Ethel & Ernest

A marvellous life-enhancing book for all ages now a major animated film starring Jim Broadbent Brenda Blethyn and Luke TreadawayUtterly original deeply moving and very funny Ethel & Ernest tells the story of Raymond Briggs' parents' marriage lady's maid Ethel and milkman Ernest from their first chance encounter in 1928 through the birth of their son Raymond in 1934 to their deaths within months of each other in 1971.Told in Brigg`s unique strip-cartoon format Ethel and Ernest live through the defining moments of the twentieth century the darkness of the Great Depression the build up to World War II the trials of the war years the euphoria of VE Day and the emergence of a generation from post war austerity to the cultural enlightenment of the 1960s.Ethel & Ernest is a heartfelt and affectionate tribute to an ordinary couple and an extraordinary generation. Review Briggs has always had the ability to move his readers but never more powerfully than this. -- Stephen Pritchard ―GuardianAs our memory of pre-Niketown Britain fadeswe should be grateful that Raymond Briggs is so brilliantly equipped to remind us of what we used to be and why. -- Nick Hornby ―New York TimesEthel & Ernest imparts as the best novels do the sense of lived lives. It’s not too much to say you come to love these people...Briggs’ book earns our tears. Ethel & Ernest is a just about perfect miniature small in scale not in spirit. -- Charles Taylor ―Salon About the Author Raymond Briggs was born in London in 1934. He is the author of the hugely successful children's booksFather Christmas andThe Snowman. These books have been translated into many languages and adapted into films plays and TV cartoons. His other books includeFungus theBogeymanUgWhen the Wind BlowsEthel &Ernest a biography of his parents and his latestTime for Lights Out a contemplation on old age told through words and pictures. <p><b>A marvellous, life-enhancing book for all ages, now a major animated film starring Jim Broadbent, Brenda Blethyn and Luke Treadaway</b><br><br>Utterly original, deeply moving and very funny, Ethel & Ernest tells the story of Raymond Briggs' parents' marriage, lady's maid Ethel and milkman Ernest, from their first chance encounter in 1928, through the birth of their son Raymond in 1934, to their deaths, within months of each other, in 1971.<br><br>Told in Brigg`s unique strip-cartoon format, Ethel and Ernest live through the defining moments of the twentieth century: the darkness of the Great Depression, the build up to World War II, the trials of the war years, the euphoria of VE Day and the emergence of a generation from post war austerity to the cultural enlightenment of the 1960s.<br><br><i>Ethel & Ernest</i> is a heartfelt and affectionate tribute to an ordinary couple and an extraordinary generation.</p>