The True Confessions of Adrian Albert Mole some detail. The book also contains extracts from Sue Townsend's own diaries together with some of her essays, plus a collection of entries from an unknown teenage girl's diary written in the 1930s in Grantham. Townsend suggests that the girl was called Margaret Hilda Roberts and no one knows what became of her, although most readers will spot that this is a strong and bitter satire about Margaret Thatcher (Margaret Hilda Roberts was her maiden name). Townsend originally created this satire in the first few issues of the newspaper "Today", as "The Secret Diary of Margaret Hilda Roberts Aged 13".
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ of Prince William. Mole is also a fierce critic of prime minister Margaret Thatcher, listing her as one of his worst enemies. Apart from the humorous events described in the diary, a lot of the book's humour originates from the unreliable narration of Mole, who naïvely, yet confidently, misinterprets events around him. The book was first published in hardcover by Methuen on October 7, 1982. Sequels include (in chronological order): The book was a best-seller, and had sold 1.9 million copies by November 1985. A 7-part radio series on BBC Radio 4 featured extracts from the book read by Nicholas