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,
Ken Howard (composer) "The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole" (Wyndham's Theatre, 1984–1986), and two BBC TV musicals "Orion" (1977) and" Ain't Many Angels" (1978). They also wrote music and lyrics for the 1990 UK tour of Roald Dahl's "Matilda". As a British film maker Howard has worked extensively in drama, music and documentary films. These have included (for the BBC) "A Penny for Your Dreams", "John Lennon - A Journey in the Life", "The Miracle of Intervale Avenue", "Open Mind", "Mr Abbott’s Broadway" and "Sunny Stories"; (for ITV) "South Bank Show" profiles of the New World Symphony Orchestra, Danny Kaye, Frank Sinatra, Hakan