Adrian Mole
Encyclopedia
Adrian Albert Mole is the fictional protagonist
in a series of books by English author
Sue Townsend
. The character first appeared (as Nigel) in a BBC Radio 4
play in 1982. The books are written in the form of a diary, with some additional content such as correspondence. The first two books appealed to many readers as a realistic and humorous treatment of the inner life of an adolescent boy. They also captured something of the zeitgeist
of Britain
during the Thatcher period
.
The second theme is depiction of the social and political situation in Britain, with particular reference to left-wing politics in the 1980s in the first three books. For example, Mr and Mrs Mole's divorce reflects rising divorce rates in the 1980s, and living together unmarried was becoming a norm. Adrian's mother becomes a staunch feminist and briefly joins the Greenham Common
campaigners. Pandora, Adrian's love interest, and her parents are part of an intellectualised and left-wing middle class
that attempted to embrace the working class
.
Humour arises from the outworking of larger social forces within a very ordinary household in a very ordinary part of Middle England
.
The three latest books move in slightly new directions, showing Adrian as an adult in different environments. They are more focused on political satire
, mainly examining New Labour, and in Weapons of Mass Destruction
, the Iraq war. The intervening book, Adrian Mole: The Wilderness Years
, mixes these themes, with events such as the Gulf War
seen from Adrian's naive and frustrated point of view, as well as depictions of his experiences of unemployment and public spending cutbacks, both major political issues at the time. In dealing with political events, a constant plot device
is that Adrian makes confident predictions and statements that are known to be wrong by the reader, ranging from belief in the Hitler Diaries
to an Iraqi victory in the Gulf War
to Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction
.
in England's East Midlands
. Adrian's family are largely unskilled working class
/lower middle class
es. He is an only child
until the age of 15, when his polar opposite sister Rosie is born. Adrian is an average boy in many ways, not especially popular or sporty, but he does well enough at school and has friends. Deep inside, however, he perceives himself as a thwarted 'Great Writer', and spends years working on his novel, Lo! The Flat Hills of My Homeland, never to be published. Over several books, he developed a script for a white van
comedy serial killer
programme, which for some reason the BBC
was reluctant to produce.
As a young man he moves to London and takes a job in a Soho
restaurant catering to media types. London is going through a food-enthusiasm renaissance and offal
is all the rage. Adrian is persuaded to feature in a television cookery programme called Offally Good!, supposedly to be a celebrity chef
; although he is told the programme is a comedy, he typically fails to realise he is being set up as the stooge, the comic straight man.
Adrian ends up working in an antiquarian
bookshop. Having lived in relative poverty for much of his life, and for some time in London in actual squalor, he overextends himself financially, lured by the banks' promises of easy credit, and buys a converted loft apartment.
in a manner classic to comic settings. Adrian's parents Pauline
and George Mole are working class
characters with limited scope who drink and smoke a lot. They are both often unemployed, and have separated, divorced and remarried more than once, often resulting from extramarital affairs. In a reversal of a typical teenager-mother relationship, Pauline berates Adrian for keeping his room "like a bloody shrine". They move from Leicester
to Ashby-de-la-Zouch
with their dog (only ever referred to as "the dog", who is eventually replaced by "the new dog"). Adrian's paternal grandmother Edna May Mole is also prominent in the early diaries.
Adrian's sister, Rosie Germaine Mole
(after feminist Germaine Greer
), grows up to be rebellious and "street", in total contrast to Adrian. Despite opposing personalities, the siblings enjoy a close relationship, and Adrian often feels that she is the only family member who truly understands him. She also relies on him on occasion, and when she fell pregnant as a teenager Adrian supported her when she decided to have an abortion.
Pauline first leaves George for their neighbour Mr. Lucas, an insurance man; George fathers a second son, named Brett, by a lover called Doreen Slater (a.k.a. "Stick Insect"); both are soon forgotten, although Brett makes a reappearance in the later books as a successful yet unpleasant businessman who loses his fortune during the Credit Crunch. Pauline temporarily marries her much younger lodger Martin Muffet, who eventually leaves her for Adrian's girlfriend Bianca Dartington, giving Adrian and his mother a shared heartbreak. Later, George and Pauline effect a partner swap with Ivan and Tania Braithwaite (parents to Pandora), only to reunite after Ivan's untimely death.
Although there was some uncertainty over if George or Mr. Lucas fathered Rosie, the plot point was forgotten until The Prostrate Years when Lucas (who is now rich) gets back in touch in Rosie demanding a DNA test on The Jeremy Kyle Show
. Although Adrian desperately tries to talk his mother and Rosie out of informing George or appearing on the show, they do and it is proven that Lucas is indeed Rosie's father. As Rosie's relationship with her parents started to break down before appearing on the show, she immediately moves in with him, starts calling him 'Dad' and referring to herself as 'Rosie Lucas'. As well as the truth of Rosie's paternity being revealed the show also casts some doubt on Adrian's when Pauline states that there is a 'seventy per-cent' chance that George is Adrian's father. Adrian notes that his mother told him about a maggot
farmer she dated before she married George who wrote poetry. However Adrian decides not to pursue the issue, and thanks his father when he learns that George raised him single-handedly throughout the first year of his life while Pauline suffered postnatal depression
.
Adrian fathers three children.
As the diary ends, the whole decades-spanning Mole Saga seems to come to a ragged but hopeful conclusion.
In an interview on Leicester hospital station Radio Fox on 5 June 2008, Townsend said that she was in fact writing a new Mole book entitled The Prostrate Years. Townsend said that the book was likely to be published in Spring 2009. Penguin
listed a 'new Adrian Mole' among their highlights for books to be released in 2009. The book retailer Amazon
has since listed the book and audio CD of 'The Prostrate Years' as available for purchase, with a release date of November 5, 2009. In October 2009 the Leicester Mercury
featured an interview with Townsend where she discussed the new Mole book and her (prospective) plans for future works.
Two overlapping compilations exist. The first two books are repackaged in one volume, and Adrian Mole: The Lost Years includes The True Confessions and The Wilderness Years, as well as a bonus not available separately, "Adrian Mole and the Small Amphibians". Adrian Mole From Minor to Major (i.e. from being a child to the years of the John Major
government) is a compilation of the first three books and "Adrian Mole and the Small Amphibians".
The table below details the title of each novel and the time period covered by Mole's entries:
Although the period on a sink council estate
is referred to briefly in The Cappuccino Years, the events of Diary of a Provincial Man are perhaps not strictly canonical
. For example, Adrian later states that he can count the women he has had carnal knowledge of "on the fingers of one hand". Those women would be: Sharon Bott, Bianca Dartington, JoJo Mole, Marigold and Daisy Flowers. Inserting Pamela Pigg into this list makes six - more than the fingers of one hand, unless Adrian is polydactyl
. The third wedding of Adrian's parents is described; however, Ivan Braithwaite does not drown whilst on honeymoon with Pauline Mole as detailed in "The Weapons of Mass Destruction" - instead he ultimately returns to his first wife, prompting George and Pauline to reunite (in "The Weapons of Mass Destruction", Pandora states that Pauline lured George away from Tania in the wake of Ivan's death). Also, Adrian's ex-wife JoJo e-mails him from Nigeria and names her new husband as one Colonel Ephat Mapfumo. In The Cappuccino Years, her husband's name is Wole.
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
in a series of books by English author
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
Sue Townsend
Sue Townsend
-Adrian Mole series:* The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ , her best selling book, and the best-selling new British fiction book of the 1980s.* The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole * The True Confessions of Adrian Albert Mole...
. The character first appeared (as Nigel) in a BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
play in 1982. The books are written in the form of a diary, with some additional content such as correspondence. The first two books appealed to many readers as a realistic and humorous treatment of the inner life of an adolescent boy. They also captured something of the zeitgeist
Zeitgeist
Zeitgeist is "the spirit of the times" or "the spirit of the age."Zeitgeist is the general cultural, intellectual, ethical, spiritual or political climate within a nation or even specific groups, along with the general ambiance, morals, sociocultural direction, and mood associated with an era.The...
of Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
during the Thatcher period
Premiership of Margaret Thatcher
The Premiership of Margaret Thatcher began on 4 May 1979, with a mandate to reverse the UK's economic decline and to reduce the role of the state in the economy...
.
Themes
The series has many themes. The first books concentrate on Adrian's desires and ambitions in life (to marry his teenage sweetheart, publish his poetry and novels, obtain financial security) and his complete failure to achieve them. The series satirises human pretensions, and especially, in the first couple of volumes, teenage pretensions.The second theme is depiction of the social and political situation in Britain, with particular reference to left-wing politics in the 1980s in the first three books. For example, Mr and Mrs Mole's divorce reflects rising divorce rates in the 1980s, and living together unmarried was becoming a norm. Adrian's mother becomes a staunch feminist and briefly joins the Greenham Common
Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp
Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp was a peace camp established to protest at nuclear weapons being sited at RAF Greenham Common in Berkshire, England. The camp began in September 1981 after a Welsh group, Women for Life on Earth, arrived at Greenham to protest against the decision of the British...
campaigners. Pandora, Adrian's love interest, and her parents are part of an intellectualised and left-wing middle class
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
that attempted to embrace the working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
.
Humour arises from the outworking of larger social forces within a very ordinary household in a very ordinary part of Middle England
Middle England
The phrase "Middle England" is a socio-political and geographical term which originally indicated the central region of England, now almost always referred to as the "Midlands"....
.
The three latest books move in slightly new directions, showing Adrian as an adult in different environments. They are more focused on political satire
Political satire
Political satire is a significant part of satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics; it has also been used with subversive intent where political speech and dissent are forbidden by a regime, as a method of advancing political arguments where such arguments are expressly...
, mainly examining New Labour, and in Weapons of Mass Destruction
Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction
Published in 2004 by Penguin Books, Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction is Sue Townsend's sixth full Adrian Mole novel . It is set in 2002/3 and Adrian is 33¾ years of age...
, the Iraq war. The intervening book, Adrian Mole: The Wilderness Years
Adrian Mole: The Wilderness Years
Adrian Mole: The Wilderness Years is the fourth book in the Adrian Mole series, written by Sue Townsend. It focuses on the worries of the, now, adult Mole. The book was first published in 1993 by Methuen...
, mixes these themes, with events such as the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
seen from Adrian's naive and frustrated point of view, as well as depictions of his experiences of unemployment and public spending cutbacks, both major political issues at the time. In dealing with political events, a constant plot device
Plot device
A plot device is an object or character in a story whose sole purpose is to advance the plot of the story, or alternatively to overcome some difficulty in the plot....
is that Adrian makes confident predictions and statements that are known to be wrong by the reader, ranging from belief in the Hitler Diaries
Hitler Diaries
In April 1983, the West German news magazine Stern published excerpts from what purported to be the diaries of Adolf Hitler, known as the Hitler Diaries , which were subsequently revealed to be forgeries...
to an Iraqi victory in the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
to Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction
Weapons of mass destruction
A weapon of mass destruction is a weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to a large number of humans and/or cause great damage to man-made structures , natural structures , or the biosphere in general...
.
Biography
Adrian Albert Mole was born in 1967 and grew up with his parents in the city LeicesterLeicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
in England's East Midlands
East Midlands
The East Midlands is one of the regions of England, consisting of most of the eastern half of the traditional region of the Midlands. It encompasses the combined area of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire and most of Lincolnshire...
. Adrian's family are largely unskilled working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
/lower middle class
Lower middle class
In developed nations across the world, the lower middle class is a sub-division of the greater middle class. Universally the term refers to the group of middle class households or individuals who have not attained the status of the upper middle class associated with the higher realms of the middle...
es. He is an only child
Only child
An only child is a person with no siblings, either biological or adopted. In a family with multiple offspring, first-borns, may be briefly considered only children and have a similar early family environment, but the term only child is generally applied only to those individuals who never have...
until the age of 15, when his polar opposite sister Rosie is born. Adrian is an average boy in many ways, not especially popular or sporty, but he does well enough at school and has friends. Deep inside, however, he perceives himself as a thwarted 'Great Writer', and spends years working on his novel, Lo! The Flat Hills of My Homeland, never to be published. Over several books, he developed a script for a white van
White van man
"White van man" is a term popularised in the United Kingdom by the journalist Jonathan Leake, then transport editor at The Sunday Times, to describe drivers of light commercial vehicles such as the Ford Transit....
comedy serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
programme, which for some reason the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
was reluctant to produce.
As a young man he moves to London and takes a job in a Soho
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable...
restaurant catering to media types. London is going through a food-enthusiasm renaissance and offal
Offal
Offal , also called, especially in the United States, variety meats or organ meats, refers to the internal organs and entrails of a butchered animal. The word does not refer to a particular list of edible organs, which varies by culture and region, but includes most internal organs other than...
is all the rage. Adrian is persuaded to feature in a television cookery programme called Offally Good!, supposedly to be a celebrity chef
Celebrity chef
A celebrity chef is a kitchen chef who has become famous and well known. Today celebrity chefs often become celebrities by presenting cookery advice and demonstrations via mass media, especially television. Historically, celebrity chefs have included Antoine Carême and Martino da Como.-External...
; although he is told the programme is a comedy, he typically fails to realise he is being set up as the stooge, the comic straight man.
Adrian ends up working in an antiquarian
Antiquarian
An antiquarian or antiquary is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient objects of art or science, archaeological and historic sites, or historic archives and manuscripts...
bookshop. Having lived in relative poverty for much of his life, and for some time in London in actual squalor, he overextends himself financially, lured by the banks' promises of easy credit, and buys a converted loft apartment.
Family
The family is dysfunctionalDysfunctional family
A dysfunctional family is a family in which conflict, misbehavior, and often abuse on the part of individual members occur continually and regularly, leading other members to accommodate such actions. Children sometimes grow up in such families with the understanding that such an arrangement is...
in a manner classic to comic settings. Adrian's parents Pauline
Pauline Mole
Pauline Monica Mole, neé Sugden is mother of Adrian Mole, main character in the books of Sue Townsend.She was brought up into a devout Christian family amongst the potato fields of Norfolk, on a number of occasions Adrian describes her family as 'inbred'. She married to George Mole and from her...
and George Mole are working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
characters with limited scope who drink and smoke a lot. They are both often unemployed, and have separated, divorced and remarried more than once, often resulting from extramarital affairs. In a reversal of a typical teenager-mother relationship, Pauline berates Adrian for keeping his room "like a bloody shrine". They move from Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
to Ashby-de-la-Zouch
Ashby-de-la-Zouch
Ashby-de-la-Zouch, — Zouch being pronounced "Zoosh" — often shortened to Ashby, is a small market town and civil parish in North West Leicestershire, England, within the National Forest. It is twinned with Pithiviers in north-central France....
with their dog (only ever referred to as "the dog", who is eventually replaced by "the new dog"). Adrian's paternal grandmother Edna May Mole is also prominent in the early diaries.
Adrian's sister, Rosie Germaine Mole
Rosie Mole
Rosie Germaine Mole is a fictional character in Sue Townsend's Adrian Mole series. Rosie is Adrian's sister, and first appears in the book The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole. She is very close to her brother Adrian...
(after feminist Germaine Greer
Germaine Greer
Germaine Greer is an Australian writer, academic, journalist and scholar of early modern English literature, widely regarded as one of the most significant feminist voices of the later 20th century....
), grows up to be rebellious and "street", in total contrast to Adrian. Despite opposing personalities, the siblings enjoy a close relationship, and Adrian often feels that she is the only family member who truly understands him. She also relies on him on occasion, and when she fell pregnant as a teenager Adrian supported her when she decided to have an abortion.
Pauline first leaves George for their neighbour Mr. Lucas, an insurance man; George fathers a second son, named Brett, by a lover called Doreen Slater (a.k.a. "Stick Insect"); both are soon forgotten, although Brett makes a reappearance in the later books as a successful yet unpleasant businessman who loses his fortune during the Credit Crunch. Pauline temporarily marries her much younger lodger Martin Muffet, who eventually leaves her for Adrian's girlfriend Bianca Dartington, giving Adrian and his mother a shared heartbreak. Later, George and Pauline effect a partner swap with Ivan and Tania Braithwaite (parents to Pandora), only to reunite after Ivan's untimely death.
Although there was some uncertainty over if George or Mr. Lucas fathered Rosie, the plot point was forgotten until The Prostrate Years when Lucas (who is now rich) gets back in touch in Rosie demanding a DNA test on The Jeremy Kyle Show
The Jeremy Kyle Show
The Jeremy Kyle Show is an award-winning British daytime television tabloid talk show presented by Jeremy Kyle that has been broadcast on ITV since 4 July 2005. The show is recorded and produced by Granada Television at the Granada Studios on Quay Street in Manchester city centre and broadcast each...
. Although Adrian desperately tries to talk his mother and Rosie out of informing George or appearing on the show, they do and it is proven that Lucas is indeed Rosie's father. As Rosie's relationship with her parents started to break down before appearing on the show, she immediately moves in with him, starts calling him 'Dad' and referring to herself as 'Rosie Lucas'. As well as the truth of Rosie's paternity being revealed the show also casts some doubt on Adrian's when Pauline states that there is a 'seventy per-cent' chance that George is Adrian's father. Adrian notes that his mother told him about a maggot
Maggot
In everyday speech the word maggot means the larva of a fly ; it is applied in particular to the larvae of Brachyceran flies, such as houseflies, cheese flies, and blowflies, rather than larvae of the Nematocera, such as mosquitoes and Crane flies...
farmer she dated before she married George who wrote poetry. However Adrian decides not to pursue the issue, and thanks his father when he learns that George raised him single-handedly throughout the first year of his life while Pauline suffered postnatal depression
Postpartum depression
Postpartum depression , also called postnatal depression, is a form of clinical depression which can affect women, and less frequently men, typically after childbirth. Studies report prevalence rates among women from 5% to 25%, but methodological differences among the studies make the actual...
.
Adrian fathers three children.
- Glenn Bott-Mole, son of Sharon Bott, whom Adrian fancied at school and had an affair with as a young man. Sharon represents the underclassUnderclassThe term underclass refers to a segment of the population that occupies the lowest possible position in a class hierarchy, below the core body of the working class. The general idea that a class system includes a population under the working class has a long tradition in the social sciences...
end of British society. - William Mole, the son of his first wife JoJo, a Nigerian princess. She divorces Adrian and moves back home, and eventually William joins her. He changes his Christian name from William to Wole to make it sound more African. (When he tells Adrian about this, he concludes his son is going to tire soon of his new name, Wole Mole. This is purely a visual joke, as Wole and Mole do not rhyme; Wole is pronounced wol-eh.)
- Gracie Mole, the daughter of his second wife Daisy (née Flowers), a smart, good-looking woman with whom he enjoyed great mutual attraction until their marriage broke down and she ran off with her rich employer.
Friends
- Pandora BraithwaitePandora BraithwaiteDr Pandora Louise Elizabeth Braithwaite is the love interest of Adrian Mole in the Adrian Mole series of books by Sue Townsend. Pandora came to media attention as Labour Member of Parliament under Tony Blair....
is the love of Adrian's life. She is beautiful and intelligent, and as teenagers they are happy together. In the later books she shuns Adrian in favour of, by turns, physically and intellectually powerful men, though he remains attached to her. Adrian tends to devote a lot of his diary space to her, describing her current paramour and his flaws, and pining for their lost love. The smart, polyglot and extremely attractive Pandora becomes a rising star in New Labour under Tony BlairTony BlairAnthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
, i.e. one of Blair's Babes, until she opposes the Iraq War, as did some real-life Labour MPs. - Bert Baxter, an old-age pensionerOAPOAP may refer to:*OAP Tower, or Osaka Amenity Park Tower, plaza and office developments in Japan,*Old Age Pensioner - a person who has retired, and now collects a pension*One Australia policy - a proposal in the 1980s to limit Asian immigration to Australia...
Adrian cares for. Despite the fact that Baxter is filthy, rude, a communist, and has a vicious AlsatianGerman Shepherd DogThe German Shepherd Dog , also known as an Alsatian or just the German Shepherd, is a breed of large-sized dog that originated in Germany. The German Shepherd is a relatively new breed of dog, with its origin dating to 1899. As part of the Herding Group, the German Shepherd is a working dog...
, Adrian becomes very fond of him. Bert died in 1997 aged 105, by falling down the stairs, despite having vowed not to die until he had seen the fall of capitalismCapitalismCapitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
. - Nigel Hetherington is Adrian's on-and-off best chum who has a somewhat bohemianBohemianismBohemianism is the practice of an unconventional lifestyle, often in the company of like-minded people, with few permanent ties, involving musical, artistic or literary pursuits...
lifestyle. He moves to London and comes outComing outComing out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
as a gay man. In the last novel he is forced to move to his parents' granny flat, having become blindBlindnessBlindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...
, as Townsend herself did. In the original TV series and in Adrian Mole and the Small Amphibians, his name is given as Nigel Partridge. - Barry "Baz" Kent is a skinheadSkinheadA skinhead is a member of a subculture that originated among working class youths in the United Kingdom in the 1960s, and then spread to other parts of the world. Named for their close-cropped or shaven heads, the first skinheads were greatly influenced by West Indian rude boys and British mods,...
who initially bullied Adrian and later became a "bad influence" upon him in his teen years. At the age of 16 he renounced racism and became a rabid anti-racist. At some point, Adrian discovered that Barry had a natural gift for poetry, which he encouraged him to develop. However, he bitterly regretted this when Barry became not only a successful poet, but author of a hit novel Dork's Diary which revolved around a loser called Aiden Vole (a tongue-in-cheekTongue-in-cheekTongue-in-cheek is a phrase used as a figure of speech to imply that a statement or other production is humorously intended and it should not be taken at face value. The facial expression typically indicates that one is joking or making a mental effort. In the past, it may also have indicated...
reference to the Adrian Mole books themselves). A lot of humour comes from the fact that Barry Kent, although seemingly ill-educated and rough-natured, succeeds on natural talent, which Adrian Mole clearly lacks. Adrian tries to turn his defeat into victory by creating a fictional character, the 'failed writer' Kent Barry, in a novel that is never published. - Hamish Mancini is Adrian's American friend and penpal. They first met on Adrian's holiday to Loch LomondLoch LomondLoch Lomond is a freshwater Scottish loch, lying on the Highland Boundary Fault. It is the largest lake in Great Britain by surface area. The lake contains many islands, including Inchmurrin, the largest fresh-water island in the British Isles, although the lake itself is smaller than many Irish...
, Scotland. In the second book, Hamish runs away from his home to come live with Adrian briefly. In The True Confessions of Adrian Mole, he asks Adrian to explain the British EnglishBritish EnglishBritish English, or English , is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere...
terms in his diary, which means that Hamish somehow got hold of them. However, he sends them back. He reappears in The Lost Years. - Sharon Bott[s] is Adrian's second girlfriend and the mother of his first child. She is introduced in Growing Pains as the girl who “will show everything for 50p and a pound of grapes”, but Adrian is disappointed after being set up on a date with her by Nigel. In True Confessions, Adrian has lost his virginity with Sharon, but it is obvious that neither of them has any other interest in the other beyond sex. By this time Sharon has started putting on weight, and she is referred to as overweight in the later books. After it is proven that Adrian fathered Glenn in Cappuccino Years, Sharon re-enters Adrian’s life; they maintain a good relationship as parents of Glenn.
- Bernard Hopkins is a strange, eccentric and frequently drunk man who Adrian calls in (in The Prostate Years) to look after the bookshop due to both Mr Carlton-Hayes and his own frequent absences due to illness. Adrian notes that Bernard is an expert with antique books but isn't very pleasant to customers, to the point where he has been blacklisted from working at any Waterstones or Borders. He invites himself to Christmas dinner at Adrian's home and refuses to leave until Adrian has recovered from his prostate cancer, taking up permanent residence. Adrian and Bernard become close friends during Bernard's stay at The Piggeries, helping Adrian with household chores and a friendly ear.
The False Ending and Future
Townsend announced at the time of publication that Adrian Mole - The Weapons of Mass Destruction would be the last book of the series due to her poor health. The series is resolved in the following ways:- Adrian suffers an emotional crisis after the death of Robert Stainforth, his son Glenn's best friend in the Iraq War; he realises that the war, which he had supported passionately, was fought for bogus reasons; and he faces financial ruin, he has only ever had poorly paid employment, such as working as an offal cook in a fashionable London restaurant. He comes to recognise that he has lived in a dream world and is forced to confront reality.
- Adrian's job in the antiquarian bookstore allows him some stability. His employer, the gentle and unbullying Mr. Carlton-Hayes, hints that he wants him to run the shop after he has retired.
- Adrian's financial nadir passes in an unspecified way, and he is able to get on with his life. (It is left to the reader to decide if he declared bankruptcyBankruptcyBankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
or came to a long-term arrangement with his creditors or was rescued by the equity in his Rat Wharf flat; however, it is revealed that he no longer has his car, which was presumably sold to cover some of the debts.) - Adrian begins a serious relationship (eventually leading to marriage, although the actual wedding is not chronicled) with Daisy Flowers, his secret love of most of the book, and fathers a daughter called Gracie. They enjoy a happy, fulfilling relationship.
- His father, who has become wheelchair-bound, his mother and Animal (his real name), who has assisted them in converting two pigsties into living quarters (one of which Adrian, Daisy and Gracie live in at the end of the book) live together in a consensual ménage à troisMénage à troisMénage à trois is a French term which originally described a domestic arrangement in which three people having sexual relations occupy the same household – the phrase literally translates as "household of three"...
. - Pandora continues as an MP (albeit a blackballed one), and says that despite their insurmountable differences, she still likes Adrian very much. After all these years, he is the only person she can talk to freely. In her autobiography Out of the Box, she describes him as her first romantic interest and gives an unflattering, but honest, account of his shortcomings.
- In the last entry, Adrian concludes that keeping a diary is only for unhappy people. Daisy then asks why he is starting one again. Adrian says he wants to start an autobiography but she says that other people will find him uninteresting.
As the diary ends, the whole decades-spanning Mole Saga seems to come to a ragged but hopeful conclusion.
In an interview on Leicester hospital station Radio Fox on 5 June 2008, Townsend said that she was in fact writing a new Mole book entitled The Prostrate Years. Townsend said that the book was likely to be published in Spring 2009. Penguin
Penguin
Penguins are a group of aquatic, flightless birds living almost exclusively in the southern hemisphere, especially in Antarctica. Highly adapted for life in the water, penguins have countershaded dark and white plumage, and their wings have become flippers...
listed a 'new Adrian Mole' among their highlights for books to be released in 2009. The book retailer Amazon
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
has since listed the book and audio CD of 'The Prostrate Years' as available for purchase, with a release date of November 5, 2009. In October 2009 the Leicester Mercury
Leicester Mercury
The Leicester Mercury is a British regional newspaper, owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust, for the city of Leicester and the counties of Leicestershire and Rutland...
featured an interview with Townsend where she discussed the new Mole book and her (prospective) plans for future works.
List of books featuring Adrian Mole
- The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾For the TV-series, see The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ is the first book in the Adrian Mole series of comedic fiction, written by Sue Townsend. The book is written in a diary style, and focuses on the worries and regrets of a teenager who believes himself...
(1982) - The Growing Pains of Adrian MoleThe Growing Pains of Adrian MoleThe Growing Pains of Adrian Mole, a novel by Sue Townsend, is the 2nd book in the Adrian Mole series, following on from The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾. It focuses on the worries and regrets of a teenage intellectual...
(1985) - The True Confessions of Adrian Albert MoleThe True Confessions of Adrian Albert MoleThe True Confessions of Adrian Albert Mole, Margaret Hilda Roberts and Susan Lillian Townsend is the third book in the Adrian Mole series, written by Sue Townsend. It focuses on the worries and regrets of a teenage intellectual...
(1989) - Adrian Mole: The Wilderness YearsAdrian Mole: The Wilderness YearsAdrian Mole: The Wilderness Years is the fourth book in the Adrian Mole series, written by Sue Townsend. It focuses on the worries of the, now, adult Mole. The book was first published in 1993 by Methuen...
(1993) - Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino YearsAdrian Mole: The Cappuccino YearsAdrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years is the fifth book in the Adrian Mole series, written by Sue Townsend. The book was first published in 1999 by Michael Joseph. It is set from April 30, 1997 until May 2, 1998. Adrian is 30 years of age...
(1999) - Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass DestructionAdrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass DestructionPublished in 2004 by Penguin Books, Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction is Sue Townsend's sixth full Adrian Mole novel . It is set in 2002/3 and Adrian is 33¾ years of age...
(2004) - The Lost Diaries of Adrian Mole, 1999-2001 (2008)
- Adrian Mole: The Prostrate YearsAdrian Mole: The Prostrate YearsAdrian Mole: The Prostrate Years is the ninth installment in the popular Adrian Mole series. It was released on November 5, 2009.- Synopsis :...
(2009)
Two overlapping compilations exist. The first two books are repackaged in one volume, and Adrian Mole: The Lost Years includes The True Confessions and The Wilderness Years, as well as a bonus not available separately, "Adrian Mole and the Small Amphibians". Adrian Mole From Minor to Major (i.e. from being a child to the years of the John Major
John Major
Sir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...
government) is a compilation of the first three books and "Adrian Mole and the Small Amphibians".
The table below details the title of each novel and the time period covered by Mole's entries:
Other media
- The character originated in a Thirty-Minute Theatre play on BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
called "The Diary of Nigel Mole, Aged 13¼", broadcast on 2 January 1982, with Nicholas Barnes as Nigel. The first name was changed to AdrianAdrianAdrian is a form of the Latin given name Hadrianus . Several saints and six popes have borne this name, including the only English pope, Adrian IV, and the only Dutch pope, Adrian VI...
in the subsequent book as the original was thought to be too close to that of the satirical character in children's literatureChildren's literatureChildren's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...
Nigel MolesworthNigel MolesworthNigel Molesworth is the supposed author of a series of books , with cartoon illustrations by Ronald Searle....
(whom Sue Townsend said she had previously not heard of). The phrase "Adrian's mole" is found in the poem "The Bells of Shandon" by Francis Sylvester MahonyFrancis Sylvester MahonyFrancis Sylvester Mahony , also known by the pen name Father Prout, was an Irish humorist. He was born in Cork, Ireland, to Martin Mahony and Mary Reynolds. He was educated at the Jesuit Clongowes Wood College, Kildare, and later in Saint Acheul, a similar school in Amiens, France and then at Rue...
("Father Prout"), and refers to the Roman emperor Hadrian's tomb (Castel Sant'AngeloCastel Sant'AngeloThe Mausoleum of Hadrian, usually known as the Castel Sant'Angelo, is a towering cylindrical building in Parco Adriano, Rome, Italy. It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family...
). - The books spawned three TV series. The first, The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole (TV series)The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ is a British television series based on the book of the same name written by Sue Townsend. It started in 1985 and starred Gian Sammarco, as the title character Adrian Mole, Stephen Moore as Adrian's father George Mole and Julie Walters followed by Lulu as...
, was made by Thames TelevisionThames TelevisionThames Television was a licensee of the British ITV television network, covering London and parts of the surrounding counties on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until 31 December 1992....
for the ITVITVITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
network and broadcast between 16 September and 21 October 1985. It starred Gian SammarcoGian SammarcoGiancarlo Sammarco is an English former child actor best known for playing the title role in the television dramatisations of The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ and its sequel...
as Adrian Mole with Julie WaltersJulie WaltersJulie Walters, CBE is an English actress and novelist. She came to international prominence in 1983 for Educating Rita, performing in the title role opposite Michael Caine. It was a role she had created on the West End stage and it won her BAFTA and Golden Globe awards for Best Actress...
playing his mother. The sequel, The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole was broadcast between 5 January and 9 February 1987 with LuluLulu (singer)Lulu Kennedy-Cairns, OBE , best known by her stage name Lulu, is a Scottish singer, actress, and television personality who has been successful in the entertainment business from the 1960s through to the present day...
replacing Julie Walters as Adrian's mother. Adrian Mole: the Cappuccino YearsAdrian Mole: the Cappuccino Years (TV series)Adrian Mole: the Cappiccino Years is a television series aired by the BBC in 2001. The series was based on the book from the Adrian Mole series, The Cappuccino Years.-Premise:...
was broadcast on BBC OneBBC OneBBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
between 2 February and 9 March 2001, starring Stephen ManganStephen ManganStephen Mangan is an English actor, best known for his roles as Guy Secretan in the television series Green Wing, Dan Moody in I'm Alan Partridge and as Holistic Detective Dirk Gently in the 2010 BBC adaptation of Douglas Adams' book Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, as well as Sean Lincoln...
as Adrian Mole, Alison SteadmanAlison SteadmanAlison Steadman OBE is an English actress. She established her career with roles such as Beverley in Abigail's Party and Candice Marie in Nuts in May for the director Mike Leigh, to whom she was once married. In addition to her stage and radio work, she has had lead roles in The Singing Detective,...
as Pauline Mole and Helen BaxendaleHelen BaxendaleHelen Victoria Baxendale is an English actress of stage and television, possibly best-known for her roles in Cold Feet, Friends and Cardiac Arrest.-Early life:...
as Pandora BraithwaitePandora BraithwaiteDr Pandora Louise Elizabeth Braithwaite is the love interest of Adrian Mole in the Adrian Mole series of books by Sue Townsend. Pandora came to media attention as Labour Member of Parliament under Tony Blair....
. - The character also featured in several radio series, such as Pirate Radio FourPirate Radio FourPirate Radio Four was a magazine show broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1985-6. Part of the station's drive to attract younger listeners, it was broadcast during the mornings in the school summer holidays and was aimed at children of about 8–14 years old...
in 1985. - A stage musical was written by Sue Townsend in 1984 of the first book - The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾: The Play with music and lyrics by Ken HowardKen Howard (composer)Ken Howard is an English songwriter, lyricist, author and television director.-International hits in the 1960s and 1970s:...
and Alan Blaikley. It starred Simon SchatzbergerSimon SchatzbergerSimon Schatzberger is an English television actor of Jewish origin. He has appeared on several television programmes in both guest roles and starring roles, including Your Mother Wouldn't Like It, Press Gang, Audrey and Friends, Comin' Atcha!, Band of Brothers, Black Books, Doctors and The Cottage...
as Adrian Mole and Sheila SteafelSheila SteafelSheila Steafel is a South African-born actress who has lived all her adult life in the United Kingdom.Steafel, who was born in Johannesburg, appeared in many classic television series, including: The Frost Report, Z-Cars, Sykes, The Kenny Everett Television Show, Minder, The Ghosts of Motley Hall,...
as Pauline Mole. It was first performed at Phoenix Arts, LeicesterLeicesterLeicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
and went to Wyndham's TheatreWyndham's TheatreWyndham's Theatre is a West End theatre, one of two opened by the actor/manager Charles Wyndham . Located on Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, it was designed by W.G.R. Sprague about 1898, the architect of six other London theatres between then and 1916...
, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in December 1984. - The first two books were adapted into computer adventure gamesInteractive fictionInteractive fiction, often abbreviated IF, describes software simulating environments in which players use text commands to control characters and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary narratives and as video games. In common usage, the term refers to text...
by Level 9 ComputingLevel 9 ComputingLevel 9 was a British computer text adventure game company which produced some of the most advanced games of the 1980s. Founded in 1981 by Mike Austin, Nicholas Austin and Pete Austin, the company produced about 20 games for BBC Micro, Nascom, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Oric, Atari, Lynx 48k, RML...
in the 1980s. - It has become a regular play among the world, e.g., the Roo Theatre in AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
- A less well-known chapter of Adrian's life was chronicled in a weekly column called Diary of a Provincial Man, which ran in The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
from December 1999 to November 2001. This material was published as The Lost Diaries of Adrian Mole, 1999-2001. Set contemporaneously, as all the diaries are, it fills in two of the gap years between Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino YearsAdrian Mole: The Cappuccino YearsAdrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years is the fifth book in the Adrian Mole series, written by Sue Townsend. The book was first published in 1999 by Michael Joseph. It is set from April 30, 1997 until May 2, 1998. Adrian is 30 years of age...
and Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass DestructionAdrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass DestructionPublished in 2004 by Penguin Books, Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction is Sue Townsend's sixth full Adrian Mole novel . It is set in 2002/3 and Adrian is 33¾ years of age...
. Adrian spends this period living on a crime-ridden council estate with his sons, has an on-off romance with a woman named Pamela Pigg, and temporarily works in a lay-by trailer cafe. He befriends yet another pensioner who subsequently dies, and has a brief infatuation with his male therapist (which he insists is wholly spiritual, not homosexual). The series includes comment on the petrol crisis of 2000, the 9/11 attacks and the War on TerrorismWar on TerrorismThe War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
. Adrian's illegitimate half-brother Brett Mole, born on 5 August 1982, is reintroduced as a 19 year-old; he is an athletic, popular, confident, promiscuous, super-intelligent Oxford undergraduate, already a published poet and TV documentarian - in short, the person Adrian always wanted to be. Brett's mediocre older sibling soon comes to regard him with envious loathing. In what was apparently supposed to be a retrospectively-written preface to the re-published Diaries, Mole notes their re-publication in novel-form and suggests that Townsend is impersonating him and profiting from his writings. He also claims that his life is still not as happy as he would like, but 'that is another story' - suggesting that there is another diary to come.
Although the period on a sink council estate
Sink estate
A sink estate is a British council housing estate characterised by high levels of economic and social deprivation. Such estates are not always high crime areas although there is a strong correlation between crime rates and sink estates in large urban areas...
is referred to briefly in The Cappuccino Years, the events of Diary of a Provincial Man are perhaps not strictly canonical
Canon (fiction)
In the context of a work of fiction, the term canon denotes the material accepted as "official" in a fictional universe's fan base. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction, which are not considered canonical...
. For example, Adrian later states that he can count the women he has had carnal knowledge of "on the fingers of one hand". Those women would be: Sharon Bott, Bianca Dartington, JoJo Mole, Marigold and Daisy Flowers. Inserting Pamela Pigg into this list makes six - more than the fingers of one hand, unless Adrian is polydactyl
Polydactyly
Polydactyly or polydactylism , also known as hyperdactyly, is a congenital physical anomaly in humans, dogs, and cats having supernumerary fingers or toes....
. The third wedding of Adrian's parents is described; however, Ivan Braithwaite does not drown whilst on honeymoon with Pauline Mole as detailed in "The Weapons of Mass Destruction" - instead he ultimately returns to his first wife, prompting George and Pauline to reunite (in "The Weapons of Mass Destruction", Pandora states that Pauline lured George away from Tania in the wake of Ivan's death). Also, Adrian's ex-wife JoJo e-mails him from Nigeria and names her new husband as one Colonel Ephat Mapfumo. In The Cappuccino Years, her husband's name is Wole.
- An even less well-known chapter of Adrian's life appeared in the Christmas 1994 edition of the Radio Times. Titled "Mole Cooks his Goose" it covered a stay by Adrian and Jojo at his mother's house over Christmas. It has never been republished.
Continuity errors
- Adrian's birth year is usually given as 1967 (as in Aged 13¾The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾For the TV-series, see The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ is the first book in the Adrian Mole series of comedic fiction, written by Sue Townsend. The book is written in a diary style, and focuses on the worries and regrets of a teenager who believes himself...
, Growing PainsThe Growing Pains of Adrian MoleThe Growing Pains of Adrian Mole, a novel by Sue Townsend, is the 2nd book in the Adrian Mole series, following on from The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾. It focuses on the worries and regrets of a teenage intellectual...
, Wilderness YearsAdrian Mole: The Wilderness YearsAdrian Mole: The Wilderness Years is the fourth book in the Adrian Mole series, written by Sue Townsend. It focuses on the worries of the, now, adult Mole. The book was first published in 1993 by Methuen...
, Cappuccino YearsAdrian Mole: The Cappuccino YearsAdrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years is the fifth book in the Adrian Mole series, written by Sue Townsend. The book was first published in 1999 by Michael Joseph. It is set from April 30, 1997 until May 2, 1998. Adrian is 30 years of age...
) but sometimes as 1968 (True ConfessionsThe True Confessions of Adrian Albert MoleThe True Confessions of Adrian Albert Mole, Margaret Hilda Roberts and Susan Lillian Townsend is the third book in the Adrian Mole series, written by Sue Townsend. It focuses on the worries and regrets of a teenage intellectual...
, Weapons of Mass DestructionAdrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass DestructionPublished in 2004 by Penguin Books, Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction is Sue Townsend's sixth full Adrian Mole novel . It is set in 2002/3 and Adrian is 33¾ years of age...
). In Prostrate Years, Adrian's surprise 40th birthday party is celebrated on April 2, 2008. - According to the final chapter of From Minor to Major, Sharon Bott was three months pregnant in July 1989, meaning that Glenn Bott-Mole was born around January 1990. On Christmas Eve 1990 Adrian meets Glenn for the first time, describing him as "a strange-looking moon-headed toddler." But in Cappuccino YearsAdrian Mole: The Cappuccino YearsAdrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years is the fifth book in the Adrian Mole series, written by Sue Townsend. The book was first published in 1999 by Michael Joseph. It is set from April 30, 1997 until May 2, 1998. Adrian is 30 years of age...
, set in 1997, Glenn is twelve years old, when consistency would require him to be only seven. Also, Glenn's thirteenth birthday falls in April 1998, not January. This makes Adrian seventeen at the time of Glenn's conception in July 1984, and Sharon, who was in Adrian's year at school, so was born between 1 September 1966 and 31 August 1967, was either seventeen or close to her 17th birthday. The final word comes from Weapons of Mass DestructionAdrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass DestructionPublished in 2004 by Penguin Books, Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction is Sue Townsend's sixth full Adrian Mole novel . It is set in 2002/3 and Adrian is 33¾ years of age...
, where Glenn is seventeen and joins the Army in 2002. This agrees with his age in the previous book. So Glenn's birthdate changes from January 1990 to April 1985. - In Cappuccino YearsAdrian Mole: The Cappuccino YearsAdrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years is the fifth book in the Adrian Mole series, written by Sue Townsend. The book was first published in 1999 by Michael Joseph. It is set from April 30, 1997 until May 2, 1998. Adrian is 30 years of age...
William is cited as turning 3 years old in 1997, yet in The Lost Diaries of Adrian Mole 1999-2001 at the start of the book Adrian says he is 7 years old. Which doesn't fall in with the info given in the previous book. - In Growing PainsThe Growing Pains of Adrian MoleThe Growing Pains of Adrian Mole, a novel by Sue Townsend, is the 2nd book in the Adrian Mole series, following on from The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾. It focuses on the worries and regrets of a teenage intellectual...
, Rosie is born on 11 November 1982. However, by the start of the Cappuccino YearsAdrian Mole: The Cappuccino YearsAdrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years is the fifth book in the Adrian Mole series, written by Sue Townsend. The book was first published in 1999 by Michael Joseph. It is set from April 30, 1997 until May 2, 1998. Adrian is 30 years of age...
(May 1997), it is implied that she is fifteen years old and about to take her GCSEs and leave school, when she should be fourteen years old and have two years to go before her GCSEs. Later in Cappuccino Years, in October 1997, Adrian mentions that Rosie is still at school (as she should be, going by her birthdate in the Growing Pains). - In Growing PainsThe Growing Pains of Adrian MoleThe Growing Pains of Adrian Mole, a novel by Sue Townsend, is the 2nd book in the Adrian Mole series, following on from The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾. It focuses on the worries and regrets of a teenage intellectual...
the tyrannical headmaster of Adrian's school, "Pop-Eye" Scruton, retires on the grounds of ill health. But in True ConfessionsThe True Confessions of Adrian Albert MoleThe True Confessions of Adrian Albert Mole, Margaret Hilda Roberts and Susan Lillian Townsend is the third book in the Adrian Mole series, written by Sue Townsend. It focuses on the worries and regrets of a teenage intellectual...
, he is still Adrian's headmaster. - Bert Baxter celebrates his 90th birthday on 29 May 1983, meaning that he was born on 29 May 1893. In The Cappucino Years, in 1997, it is said that he died a day before his 106th birthday; however, in 1997 he would celebrate his 104th birthday. In the same chapter, 9 May is referred as his birthday. However, Bert does state in Growing Pains that he is uncertain whether it is in fact his 90th birthday or not.
- In Prostrate Years Adrian states “I only got a C grade in GCSE biology”. GCSE's are typically take the summer after a student's 16th birthday, but GCSE's did not replace O Levels and CSECSECSE may refer to:* Calcutta Stock Exchange* Casablanca Stock Exchange* Certificate of Secondary Education, a UK examination* Centre for Science and Environment, an Indian non-governmental organization...
's until June 1987, when Adrian would have been too old to take them. - At the end of Weapons of Mass DestructionAdrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass DestructionPublished in 2004 by Penguin Books, Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction is Sue Townsend's sixth full Adrian Mole novel . It is set in 2002/3 and Adrian is 33¾ years of age...
Adrian's father must use a wheelchair after contracting a virus while in hospital for a back operation, but at the start of Prostrate Years the reason for his disability is given as a stroke brought on by years of poor dietary habits and inactivity. - Several characters' names change:
- In Growing PainsThe Growing Pains of Adrian MoleThe Growing Pains of Adrian Mole, a novel by Sue Townsend, is the 2nd book in the Adrian Mole series, following on from The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾. It focuses on the worries and regrets of a teenage intellectual...
, Barry Kent's mother's name is Ida, but in Cappuccino YearsAdrian Mole: The Cappuccino YearsAdrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years is the fifth book in the Adrian Mole series, written by Sue Townsend. The book was first published in 1999 by Michael Joseph. It is set from April 30, 1997 until May 2, 1998. Adrian is 30 years of age...
she is called Edna. - Sharon Bott was called Sharon Botts in the early books.
- Nigel's surname is given as Partridge in True ConfessionsThe True Confessions of Adrian Albert MoleThe True Confessions of Adrian Albert Mole, Margaret Hilda Roberts and Susan Lillian Townsend is the third book in the Adrian Mole series, written by Sue Townsend. It focuses on the worries and regrets of a teenage intellectual...
but in the later books it is Hetherington. - Adrian's paternal grandfather's name alternates between Albert and Arnold.
- Pauline Mole's middle name is given as Monica; later, in The Prostrate Years, it's given as Hilda.
- In Growing Pains