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Lady in the Van (Faber Plays)
by
Alan Bennett
Life imitates art in The Lady in the Van, the story of the itinerant Miss Shepherd, who lived in a van in Alan Bennett's driveway from the early1970s until her death in 1989. It is doubtful that Bennett could have made up the eccentric Miss Shepherd if he tried, but his poignant, funny but unsentimental account of their strange relationship is akin to his best fictional sc...more
Paperback, 96 pages
Published
February 7th 2001
by Faber & Faber Ltd
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This is one of the physically smallest books I've read. Stuck it in the fiction shelf, but it's a true story about a traveller who lived on the driveway of the authors London home, in the back of her van.
Brilliantly told by Bennett.
Brilliantly told by Bennett.
I think this biography is readable and interesting since Alan Bennett wrote from his direct experience on a lady tramp who lived in her old van. The van itself parked in his land for years was her home till she passed away. I like his ways of expressing himself considerately and kindly towards an elderly lady who wasn't his relative at all. I think it's his compassion and intellect that shaped all of his motive and action in helping her live comfortably as much he could. It's funny, I think, in ...more
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A very strange and oddly beautiful collection of essays about an eccentric homeless woman that the author allowed to live in her van on his property for 20-odd years. There's no sugar-coating, so you see their strange relationship develop over time with its odd intimacies and uncomfortableness, and a kind of affection. It really gives a face and a dignity to the "crazies" you see on the street everywhere in the world. A quick read and worth it.
Eine längere (die Titelgeschichte) und drei kürzere Erzählungen, die sehr autobiografisch daher kommen und es vielleicht nur teilweise sind. Das Highlight ist natürlich die Lady im Lieferwagen. Sie lebt ziemlich runtergekommen in diesem Gefährt, ist äußerst schwierig und schnoddrig. Sie lebt schließlich viele Jahre im Garten des Ich-Erzählers. Das Verhältnis der beiden ist äußerst ambivalent. Der Erzähler möchte irgendiwe helfen, andererseits aber auch seine Ruhe. Erst nachdem sie stirbt, erfähr...more
This is a very short book (actually a piece that appeared in the London Review of Books in 1989). Pleasant to read, but hardly up there with the literary works of this author. It sketches a decent portrayal of the author as a quintessentially English person with their awe for "true" excentrics and fear of direct confrontation, and should be interesting to those people who, after having read his other books, want to get a further peek at the personal life of the author.
Originally camped out on the road, Miss Shepherd and her van eventually find their way to Alan Bennett’s driveway, and there they stay for many years! Through Alan’s experiences - and through his eyes - we learn about Miss Shepherd and her eccentric ways, although very little about her background.
It’s a gentle, poignant story, sad in places and funny in others, and of course it’s tiny so it takes no time to read at all!
It’s a gentle, poignant story, sad in places and funny in others, and of course it’s tiny so it takes no time to read at all!
Very Alan Bennett like and never really been my cup of tea. Brilliant observations, marvellous characterisation, but I just found this pretty boring, could hardly be bothered to finish.
Interesting and entertainig true-life story about a lady who lived in a van parked first in front of the author's house and later in his garden. Very idiosyncratic.
From BBC Radio 4 Extra:
Autobiographical play about the woman who took refuge in the author's Camden garden and stayed for 15 years. Stars Maggie Smith.
Autobiographical play about the woman who took refuge in the author's Camden garden and stayed for 15 years. Stars Maggie Smith.
What an odd and interesting play. Enjoyed the 2 Bennetts. Could come across as a bit disjointed unless we cut down so there's room for pauses between scenes.
re-reading. now want to re-read all his diaries. But I have more than enough books on my shelves which I haven't got round to yet...argh the dilemma!
My absolute favourite of all Bennetts books.
I was told this was going to be very good... and I have to admit that I did enjoy it, but it wasn't what I expected. It is a play, and is written as such, with stage directions, etc, so it's quite a different format to read. But if you can imagine it on a stage, the story is compelling.
Ironico e pungente ma allo stesso tempo di una delicatezza che non sospettavo in Bennett. Alla fine mi sono commossa....
Very british :) but it made me want to know more about the author.
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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-fiction...more
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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-fiction...more
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“Miss S. bevorzugte das pathetische Wort ‚land’ gegenüber dem üblichen ‚country’. ‚This land …’ In diesem Sinne gebraucht, ist es zwar nicht direkt die Sprache des Wahnsinns, aber doch der Besessenheit. Zeugen Jehovas sprechen ständig von ‚this land’, ebenso die National Front. Land ist gleich country plus Vorsehung – ein Land im Angesicht Gottes. Auch Mrs. Thatcher sagt ‚this land’.”
—
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