Talk:Sue Townsend

Critique in last paragraph
("The first two books in the series appealed to ...")

This reads to me as if implying that the latter books are bad/unrealistic/uninspired ... (Of course they are not literally about an "adolescent boy" anymore).

ChKa 19:30, 24 November 2006 (UTC)

"British Republican"?
Mrs. Townsend is categorized as a "British Republican". Is there any source for it or is it based only on the fact that The Queen and I (and Queen Camilla) takes place in a republican Britain? Because The Queen and I can hardly be considered an advocacy of republicanism - the book ends with [SPOILER ALERT] the British Republic being bankrupt and sold to the Empire of Japan (and then Her Majesty wakes up, thank the Lord). --88.101.236.53 (talk) 18:34, 20 September 2010 (UTC)


 * Possible source INTERVIEW / Secret passions of a republican mole: Sue Townsend explains why she killed off the Queen Mother in a council house --Balaenoptera musculus (talk) 22:47, 12 April 2014 (UTC)


 * Thanks, I think that will be a useful source. Fills in some other gaps in Townsend's biography too. Philip Cross (talk) 23:05, 12 April 2014 (UTC)

Unconfirmed Report
Could people please stop editing (and reverting the edits) of Mrs. Townsend's (rumoured) death, until a credible and trusted source announces it.

Dale Hay 22:25, 10 April 2014 (UTC)

BBC now reporting - Credible enough?: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-26982680

151.230.138.149 (talk) 23:34, 10 April 2014 (UTC)

Just been announced on the Radio as well — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2.101.148.90 (talk) 23:45, 10 April 2014 (UTC)

Please refer to my timestamp. There was no credible source at the time of my edit. Verified sources have confirmed this news now, so my previous comment is no longer valid.

Dale Hay 00:08, 11 April 2014 (UTC)

"Successful writer" => "Writing"
There has been a minor difference between myself and another editor and I have reverted the change back to my own version. I prefer "Successful writer" because this section is about Townsend's eventual successful career rather than solely about her texts. Philip Cross (talk) 00:32, 12 April 2014 (UTC)


 * "Successful writer" has now been changed to "The success of Adrian Mole" on the grounds that Townsend was a successful writer before Adrian Mole. This is not quite true. On first meeting John Tydeman, according to one article, Tydeman had to pay Townsend's fare back to Leicester because she did not have sufficient funds. As it stands, the section refers to her being made a Freeman of Leicester which is not directly about Adrian Mole, so the content is not matched by the heading used currently. Being made a Freeman of her home city is worth including, but not something which most users will be keenest to access so a separate heading would thus be inappropriate and is not a solution. In due course, the section will include more about Townsend's other work, such as The Queen and I, so the title will become more inaccurate over time. Philip Cross (talk) 13:28, 12 April 2014 (UTC).

I suppose this highlights one of the difficulties with open edits ie reworking existing text. You can end up with a camel and only convey a part of what you mean and things that you do not mean. Artistically Sue was a success before Adrian Mole. Many writers would dearly love to have as many professionally performed plays to their credit as Sue did before Mole took off and a respected place in the theatre community. Theatre with a political engagement does not generally pay well and I accept that Sue at this time was not rich. However she was writing well and progressing as a writer and trying new things. At times she felt she was on a juggernaut with Mole and felt obliged to keep on going for the financial security it brought against the darkening background of her health issues. I knew and worked with Sue and others around her in those early years and had long talks with her during and after rehearsals. My main concern was and remains that the page gives the missleading impression that Sue Townsend = Adrian Mole when in fact she was so much more.

I do appreciate your work on Sue T and your edits and the only reason I altered your headings was to try and simply convey the thought from the theatre community that Sue was working successfully before broadcast media picked her up and the book deals that followed. No doubt the whole page will continue to mature over time and be sectioned and titled accordingly.

Number of siblings
The sources about Sue Townsend are in conflict over the number of daughters born to her parents, and this has caused a minor edit conflict in the last few hours. The obituaries in The Guardian, Independent and Scotsman say she was the eldest of five sisters while the BBC News article has the earliest of three sisters. As the Telegraph obituary goes with Townsend being the eldest of her siblings, without an indication of gender or number, this might indicate a variation in the sources professional writers can access. So the BBC News article might actually be correct but, for the moment, we only have the number of reliable sources indicating five as an indication of veracity. For the record, the Express and Mail in their articles also go with five, but they are not considered credible sources. In my view, five should stand. Philip Cross (talk) 12:54, 13 April 2014 (UTC)


 * Since I typed the above, two users who credibly identified themselves as being closely connected to Sue Townsend have altered the number of Townsend sisters to 3. This is likely to remain an issue with the article until a biography or memoir appears, so for the moment, it seems appropriate for the variant evidence to be mentioned in the text. Philip Cross (talk) 11:41, 23 March 2015 (UTC)

Hmm, I am a professional genealogist and have done a bit of digging this morning and have discovered some facts. I am not going to alter the main page, however. I leave that to the discretion of others. Here are the 100% definite facts:

Sue Townsend was born Susan L Johnstone in Leicester in 1946. She married her first husband Keith F Townsend in 1964. Her children were Sean Townsend (b 1965), Daniel Townsend (b 1969), Victoria Louise Townsend (b 1970) and Elizabeth Sally "Townsend" b 1977. (I think the latter must be the product of a second relationship, though she was still Mrs Susan Townsend). She married her second husband in 1986.

Her parents Herbert L Johnstone and Grace Hill were married at Leicester in 1942. I could only see one sibling, a younger sister, but her father Herbert L Johnstone died in 1954 aged just 33, so it is possible that her mother Grace remarried and had further children by a second husband.

John2o2o2o (talk) 11:27, 1 July 2015 (UTC)

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