The Uncommon Reader is a novella by Alan Bennett. After appearing in the London Review of Books, Vol. 29, No. 5 (8 March 2007), it was published later that year in book form by Faber & Faber and Profile Books. An audiobook version read by the author was released in 2007.[1]
Plot
The title’s “uncommon reader” (Queen Elizabeth II) becomes obsessed with books after she chances to encounter the City of Westminster’s mobile library, and feels she should borrow a book. She borrows a novel by Ivy Compton-Burnett, then one by Nancy Mitford, and becomes an avid reader. The story follows the consequences of this obsession for the Queen, her household and advisers, and her constitutional position.
Reception
The novella was well received. Writing in the Guardian, Nicholas Lezard described it as “a piece of audacious lèse majesté which, in an earlier age, would have put its author’s head on a spike”.[2] The Washington Post said it was “an uncommonly enjoyable and funny read, a flight of imagination about what would happen if the Queen of England suddenly became an avid reader (and then a writer).”[3] New Zealand journalist Adam Dudding described it as a “quirky fantasy” which was “a witty and engaging… advertisement for the delights of reading” and an “affectionate portrait of the Queen.”[4]
References
- ^ BBC Audiobooks Ltd. ISBN 978-1-4056-8747-8.
- ^ Lezard, Nicholas (29 May 2012). “The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett – review”. The Guardian. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Strauss, Valerie (10 July 2013). “The perfect summer read — about reading”. The Washington Post. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Dudding, Adam (28 February 2009). “Of queens and authors”. Stuff. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
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External links
- The Complete Review (with further links)
- John Crace‘s “Digested Read”
- The Uncommon Reader publisher’s page
