Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction
Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction
Book for February 2009
Group 1
Published in 2004, Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction is Sue Townsend's sixth full Adrian Mole novel and the confirmed finale.

It is set in 2002/3 and Adrian is 33¾ years of age.

The title of the book refers to the weapons of mass destruction that were used as justification for the Iraq War. This is a recurring theme throughout the book, and bears true to the series' penchant for satire of contemporary social and political issues.

Plot: Adrian has cancelled a holiday in Cyprus because of Tony Blair's warnings that Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction could target the island in 45 minutes, but his travel agent won't refund his £ 57.10 deposit until evidence of the WMDs is put forward. So, Adrian writes a letter to Mr. Blair requesting such proof.

He buys a ridiculous flat, complete with rats and marauding swans, with a down payment from his credit card. He gets involved with a disturbed young woman, whose family is only too happy to have him take her off their hands. And his parents have sold their home and bought a pigsty, literally, with a plan to renovate and live the country high life.

Through it all, Townsend treats the serious issues seriously, but the rest is just pure fun.
About the Author
Sue Townsend
was born in Leicester in 1946 and went to Glen Hills Primary school, where the school secretary was Mrs Claricotes, a name she used for the school secretary in the books. Her father was a postman and she was the eldest of five sisters. After failing her 11-plus exam, Townsend then went to the secondary modern North Wigston High School.

She left school at the age of 15 and worked in a variety of jobs including factory worker and shop assistant. She married a sheet-metal worker and had three children under five by the time she was 22. She joined a writers' group at the Phoenix Theatre, Leicester in her thirties.

At the time of writing the first Mole book, Townsend was living on the Saffron Lane Estate, a stone's-throw away from the house in which playwright Joe Orton was brought up. Townsend has suffered from diabetes for many years, as a result of which she was registered blind in 2001, and has woven this theme into her work.

The Adrian Mole Series

  • The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ (1982), her best selling book, and the best-selling new British fiction book of the 1980s.
  • The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole (1984)
  • The True Confessions of Adrian Albert Mole (1989)
  • Adrian Mole: The Wilderness Years (1993)
  • Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years (1999)
  • Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction (2004)