Adrian Mole
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Adrian Mole is the fictional protagonist in a series of books by Sue Townsend. The author once famously spotted the future Prime Minister John Major (a minor cabinet minister at the time) in a photograph and said that Adrian would grow up to become just like him. The character first appeared in a BBC Radio 4 single play in 1982.
All of the books in the series are written in the first person in the form of a diary.
Adrian Albert Mole is the son of George and Pauline Mole. They share their house in Leicester (they later move to Ashby-de-la-Zouch) with their dog, simply referred to as "the dog", and later with Adrian's sister, Rosie. Adrian's grandmother, Edna May Mole (referred to simply as Grandma), is also prominent in many of his diary entries.
Adrian looks after an old-age pensioner named Bert Baxter. Despite the fact that Baxter is filthy, rude, a communist, and has a vicious alsatian, Adrian becomes very fond of him. Bert later marries another pensioner named Queenie.
Pandora Braithwaite is the love of Adrian's life. She is beautiful and intelligent, and in the first books they are happy together. In the later books she shuns Adrian in favor 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, whomever she is currently dating (and his various faults and flaws), and pining for their lost love.
The great dichotomy of the series seems to be made up of, on the one hand, Adrian's desires and goals in life - marry Pandora, become a published writer of poetry and novels, attain financial security - and on the other, his complete failure to achieve them.
The books spawned several TV series, most recently "Adrian Mole: the Cappucino Years" starring Stephen Mangan as Adrian Mole, Alison Steadman as Pauline Mole and Helen Baxendale as Pandora Braithwaite. The character also featured in several radio series, such as Pirate Radio Four.
List of books featuring Adrian Mole
- The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 and 3/4
- The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole
- The True Confessions of Adrian Mole
- Adrian Mole and the Small Amphibians
- Adrian Mole: The Wilderness Years
- Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years
- Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction
NOTE: Most publications of the Adrian Mole series are now released in compilations. Ex: 1 & 2 are now joined in one book. Ex2: Adrian Mole: The Lost Years is a compilation of The True Confessions, The Small Amphibians and The Wilderness Years.