The Uncommon Reader: A Novella - Softcover

"A delicious and very funny what-if.... a delightful little book that unfolds into a witty meditation on the subversive pleasures of reading.... Mr. Bennett has written a captivating fairy tale ... a tale that showcases its author's customary élan and keen but humane wit." --Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

"Bennett's jokes are so beautifully modulated.... The Uncommon Reader is a piece of audacious lèse majesté which, in an earlier age, would have put its author's head on a spike.... Bennett knows what he is doing." --The Guardian

"A kind of palace fairy tale for grown-ups.... [[Bennett's]] account of the queen's adventures often made me laugh out loud." --Jeremy McCarter, The New York Times

"Briskly original and subversively funny." --Publishers Weekly

"[Bennett's] subtle wit and tonal command show why he is so beloved in his native Britain." --Kirkus Reviews

"Alan Bennett is one of the greatest comic writers alive, and The Uncommon Reader is Bennett at his best--touching, thoughtful, hilarious, and exquisite in its observations." --Helen Fielding, author of Bridget Jones's Diary

"Hilarious and stunning . . . The conceit offered here by Mr. Bennett, the beloved British author and dramatist, is that a woman of power can find and love the power in books. It is a simple equation and one that yields deep rewards. In what is a surprising and surprisingly touching novella, Mr. Bennett shows us why books matter to the queen, his "uncommon reader" and why they matter so much to the rest of us." --Carol Herman, The Washington Times

"Hilarious and pointed . . . The Uncommon Reader is a political and literary satire. But it's also a lovely lesson in the redemptive and subversive power of reading and how one book can lead to another and another and another. . . . But most of all, The Uncommon Reader is a lot of fun to read." --Bob Minzesheimer, USA Today

"One of the most subtly ingratiating prose stylists of our time . . . charming enough and wise enough that you will certainly want to keep it around for rereading--unless you decided to share it with friends." --Michael Dirda, The Washington Post

"Clever and entertaining . . . The Uncommon Reader is a celebration of both reading and its counterpart, independent thinking." --Maud Newton, Los Angeles Times