The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 ¾

Product Information

The series featured a theme song "Profoundly in Love With Pandora" by Ian Dury and the Blockheads and starred Gian Sammarco as Adrian Mole with Julie Walters playing his mother and Lindsey Stagg as Pandora Braithwaite. I would rank the first two and the penultimate books as the highlights of the series, but the central character is so strong that I re-read them all with enjoyment. I feel sorry for Roderick Mills, who was tasked with designing the new covers, because the original cover (the bathroom mirror with a shaving kit and Noddy toothbrush, beautifully demonstrating the dichotomies inherent within a youth becoming a man) is rightly iconic – something that is tacitly admitted by including it on the inside cover of the new Secret Diary. It's a modern classic for a reason, an excellent use of the device of making the reader better informed than the author, and making Adrian a largely unsympathetic character - increasingly so as time goes by. Adrian Mole continues to struggle valiantly against the slings and arrows of growing up and his own family's attempts to scar him for life in this second volume of his secret diary.

Adrian Mole is an unforgettable character, but one that will resonate with many young people as they approach or reach puberty.A stage adaptation was written by Sue Townsend in 1984 of the first book – The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾: The Play with music and lyrics by Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley. The WRAPPER is complete and is in near Fine condition with some very light pushing at the spine tips and a little light toning to the spine. He finds out that Glenn Bott is his son and cannot pay Sharon all the money, so he cares for Glenn full-time. Despite opposing personalities, the siblings enjoy a close relationship, and Adrian often feels that she is the only family member who understands him.

The designer opted for pastel shades for each book in the series, which strikes me as a little odd given that I would normally associate the colour scheme (though not the overall effect, I admit) with chick-lit. The unclipped dust jacket, protected in a clear removable cover, is in fine condition with no issues. In 2011, Townsend published a short Adrian Mole piece that tied into the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

The ignorance, self-absorbtion, and self-delusion that can be amusing in the young teen become sad and irritating in the young adult.

Upon my second reading of this book, I was pleased that I was not any less enchanted by Adrian as when I first became acquainted with him during my freshman year of college. For those new to the series, the first book to begin with is "The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾". I still intend to read the following volumes of the series, but my main purpose will be to find out whether Adrian ever removes his head from his *cough* ahem.The first book in the Adrian Mole series, this was a publishing sensation back in the 1980s, but still has the power to entertain pre-teen, teen and even adult readers, and make them double up with laughter.