WRITER

Sue Townsend

1946 - 2014

Photo of Sue Townsend

Icon of person Sue Townsend

Susan Lillian Townsend (née Johnstone; 2 April 1946 – 10 April 2014) was an English writer and humorist whose work encompasses novels, plays and works of journalism. She was best known for creating the character Adrian Mole. After writing in secret from the age of 14, Townsend first became known for her plays, her signature character first appearing in a radio drama, but her work soon expanded into other forms. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Sue Townsend has received more than 664,119 page views. Her biography is available in 28 different languages on Wikipedia. Sue Townsend is the 4,149th most popular writer (down from 3,404th in 2019), the 2,977th most popular biography from United Kingdom (down from 2,522nd in 2019) and the 335th most popular British Writer.

Memorability Metrics

  • 660k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 49.89

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 28

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 3.92

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.59

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Notable Works

The Queen and I
Drama, Fiction, Monarchy
The growing pains of Adrian Mole
Young Adult Fiction, Diaries, Humorous stories
If I turn out to be mentally deranged in adult life, it will be all my mother's fault.'Adrian Mole continues to struggle valiantly against the slings and arrows of growing up and his own family's attempts to scar him for life in this second volume of his secret diary.
Adrian Mole
Social life and customs, Young Adult Fiction, Humor
#He's back. Aged 30¼. ##Twenty-first century Mole. **Now in his thirties, Adrian's still worrying: Can he be a good father? Is Viagra cheating? Why won't the BBC produce 'The White Van', his serial killer comedy?** **Will he find the fulfilment he seeks as a celebrity offal chef, single parent and celibate novelist? Is there a place for Adrian Mole in Blair's Brave New Britain?** 'Thank goodness for his steadfast loyalty to Pandora . . . Three cheers for his chaotic, non-achieving, dysfunctional family . . . We need him' *Evening Standard* 'One of the great comic creations . . . I can't remember a more relentlessly funny book' *Mirror* 'Mole has entered his kingdom . . . superb jokes and an underlying political and social seriousness' *Sunday Times* 'Adrian Mole really is a brilliant comic creation . . . every sentence is witty and well thought out, and the whole has reverberations beyond itself' *The Times*
The secret diary of Adrian Mole aged 13 3/4
Adolescence, Adrian Mole (Fictitious character), Diaries
Rebuilding Coventry
Fiction, Fugitives from justice, Homeless persons

Among WRITERS

Among writers, Sue Townsend ranks 4,149 out of 7,302Before her are Johann von Rist, Hedvig Charlotta Nordenflycht, Pierre Michon, Davit Guramishvili, Susanna Hall, and Pavao Ritter Vitezović. After her are Pepetela, Glen A. Larson, Nicholas Pileggi, Giuseppe Adami, Milovan Glišić, and Count Anton Alexander von Auersperg.

Most Popular Writers in Wikipedia

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1946, Sue Townsend ranks 424Before her are N. R. Narayana Murthy, Jack Horner, Don Schollander, Goyo Benito, Yacouba Sawadogo, and Vladimir Solovyov. After her are Daniela Hodrová, Rafik Schami, Zsuzsa Koncz, Karina, Mart Siimann, and Caterina Caselli. Among people deceased in 2014, Sue Townsend ranks 241Before her are Ryhor Baradulin, Christopher Hogwood, Maria Lassnig, Brian G. Hutton, René Llense, and William R. Pogue. After her are Glen A. Larson, Antoine Duhamel, Martin Špegelj, Gundi Busch, Brian Hart, and Billie Whitelaw.

Others Born in 1946

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Others Deceased in 2014

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In United Kingdom

Among people born in United Kingdom, Sue Townsend ranks 2,977 out of 8,785Before her are Karen Spärck Jones (1935), Robert Knox (1791), Anthony Phillips (1951), William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim (1891), Michael Oakeshott (1901), and Susanna Hall (1583). After her are Enoch Powell (1912), James Francis Stephens (1792), Hermione Baddeley (1906), Mark Sheppard (1964), John Peel (1939), and Sergey Kapitsa (1928).

Among WRITERS In United Kingdom

Among writers born in United Kingdom, Sue Townsend ranks 335Before her are Eric Frank Russell (1905), Peter Cheyney (1896), Jackie Collins (1937), Helen Fielding (1958), John Christopher (1922), and Susanna Hall (1583). After her are William Langland (1332), John Winthrop (1588), Walter Map (1140), David Almond (1951), Charlotte Mary Yonge (1823), and Anthony Hope (1863).