But I warn you, you’ll want to read it more than once. Being a novella,it’s a quick read -perfect for a short air or rail journey. The first thing they have to do is get rid of Norman – he only encourages her especially once she promotes him. The wheels of palace intrigue are set into motion. This new hobby is taking up her time and distracting her. She is the monarch – surely she can read too?īut her advisors object. This is harmless, surely? Lots of people read. Even when she is in the royal coach, she has a good book stashed behind a cushion. She discusses the books she has read with visiting heads of state and ministers – much to their bewilderment. Norman, like many of the palace staff, happens to be gay so he has to temper his opinions a little but the queen is hooked. She becomes to rely on Norman to recommend his favourites to her. One has to be polite.Īnd she feels that it is incumbent upon her to borrow a book. It is a mobile library which regularly visits the palace so that the staff can borrow books.The queen has to be polite.(One does,doesn’t one?) In the mobile library she finds Norman, a lowly member of the palace staff. One day, when the queen is exercising her dogs in the palace grounds and she is chasing them, she finds herself in a courtyard which contains a strange vehicle.

In Alan Bennett’s book though, she starts to read fiction.It’s all the fault of her corgis. This is a wonderful fictional account of what happened when Queen Elizabeth II decided to take up reading.The queen reads – of course she does – but in this novella,her reading activities are confined to state papers,official documents and the more serious daily newspapers. The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett: Review.

Alan bennett the queen