Adrian Mole author Sue Townsend dies
The novelist best known for her much-loved Adrian Mole series has passed away aged 68 following a short illness
Author Sue Townsend has passed away aged 68.
The writer and creator of Adrian Mole died at home on Thursday following a short illness.
The bestselling author of the 1980s, Townsend first published The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4 back in 1982 before following it up with seven more instalments including the latest, Adrian Mole: The Prostate Years, published in 2009, which saw her eponymous character overcome cancer.
Beloved for his self-important struggles through his teenage years, Mole allowed Townsend to add her own witty social commentary on the Thatcher years right through to Tony Blair's New Labour when her awkward teenager transformed into a Blairite still obsessed with his original teenage crush Pandora Braithwaite, now an on-message MP.
The books were translated into 48 languages, selling more than 10 million copies, and were adapted for the stage, radio and television, the latter starring Stephen Mangan who today praised Townsend as "one of the warmest, funniest and wisest people I ever met."
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Besides her creation of Mole, the author was known for her plays and non-fiction work as well as a collection of novels, the most recent – The Woman Who Went to Bed for a Year – released in 2012.
Townsend was diagnosed with diabetes in the 1980s and was registered blind in 2001 before undergoing a kidney transplant in 2009. She suffered a stroke in December 2012, telling the Oxford Literary Festival in March 2013 that publication of the next Adrian Mole Book had been delayed as a result.
JK Rowling, David Walliams and crime writer Ian Rankin are among those who have paid tribute to Townsend on Twitter:
Sue Townsend was a comedy genius & wrote some of the funniest books of all time. A lovely lady too- http://t.co/hd5nVO9TcY
— David Walliams (@davidwalliams) April 11, 2014
