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The Lady in the Van (BBC Radio Collection) | 
 enlarge | Author: Alan Bennett
Creator: Author
Publisher: BBC Audiobooks Ltd
Category: Book
List Price: £12.99
Buy New: £6.58
You Save: £6.41 (49%)
New (17) Used (1) from £6.58
Rating:  5 reviews
Sales Rank: 80071
Format: Audiobook
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Items: 2
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 4.7 x 0.4
ISBN: 0563535237
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780563535232
ASIN: 0563535237
Publication Date: August 6, 2001
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New Product still factory sealed. Dispatched from the UK by a trusted reputable company.
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
Life imitates art in The Lady in the Van, the story of the itinerant Miss Shepherd, who lived in a van in Alan Bennett's driveway from the early1970s until her death in 1989. It is doubtful that Bennett could have made up the eccentric Miss Shepherd if he tried, but his poignant, funny but unsentimental account of their strange relationship is akin to his best fictional screen writing.Bennett concedes that "One seldom was able to do her a good turn without some thoughts of strangulation", but as the plastic bags build up, the years pass by and Miss Shepherd moves into Bennett's driveway, a relationship is established which defines a certain moment in late 20th-century London life which has probably gone forever. The dissenting, liberal, middle-class world of Bennett and his peers comes into hilarious but also telling collision with the world of Miss Shepherd: "there was a gap between our social position and our social obligations. It was in this gap that Miss Shepherd (in her van) was able to live". Bennett recounts Miss Shepherd's bizarre escapades in his inimitable style, from her letter to the Argentinean Embassy at the height of the Falklands War, to her attempts to stand for Parliament and wangle an electric wheelchair out of the Social Services. Beautifully observed, The Lady in the Van is as notable for Bennett's attempts to uncover the enigmatic history of Miss Shepherd, as it is for its amusing account of her eccentric escapades. --Jerry Brotton
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| Customer Reviews:
An amazing work of non-fiction November 16, 2008
S J Buck (Kent, UK)
'The Lady in the Van' is a completely true story. In the 1970's and 1980's outside Alan Bennett's own house in Camden an old lady (Miss Shepherd) lived in a Van in the street. After a time she could no longer stay on the street. Amazingly Bennett allowed her to move her Van into his garden and there she remained until she died.
This is a remarkable story, and its one of the funniest yet moving pieces of writing that I have ever read. Bennett is a marvellous observer of people and his humanity shines through. Miss Shephard's living conditions were frankly disgusting (just think of the smell) and this would be enough to put most people off having any contact with her at all.
Bennett here has written one of the finest works of moving and poignant non-fiction I know of.
What fun! October 23, 2008
Aunty Pog (UK)
What a fun read. It had me giggling away for several hours. Alan Bennett is of course a fine writer and this is a very funny recount of his relationship with the distressed gentlewoman who camped at the bottom of his garden (you couldn't make it up). A book everyone should read -- possibly.
entertaing read August 9, 2007
P. LOWE (Nottingham)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Very amusing little book coupled with Bennett's talent for pathos and humour. The story is so well expressed you can almost smell the stench of the tramp occupied van. Excellent read. Recommended.
Both funny and sad August 16, 2005
dilbert for ever
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
The story of how Mr Shepherd ended up in Alan Bennett's drive, and how she lived her life their until her eventual death, is both funny, and also in parts sad. Although very short, this book is well worth it, and highly recommended.
Miss Shepard Desert Fox August 2, 2001
Laura Daly (Dublin)
12 out of 15 found this review helpful
For fifteen years this arch Tory lived in a van in Bennets driveway. We must laugh at the rubbing on of Bells whiskey, the fright Bennett got when he thought she was going to camp on his Yorkshire doorstep. We must wonder what went on in Miss Shepard's mind as she talked of "this land" and "her pencils". During this time Bennett realises that Miss Shepard is not to different from the rest of us as she too has all the usless items for living that we never use. We must pause as she nears the end of her life. And at the end you feel he quite liked her and she him. I know I did. She may be in an unmarked Islington grave but she is remembered.
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