53 pages • 1 hour read
Alan BennettThe Uncommon Reader
Fiction | Novella | Adult | Published in 2007A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Answer Key
Page numbers refer to the 2007 edition of the text from Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
Reading Check
1. “Norman was himself and seemed incapable of being anything else.” (Page n16)
2. “[T]hat in royal circles reading, or at any rate her reading, was not well looked upon” (Page 20)
3. She describes Norman as an “amanuensis” and herself as an “opsimath.” (Page 32)
4. He is “eased out” and encouraged to attend university in East Anglia by Sir Kevin. (Page 43)
5. That she will abdicate the throne (Page 68)
Short Answer
1. As she begins to read more, she realizes that she wasted several opportunities to speak with the authors who wrote these texts about their subjects (because she had not read them at the time). Additionally, she wishes that people were more honest with her and told her how they felt at the time, as opposed to writing them down later. (Page 18)
2. Prior to her interest in reading, Her Majesty would follow a simple conversational guide on which the people would be prepped in advance; however, after her newfound interest in reading, she begins to ask people about the books they are reading currently. (Pages 27-28)
3. To meet some of the authors she has read, she decides to hold a party; however, she feels miserable and out of place, without the correct things to say. She ultimately decides not to host anymore parties for authors and instead begins to read the classics more fervently. (Pages 33-34)
4. Sir Kevin orchestrates Her Majesty’s luggage of books to be sent to the wrong location. While he intends this action to keep her focused on her job, it makes her “bad-tempered and difficult.” (Pages 40-41)
5. At the request of Sir Kevin, family friend Sir Claude visits Her Majesty to dissuade her from continuing her reading. He suggests that she take up writing, as he found from personal experience that writing is much harder to do than reading. Initially, she ignores this advice, but then she decides to try it. (Pages 51-57)
6. At a dinner, Her Majesty sees Norman again, who is studying at the local university. In her writing phase, she believes he is useful to her again, and, having realized Sir Kevin has tricked her regarding Norman’s whereabouts, she decides to fire Sir Kevin and hire Norman. (Page 61)
