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the complete review - autobiographical

The Lady in the Van

by
Alan Bennett

general information | our review | links | about the author

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Our Assessment:

B+ : nice, if very small account

See our review for fuller assessment.

The complete review's Review:

       In The Lady in the Van Alan Bennett describes his very odd long-term relationship with "Miss Shepherd". Miss S. first came to the attention of Bennett in the late 1960s. She and her perpetually stalled van (or rather: a succession of such vans) could be found in his Camden Town neighborhood, parked ever-closer to Bennett's home. Eventually he allowed her to keep it in his own driveway, giving her sanctuary in his garden, as he describes it. It remained there -- with Miss S. living first there and then in a lean-to at the side of his house -- until her death in 1989.
       Bennett and Miss S. made for an odd couple. They were, in a sense, landlord and tenant, but other than some peace of mind (knowing Miss S. was "at least out of harm's way") Bennett didn't appear to benefit much from the arrangement. Miss S. wasn't the easiest person to deal with: "One was seldom able to do her a good turn without some thoughts of strangulation."
       Miss S. wasn't quite right in the head, but she got on well enough. Amazingly, between the social state and the beneficence of some of the locals, she fared well and happily enough, puttering about in her own little world, selling self-written tracts and pencils, doing pretty much as she pleased. She had a healthy if unusual philosophy, typified by her reaction to Bennett's boiler bursting, flooding his basement: "Miss S.'s only comment is 'What a waste of water.'"
       In his 1994 postscript Bennett describes The Lady in the Van as being condensed from "some of the many entries to do with her that are scattered through my diaries." It is a small book, picking from some two decades worth of material, with a focus on the beginning and then especially the end. Still, Bennett charts this touching, difficult relationship very nicely. There is hardly any closeness between the two -- they remain fairly formal towards one another, and it is only the fact that they live in such proximity that really makes them a part of one another's lives. Still, her presence obviously affected him, and he manages a nice portrait of this figure. (His presence -- and his generosity in tolerating her -- no doubt also helped to preserve her from getting completely lost.)
       Bennett's 1994 postscript also provides some more information about Miss S. and her origins, a useful and revealing addition to the book.

       (Note: Bennett also later adapted this material for the stage. The playscript -- also titled The Lady in the Van -- is also available.)

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Links:

• Random House publicity page
• Profile Books publicity page

• Alan Bennett at the British Council

• BBC Films page
• IMDb page

• The Clothes They Stood Up in
• An Englishman Abroad
• Father ! Father ! Burning Bright
• The Habit of Art
• The History Boys
• The Laying on of Hands
• A Question of Attribution
• The Uncommon Reader

• See Index of Contemporary British fiction at the complete review
• See Index of Drama

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About the Author:

       British author, playwright, and actor Alan Bennett appeared in Beyond the Fringe and has written numerous highly acclaimed works.

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