Sue Townsend R.I.P.

Sue Townsend in 2000. Photograph: Rob Judges/Rex

Sue Townsend, best known for writing the fictional diaries of Adrian Mole, died yesterday aged 68 after suffering from a stroke. She was one of Britain’s most celebrated comic writers: novelist, playwright and journalist.

Townsend,who grew up poor, was a passionate socialist. She eventually achieved success for her Adrian Mole book series which sees an adolescent Adrian struggling with adolescence during the brutal Thatcher years. Townsend took the Mole character through marriage and prostate cancer.

She herself suffered through a myriad of illnesses including the diabetes which left her blind and led to a kidney transplant.

She leaves her husband and four children.



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