Sue Townsend, the author of the beloved Adrian Mole books, has died. She was 68.
Townsend shot to fame in the '80s with her first book The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾, which would go on to become the best-selling British fiction book of the '80s, and spawned several sequels, a stage production, and a TV series.
Mole, the series' star, is a tortured teen, and the books were hilariously written in diary format. We remember that he had a Noddy toothbrush and Noddy wallpaper, which he painted back, moody-teen style, and ended up having to fill in the bells on Noddy’s hat with permanent marker. He also had a girlfriend called Pandora, and once asked if he could see her nipple. She slapped him in the face.
The debut was followed up with the equally funny Growing Pains Of Adrian Mole and The True Confessions Of Adrian Mole, with further books following him into fully-fledged adulthood.
Townsend had a life-saving operation in 2010, when her son, Sean, donated a kidney to her following a long struggle with diabetes. At the time, Townsend maintained her sense of humour saying, 'I've actually got three kidneys now – even if two are next to useless. Mind you, Sean is very proprietorial about what he still calls "his kidney".'
Her condition had left her partially blind, and she also needed to use a wheelchair after developing a foot condition, which prevented her from wearing her favourite footwear. 'I can't wear shoes now – only what I call my Tweenie boots,’ she said. ‘My one big luxury was my Prada shoes but not any more.'
Right - we know what our weekend plans are. Downloading Adrian Mole to our Kindle, pronto.
Picture: Rex
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.