Sue Townsend
Sue Townsend
Susan Lillian "Sue" Townsend, FRSLwas an English writer and humorist whose work encompasses novels, plays and works of journalism. She was best known for creating the character Adrian Mole...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth2 April 1946
lack piece seems spend start thinking time work
Lack of confidence - every time I start a new piece of work, it seems I have to spend a long while under the duvet thinking I can't do it.
husband thinking years
I think we take it for granted that if you are with your husband after 30 years, then he is the love of your life.
thinking long duvets
Every time I start a new piece of work, I spend a long while under the duvet thinking I can't do it.
being-in-love thinking skins
My skin is dead good. I think it must be a combination of being in love and Lucozade.
sexy book thinking
I've always loved books. I'm passionate about them. I think books are sexy. They are smooth and solid and contain delightful surprises. They smell good. They fit into a handbag and can be carried around and opened at will. They don't change. They are what they are and nothing else. One day I want to own a lot of books and have them nbear to me in my house, so that I can stroll to my bookshelves and choose what I fancy. I want a harem. I shall keep my favourites by my bed.
home night thinking
Now I know I am an intellectual. I saw Malcolm Muggeridge on the television last night, and I understood nearly every word. It all adds up. A bad home, poor diet, not liking punk. I think I will join the library and see what happens.
hate thinking perfect
I think it's essential for comic writers to have a hate figure, a despot, a regime to react against, and I think Thatcher was perfect for me, I loathed everything she stood for.
home kids midnight
When all my kids were at home, I used to write from midnight onwards.
best deserve help people sit social staff thousands train workers
People down on their luck deserve the best: beautiful surroundings and well-paid professional staff to help them out of their difficulties. Why not train thousands more social workers and let them sit in on claimants' interviews?
admirer fascinated
I've always been fascinated by totalitarian regimes. I'm not an admirer of them.
listen violin
I usually listen to the same thing over and over again: Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D Major. And Leonard Cohen.
books days eight fortnight house library
We had library books in our house, but not our own. So you had 14 days to read them. There would be eight books a fortnight in our house and I'd read as many of those as I could.
evil good led possible realised russian time
'The Gambler' by Dostoevsky. It was the first time I realised that it was possible to have good and evil in one person. It led me to read a lot of Russian literature.
amount desperate extremely frequent given offices paid people poorly rubs staff work
The DSS offices are not given enough funding, their staff are poorly paid and are driven to distraction by the amount of work they have to do. There is frequent turnover of staff. Morale is extremely low. Working with desperate people all day is very dispiriting; their unhappiness rubs off on you.