The Lady in the Van

Life imitates art in The Lady in the Van, the story of the itinerant Miss Shepherd, who lived in a van in Alan Bennett's driveway from the early1970s until her death in 1989. It is doubtful that Bennett could have made up the eccentric Miss Shepherd if he tried, but his poignant, funny but unsentimental account of their strange relationship is akin to his best fictional screen writing.

Bennett concedes that "One seldom was able to do her a good turn without some thoughts of strangulation", but as the plastic bags build up, the years pass by and Miss Shepherd moves into Bennett's driveway, a relationship is established which defines a certain moment in late 20th-century London life which has probably gone forever. The dissenting, liberal, middle-class world of Bennett and his peers comes into hilarious but also telling collision with the world of Miss Shepherd: "there was a gap between our social position and our social obligations. It was in this gap that Miss Shepherd (in her van) was able to live".

Bennett recounts Miss Shepherd's bizarre escapades in his inimitable style, from her letter to the Argentinean Embassy at the height of the Falklands War, to her attempts to stand for Parliament and wangle an electric wheelchair out of the Social Services. Beautifully observed, The Lady in the Van is as notable for Bennett's attempts to uncover the enigmatic history of Miss Shepherd, as it is for its amusing account of her eccentric escapades. --Jerry Brotton

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entertaing read - Rated
Very amusing little book coupled with Bennett's talent for pathos and humour. The story is so well expressed you can almost smell the stench of the tramp occupied van. Excellent read. Recommended.

Both funny and sad - Rated
The story of how Mr Shepherd ended up in Alan Bennett's drive, and how she lived her life their until her eventual death, is both funny, and also in parts sad. Although very short, this book is well worth it, and highly recommended.

Miss Shepard Desert Fox - Rated
For fifteen years this arch Tory lived in a van in Bennets driveway. We must laugh at the rubbing on of Bells whiskey, the fright Bennett got when he thought she was going to camp on his Yorkshire doorstep. We must wonder what went on in Miss Shepard's mind as she talked of "this land" and "her pencils". During this time Bennett realises that Miss Shepard is not to different from the rest of us as she too has all the usless items for living that we never use. We must pause as she nears the end of her life. And at the end you feel he quite liked her and she him. I know I did. She may be in an unmarked Islington grave but she is remembered.