Alan Bennett Audiobooks

The ear behind The History Boys and The Lady in the Van, heard again in Enough Said

1 audiobook reviewed

★ 4.4/5 average

12 listener ratings

Who is Alan Bennett?

Alan Bennett, born in Leeds in 1934, is an English playwright, author, actor and screenwriter, and one of the most garlanded writers Britain has produced: four BAFTAs, four Olivier Awards, two Tonys and a Special Award from the Society of London Theatre in 2005. He attended Oxford and stayed on to teach medieval history for several years before comedy intervened – the satirical revue Beyond the Fringe, staged at the Edinburgh Festival in 1960, made him famous more or less overnight and brought a Special Tony Award.

He turned to writing full time and built an acclaimed body of work for the stage, much of it at the Royal National Theatre. Several of his plays became celebrated films: The Madness of King George, The History Boys and The Lady in the Van.

Alan Bennett in audiobooks

Enough Said is the Bennett on offer here, and audio is arguably where his writing belongs. Bennett made his name with the spoken word – revue sketches, stage plays, dialogue that catches exactly how English people talk while saying rather less than they mean – and prose from a writer with that ear rewards listening rather than skimming.

For UK listeners he needs little introduction: this is the author behind The History Boys and The Madness of King George, working in the register that made him a national institution. Dry, precise, quietly devastating when he chooses to be – Enough Said is well named.