About the book

Like everything Bennett does, these stories are playful, witty and painfully observant of ordinary people's foibles. They all have brilliant twists, are immensely entertaining and highly moral. And all are modern classics.The Laying on of HandsThe painfully observant account of a memorial service for a masseur to the famous. The Clothes They Stood Up InThe comic tale of an elderly couple's trials after their flat is stripped completely bare. Father! Father! Burning BrightThe savage satire on the family of a dying man who rules over them from his hospital bed. The Lady in the VanThe true story of the eccentric old woman who is invited to live in a homeowner's front garden. She stays there, in her van, for fifteen years. The home is Alan Bennett's. It became a West End hit, starring Maggie Smith.

About the author

The film adaptation of the hit play The Lady in the Van is out now in the UK.Alan Bennett has been one of our leading dramatists since the success of Beyond the Fringe in the 1960s. His television series Talking Heads has become a modern-day classic, as have many of his works for the stage.
At the National Theatre, London, The History Boys won numerous awards including Evening Standard and Critics' Circle awards for Best Play, an Olivier for the Best New Play and the South Bank Award. His play The History Boys was the National Theatre's most successful production ever.
His collection of prose Writing Home was a number one bestseller. Untold Stories won the PEN/Ackerley Prize for autobiography, 2006. Recent works of fiction are The Uncommon Reader and Smut: Two Unseemly Stories.

Reviews

Bennett's exquisite observations of the snobbish and the camp, the old, the sad and the lonely are recounted with great tenderness and poignancy.
- Daily Express

Bennett approaches his characters with an agitated compassion, a baleful sympathy that adds to their troubles. Some 10 years ago, a newspaper referred to Bennett as "the nation's teddy bear". Note the gleam, always fresh, in his beady eye.
- Spectator

About the book

Like everything Bennett does, these stories are playful, witty and painfully observant of ordinary people's foibles. They all have brilliant twists, are immensely entertaining and highly moral. And all are modern classics.The Laying on of HandsThe painfully observant account of a memorial service for a masseur to the famous. The Clothes They Stood Up InThe comic tale of an elderly couple's trials after their flat is stripped completely bare. Father! Father! Burning BrightThe savage satire on the family of a dying man who rules over them from his hospital bed. The Lady in the VanThe true story of the eccentric old woman who is invited to live in a homeowner's front garden. She stays there, in her van, for fifteen years. The home is Alan Bennett's. It became a West End hit and a major film, starring Maggie Smith.

About the author

The film adaptation of the hit play The Lady in the Van is out now in the UK.Alan Bennett has been one of our leading dramatists since the success of Beyond the Fringe in the 1960s. His television series Talking Heads has become a modern-day classic, as have many of his works for the stage.
At the National Theatre, London, The History Boys won numerous awards including Evening Standard and Critics' Circle awards for Best Play, an Olivier for the Best New Play and the South Bank Award. His play The History Boys was the National Theatre's most successful production ever.
His collection of prose Writing Home was a number one bestseller. Untold Stories won the PEN/Ackerley Prize for autobiography, 2006. Recent works of fiction are The Uncommon Reader and Smut: Two Unseemly Stories.

About the book

Like everything Bennett does, these stories are playful, witty and painfully observant of ordinary people's foibles. They all have brilliant twists, are immensely entertaining and highly moral. And all are modern classics.The Laying on of HandsThe painfully observant account of a memorial service for a masseur to the famous. The Clothes They Stood Up InThe comic tale of an elderly couple's trials after their flat is stripped completely bare. Father! Father! Burning BrightThe savage satire on the family of a dying man who rules over them from his hospital bed. The Lady in the VanThe true story of the eccentric old woman who is invited to live in a homeowner's front garden. She stays there, in her van, for fifteen years. The home is Alan Bennett's. It became a West End hit, starring Maggie Smith.

About the author

The film adaptation of the hit play The Lady in the Van is out now in the UK.Alan Bennett has been one of our leading dramatists since the success of Beyond the Fringe in the 1960s. His television series Talking Heads has become a modern-day classic, as have many of his works for the stage.
At the National Theatre, London, The History Boys won numerous awards including Evening Standard and Critics' Circle awards for Best Play, an Olivier for the Best New Play and the South Bank Award. His play The History Boys was the National Theatre's most successful production ever.
His collection of prose Writing Home was a number one bestseller. Untold Stories won the PEN/Ackerley Prize for autobiography, 2006. Recent works of fiction are The Uncommon Reader and Smut: Two Unseemly Stories.

Reviews

Bennett's exquisite observations of the snobbish and the camp, the old, the sad and the lonely are recounted with great tenderness and poignancy.
- Daily Express

Bennett approaches his characters with an agitated compassion, a baleful sympathy that adds to their troubles. Some 10 years ago, a newspaper referred to Bennett as "the nation's teddy bear". Note the gleam, always fresh, in his beady eye.
- Spectator

Imprint:	Profile Books
Pages:	288
Subject:	Fiction

Imprint:	Profile Books
Pages:	288
Subject:	Fiction

Imprint:	Profile Books
Subject:	Fiction

Imprint:	Profile Books
Pages:	288
Subject:	Fiction

Imprint:	Profile Books
Pages:	288
Subject:	Fiction

Four Stories

Four Stories

Four Stories

About the book

About the author

Reviews

About the book

About the author

About the book

About the author

Reviews

Additional Information

Also by this author

Keeping On Keeping On

The Lady in the Van

Father! Father! Burning Bright

The Laying On Of Hands

The Clothes They Stood Up In

Smut

The Uncommon Reader

Collections

Four Stories

Four Stories

Four Stories

About the book

About the author

Reviews

About the book

About the author

About the book

About the author

Reviews

Additional Information

Also by this author

Keeping On Keeping On

The Lady in the Van

Father! Father! Burning Bright

The Laying On Of Hands

The Clothes They Stood Up In

Smut

The Uncommon Reader