The Queen and I

By: Sue Townsend

Narrated by: Angela Thorne

Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's Summary

When a Republican party wins the General Election, they strip the royal family of everything and send them to live on a housing estate in the Midlands.

Exchanging caviar for boiled eggs, servants for a social worker named Trish, the Queen and her family learn what it means to be poor among the great unwashed. Is their breeding sufficient to allow them to rise above their changed circumstance or deep down are they really just like everyone else?

©1992 Sue Townsend (P)2012 AudioGO Ltd

Critic Reviews

"Kept me rolling about until the last page." ( Daily Mail)

"Absorbing, entertaining ... the funniest thing in print since Adrian Mole." ( Daily Telegraph)

Made me smile......in commuter traffic

Two things before I start this review:

1. It will be biased because I ADORE Sue Townsend and everything she writes. I will read and re-read the Adrian Mole series until the day I die. It's just how it is.
2. I commute in HEAVY traffic and am bitchy and cynical during most of this time. Light-hearted does not tend to get me through bumper-to-bumper traffic (my library speaks to this). This book made me smile....in traffic.

Ok, I don't care about character development, plot feasibility, or anything thing else because this book made me FEEL GOOD. However, the characters ARE well-developed and the plot, while admittedly unrealistic, was an interesting concept and was done with respect to both the monarchy and the working class.

This is a sweet, heart-warming story that doesn't over-indulge on the sugar. There is enough dry wit thrown in so the tone strikes a perfect balance. Damn it, if those Brits don't always do humor up right!

Listen to it, laugh, maybe cry and let yourself....FEEL GOOD!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Fabulous!!

If you could sum up The Queen and I in three words, what would they be?

Funny...absorbing....and funny!!!

Have you listened to any of Angela Thorne???s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I cannot find any other books read by Angela thorne on Audible!!
She is one of the very best narrators and I have listened to hundreds of your books

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

so funny

Would you listen to The Queen and I again? Why?

would listen again, so much happening i must of missed some bits while laughing!!
great book for light hearted escapism

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Very, very funny

A fabulous idea for a book (I wonder if any of the royals have read it? I would love to know their opinion!) and I still found it relevant and engaging despite my reading it a decade or so after the fact. Great political satire, great characters, despite many being hugely exaggerated stereotypes, this added to the humour and was just right for this book! Love Sue Townsend, no cringe-worthy cliches in her writing, and this is one of her best.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Finished too quickly

Not wanting to give away any spoilers, I felt really let down by the end. It was almost as if the author had reached her required word count and then tried to finish as quickly as possible.

Overall, I felt that the plot had dated quite badly.

That said, on the whole, I enjoyed listening to this book. But I wouldn't recommend it...

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Great book

I read this book when it was first released and listening to it was great. Well read very funny

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

mildly amusing

What did you like best about The Queen and I? What did you like least?

I expected a really funny story but it was rather mundane and although I had one or two smiles,overall it was not that funny.

Would you recommend The Queen and I to your friends? Why or why not?

Its horses for courses, some people may find it more to their taste than I did

What does Angela Thorne bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Narration was excellent with different voices and accents for each character

Did The Queen and I inspire you to do anything?

No

Any additional comments?

None

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Laugh out loud and giggle in between!

If you could sum up The Queen and I in three words, what would they be?

Funny Clever Sharp

What does Angela Thorne bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

A different slant on voice personality

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me laugh out loud between giggling and smiling.

Any additional comments?

Seriously funny even for a Royalist!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Wasn't sure what to expect

This had been on my list of books I should read for such a long time. I was concerned that it would be in some way disrespectful, even though I am not 'a royalist'. Saying that, it has been really funny in parts, some real laugh out loud moments at the absurdity of it all. I have found myself in the position of the residents of hell close, on benefits with little spare change and could really identify with all of the things people do to manage from day to day, the thought of the Queen and the Royal family doing the same was so funny. I will definitely be buying the sequel.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

I loved it

I have read this book before and enjoyed it, but listening to the audiobook with the wonderful narration by Angela Thorne made it even more enjoyable. I think this is the best of Sue Townsend's books

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

A big letdown - even for a republican

Oh dear.

The Queen is deposed and sent to live on a council estate. It is an interesting premise with limited scope for development, so where might that lead us. The answer is absolutely nowhere at all. I only continued listening because the work is short and I was intrigued as to how this aimless nonsense would be brought to any sort of conclusion. It is no spoiler alert to bemoan that I had though "It was all a terrible dream" was an ending restricted to books for the under-8s. I found myself feeling embarrassed for the author.

Angela Thorne initially makes a brave attempt to polish the unpolishable, but even she succumbs to lazy stereotyping in accent choice.

The only saving grace is that it is short.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

mildly entertaining

This had a mildly entertaining storyline with very clear narration. A bit different from the ordinary.