In Camp, A Harness, Entrapment, And Friends, author Jo Knowles writes about her experience at this weekend's NESCBWI Conference. So what do I want to dwell on in that entire post? Her mention of Adrian Mole. It was all I could do not to post a comment and say something like, "Hey, Jo, did you notice how much Bridget Jones is like Adrian Mole? And you know Adrian Mole came first, right? At least the teenage books? What do you think of that?"
But I controlled myself because that was not at all what Jo's post was actually about. I am capable of paying attention and getting the big picture. Or, at least, I'm capable of pretending I am.
By the way, I've read somewhere in the last few years that Helen Fielding has said Sue Townsend's Adrian Mole was, indeed, an influence on Bridget. Though I don't recall where now.
Hi Gail! I LOVE Adrian Mole and I'm glad he came first. :-)I never read "the other book" so I can't compare the two.
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From things I've read, I think we can't imagine what a big hit the early Adrian Mole books were in England. I stumbled upon one in my kids' middle school library. Knew nothing about them otherwise. It seems Bridget leaped the Atlantic, but Adrian didn't, at least in terms of popularity.
ReplyDeleteWell I got kind of obsessed on that stairwell, which wasn't exactly the main point either.
ReplyDeleteWhile I would have been stressed while the stairwell thing was going on, mainly because I would have been concerned about time, it's the kind of thing I'd be happy to have had happened for, as Jo said, its potential for use in the future.
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