Alan Bennett (of The Madness of George III and The History Boys fame) turns his attention to reading in The Uncommon Reader, a sprightly novella which sees the Queen of England suddenly discover the art of reading. And read she does, in spectacular fashion. What happens when the British monarch suddenly starts asking her subjects "What are you reading at the moment?" as she greets them? How does the ship of state fare when its captain has her royal nose perpetually buried in a book?
Full of wit and of the joy every reader feels when experiencing a good book for the first (or umpteenth) time, Bennett's captured the allure brilliantly.
