observations about life. His many works include Forty Years On, The Lady in the Van, Talking Heads, A Question of Attribution and The Madness of George III. Bennett's most recent play, The History Boys, opened to great acclaim at the National in 2004, and won the Evening Standard Award, the South Bank Award and the Critics' Circle Award for Best New Play.

Untold Stories is published jointly with Profile Books.

Frequently Bought Together

Untold Stories + Writing Home + The Uncommon Reader
Price For All Three: £20.86

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  • Writing Home by Alan Bennett Paperback £7.58
  • The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett Paperback £6.39

Product details

  • Paperback: 672 pages
  • Publisher: Faber and Faber; New Ed edition (7 Sep 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0571228313
  • ISBN-13: 978-0571228317
  • Product Dimensions: 12.9 x 19.7 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 8,223 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Review

'Alan Bennett, with his combination of pitiless observation and gentle understatement, is perhaps the best-loved of English writers alive today.' -- Sunday Telegraph, 25th September 2005

'He can find more drama in a cup of Darjeeling than others could in a household of nymphomaniacs.' -- Rosemary Goring, Glasgow Herald, 8th October 2005

'I have never read a book of this length where I have turned the last page with such regret.' -- John Carey, Sunday Times, 2nd October 2005

'This thick book is so full of good things they could sell it for twice the price.' -- Daily Telegraph, 1st October 2005

'that's the Christmas present shopping sorted . . .' -- Imogen Stubbs, Daily Telegraph, 1st October 2005 --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Alan Bennett first appeared on the stage in 1960 as one of the authors and performers of the revue 'Beyond the Fringe'. His stage plays include Forty Years On, Getting On, Habeas Corpus, and The Lady in the Van, and he has written many television plays, notably A Day Out, A Woman of No Importance and the series of monologues Talking Heads. Single Spies was first produced at the National Theatre in 1988, followed in 1990 by his adaptation of The Wind in the Willows and in 1991 by The Madness of George III. Alan Bennett is the author of the best-selling biography Writing Home, and the short novels The Clothes They Stood Up In, Father Father Burning Bright, The Lady in the Van and The Laying On of Hands.
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
48 of 49 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful writing and a joy to read 3 April 2006
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
I'm not going to presume to comment at length on Alan Bennett's writing. "Untold Stories" is by turns extremely funny, deeply moving, courageous, uplifting, brilliantly observed, and a treasure trove of expert knowledge lightly told. It covers an astonishingly wide range of subject matter from the seemingly "trivial" (although of course in the hands of a writer like Bennett, trivial details can reveal a whole world), to the "serious" business of politics, culture, society and history. I have rated it four stars because at nearly 700 pages it is extremely long, so there were a few passages here and there that I could have done without (e.g. gardening never being a particular interest of mine). But for every entry on gardening there are a dozen pieces on films, theatre, architecture, art and so on that enthralled me, so I have no real right to complain. This is an extraordinary book and one that repays the effort of reading it a hundred times over. Finally, I'd like to say that I am astonished by the reviewer below who accuses the author of being a snob: if nothing else, Bennett's kindness and humanity shines through every page of "Untold Stories" as plain as day.
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37 of 38 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Laughter in the Confessional 7 Mar 2007
By Eugene Onegin TOP 1000 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
If you know Alan Bennett's work through his plays or have enjoyed the memorable collection Writing Home in the 1990's, you might wonder what this current anthology has in store. Well the short answer is that it is the same only different. The customary Bennett humanity, acute observation, keen intelligence and wry humour are much in evidence in the diaries from 1996-2004 included here, and in several of the shorter book reviews and essays. However, it has to be said that this volume like the second set of Talking Heads takes on a much darker hue focussing on issues that the writer has only alluded to before. The first long piece is a detailed account of the mental illness suffered by his mother and aunt and pulls no punches in its depictions of the institutions they attended or the impact this had on the wider family and how their conditions indirectly led to the discovery of a family secret. Similarly, recent years have seen A.B becoming more relaxed about his sexuality and this comes over in the article Written on the Body and contented accounts of domestic bliss with partner Rupert. Then there is an increasing anger in his comments on social and political matters especially his bitter denunciation of the Iraq war. Finally there is his perceptive account of facing a life threatening battle with cancer where the title is instructive of his attitude- An Average Rock Bun. Yet even as the content becomes more hard-edged, the quality of the prose remains as pleasing as ever: Bennett remains the master of the telling phrase, his deployment of vocabulary always apposite. Consequently, we are offered a rounded portrait of this famously secretive man far more illuminating than Alexander Game's empty biography of a few years ago. Above all you will be delighted to know, Bennett is as funny as ever whether he is talking to the local coal merchant: `you're not a patch on your dad' or commenting on the men who changed a tyre in ten minutes: `I feel I want to ask them home so they can take charge of my life'. The key to the genius of Bennett is that so often you smile in recognition at the truth of his observations having seen similar yourself, only he expresses them twice as fluently and with three times the humour.
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141 of 149 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Untold Stories 17 Oct 2005
By Book Fan
Format:Hardcover
From the very second I began reading this book I knew I was about to embark on an incredible journey through the life of one of our greatest story-tellers. Alan Bennett certainly did not disappoint me. This is a moving, heart warming and humorous selection of his life. The fact the he believed he would not live to see the book published gives it a sense of humanity and realism that is evident throughout. A book not to be missed.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars A dear diary.
A terrific read and especially at bedtime - and no, it is not a soporific, it is exactly what one might expect: gentle, often whimsical with the occasional mordant observation... Read more
Published 13 days ago by Gary Morgan
4.0 out of 5 stars untold stories.alan bennett
It is difficult to review this book, I ordered and paid for it but have never received it along with three other orders. Perhaps it is time to revert to the paper version. Read more
Published 3 months ago by warren
5.0 out of 5 stars Untold Stories by Alan Bennett
I love Alan Bennett's work .... so this didn't disappoint, some comedy moments, some sad moments.
All in all a thouroughly good read, his descriptions and observations of... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Honeybunny17
4.0 out of 5 stars A Bennett treasure trove ...
In an anthology that's part diary, part straight autobiography, part extracts from his work and part essays, Alan Bennett shows his talent for both comedy and tragedy to great... Read more
Published 5 months ago by I Read, Therefore I Blog
3.0 out of 5 stars An over-ego'd pudding
A National Treasure: lovable, cuddly Alan Bennett. Well, up to a point; this book takes us beyond that point(beyond the fringe and the spectacles) to someone rather more complex... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Michael Farman
5.0 out of 5 stars Beyond the schoolboy fringe
Untold Stories by Alan Bennett is something of a pot pourri. It starts with an autobiographical exploration of social and family origins, and then moves on to include occasional... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Philip Spires
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Fast Service
Item arrived very quickly and as described. Have now finished the book and passd it on to a friend to read
Published 21 months ago by Wharfy
5.0 out of 5 stars A torch-bearer for shy people
What comes across wonderfully is what it is like to be a shy person. Also an absolutely brilliant writer on how he presents himself in public and how other people do too, with... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Robert Shaw
5.0 out of 5 stars Queen Mother to the literary world
I put off reading this because of its daunting length (625pp). In fact it's as unputdownable as any thriller: but here it's the writing, not the plot, that thrills. Read more
Published on 26 Nov 2010 by David Gee
4.0 out of 5 stars Uncommonly good
This is a collection of works, part diary, part miscellaneous writings, much in the same way as 'Writing Home'. Read more
Published on 9 Feb 2010 by Angus P. Walker
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