Susan Lillian Townsend is an English writer and comedian. She wrote novels, plays, collaborated with newspapers and magazines, and was engaged in journalism. She gained wide fame when she created such a character as Adrian Mole. The book was also translated into Russian and first published in the journal Foreign Literature.
early years
Sue Townsend was born on April 2, 1946 in Leicester on the Sor River. This is the main city of the county, which has a museum, a stock exchange, a theater, two universities and a large number of factories. Sue was the eldest in a large family, where in addition to her there were four more sisters. Her father was a factory worker, later became a postman. Mother worked in a factory cafeteria, and then as a conductor. At age 7, Sue went to elementary school, in which Mrs. Claricote was the school secretary. Later, she will give this name to the school secretary in books about Adrian Mole.
At eight years old, so that there was no contact with sick pigs, Sue Townsend remained at home in quarantine. Mother bought several Richmal Crompton books, which the girl read voraciously. Sue would later say that the protagonist of these works, William Brown, had a great influence on her when she wrote Adrian Moul's Diary. When the teenager was fifteen years old, she could not pass the exam at school, and she had to go to work. Working at a gas station gave her the opportunity to read a lot when there were no customers. In addition, she was both a janitor and a peddler of newspapers. So difficult was the biography of Sue Townsend.
Marriage
At age 18, Sue married Keith Townsend, who worked at a sheet metal factory. They had three children (Sean, Daniel and Victoria). But when Sue Townsend was twenty-three years old, the marriage broke up. She was alone with the children in her arms. Material difficulties were very difficult for a single mother. Social security worked poorly, and periodically the family ate only peas. At this time, Sue was working on the playground. Keeping an eye on the children, she watched people working nearby.
So she met Colin Broadway, who was married, and only a few years later they began to live together. Colin was a rowing instructor. Sue also learned this and began working with her husband. I must say that this work was very prestigious, because a professional rugby team is training in Leicester. In this marriage, the daughter of Elizabeth was born. After this, the woman was pregnant several more times, but had an abortion. Subsequently, she came to the conclusion that these actions were incorrect and wrote in 1997 a work on this subject, “Phantom Children”.
Writer's work
The husband invited Sue to fulfill his long-standing dream and try himself as a writer. To do this, it was necessary to join the group that served the Leicester's Phoenix Theater. Sue was just over thirty, it was 1978, and she was too shy, so she did not dare to write anything for the theater. But in the end, they demanded a tough job from her and gave her two weeks. She wrote a thirty minute medical drama. This was her first work. While working at the Phoenix Theater, in 1981, she received the Thames Television award for her next play in London. Collaborating with various directors and playwrights, she gained experience as a writer.
Adrian Moul's success
Sue Townsend accidentally, while talking with the children, found her hero. After writing two stories for the magazine, she sent a script on the subject to BBC Radio. On the first day of 1982, a radio play was broadcast. The hero immediately liked the audience. At the Meton Publishing House, they heard her and offered to write a book. It was Adrian Moul's Secret Diary, which immediately put its author on a par with P.G. Wudhaz.
Ten sequels were subsequently written by Sue Townsend. The author’s books “We are with the Queen”, “Coventry is reborn”, as well as a number of plays can not be considered equally successful her works. The rest of the "Diaries" are written as the protagonist grows older and becomes less ridiculous and more politicized. From a teenager, he gradually turns into the same loser as his father. The first book was published in 1982, and the last in 2009. The television series was shot in 1985 and 1987 based on the first two diaries. In 2001, a remake appeared based on these works.
Health Townsend Sue, books, biography
Concluding the story about the life and work of the English writer, I must say with chagrin that she was sick a lot. She had peritonitis, developed diabetes, and she gradually went blind. The woman suffered from kidney failure, stood in line and waited for the donor. At the same time, she continued to write, dictating her new books to her son Sean. The writer died at home on April 10, 2014 from a stroke.
Actor Stephen Mangan, who played Adrian in 2001, said he was very upset to learn that Sue Townsend had died. She was one of the most cheerful, warm and wise people he had ever met.