Alan Bennett’s The Uncommon Reader is more of a book about books than it is a book about royalty.
The central figure of the story just happens to be the Queen but it might well be about anybody who, discovering a mobile library parked outside their home (in this instance in the grounds of Windsor Castle) and begins to explore the world of literature.
This causes the Queen to experience the kind of feelings and emotions the likes of which duty had inured her to feel.
What follows is a short (120 page) but beguiling tale about a woman who discovers the pleasure of reading for the first time.
Bennett’s version of the Queen is similar to the one you might have seen in A Question of Attribution, full of smart but tart comments about the nature of the monarch's job and the people she meets.
Yet here the Queen is less distant and more willing to express her opinion.
This is the story’s central conflict: Books ignite the Queen’s imagination, which in turn brings her into conflict with her royal advisors.
Read the book if you love Bennett’s work or appreciate intelligent writing about books. If you’re hoping for more insights into the workings of the royal household, you might well be disappointed. But that is to overlook the real charms of this delightful novella.
I like the description of the central conflict, related to how the books ignite HM's imagination which conflict with her Royal advisors.
Considering some of the advise the members of the Royal family appear to be getting now and then, I think just seeking knowledge could cause a conflict.
Alan Bennett’s The Uncommon Reader is more of a book about books than it is a book about royalty.
