Sue Townsend, author of the Adrian Mole series, has died

Sue Townsend, author of the Adrian Mole series, has died

Sue Townsend, whose 1982 book The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4 sold 20 million copies around the world, has died of a stroke, according to her publisher. She was 68.

The book hilariously tracked the travails of a horny, pimpled teenager in suburban England, making Adrian Mole a kind of Alexander Portnoy for the adolescent set. It spawned a series of books based on the titular character; the last, Adrian Mole: The Prostrate Years, was published in 2009.

For a taste of Adrian Mole, from the AP:

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The beleaguered teen bemoaning his dull suburban life and pining for unattainable classmate Pandora struck a chord with millions of readers. "I have never seen a dead body or a female nipple. This is what comes from living in a cul-de-sac," Adrian lamented early on. [Associated Press]

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