The Diary of a Nobody the first, "The Diary of a Somebody", is a direct reference to the Grossmith original. Reviewing this volume in "The Spectator", Benny Green points out several parallels with the original, in both character and event. Matthew's book, says Green, is amusing, but the Grossmiths' book is superior; it is "affecting as well as comical, in a way that the Matthew pastiche is not". In 1982 came the first appearance of Sue Townsend's teenage creation, Adrian Mole, whose passage into young manhood and early middle age is charted in a long series of diaries. The more middle-aged he becomes, says Morton,
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 ¾ (musical) new production was presented by the Menier Chocolate Factory and Curve in association with Anthony Clare and David Ian Productions. NB: The role of Mrs Lucas was cut for the London production. The world premiere at Leicester's Curve Theatre received 4 stars from "The Daily Telegraph", "The Times" and "The Guardian". Lyn Gardner in "The Guardian" wrote that Mole was 'a home-grown hit for the Curve... a show constantly paying neat homage to previous British musicals and the traditions of the TV sitcom, and yet always staying distinctive and true to its source material... a quaint, unassuming little charmer." Dominic