The monologue in this form - speaking directly to the listener or the reader - is not as old as might be thought. The writing is elegant and the ear for dialogue has been finely tuned. It must have taken a great deal of effort - and talent - to get completely inside the skin of a character and develop it so fully in the space of about 15 pages. Each one has freshness, as though the idea had never been used before. It would have been easy for the monologues to be formulaic, but this hasn't happened. Ergo you can't really go to work.' Just how far will her father go to make certain that she has no friends or admirers? 'Hair this long and fine takes three or four hours every morning to dry naturally. Judy stays at home to look after her ageing father, but then working wasn't really convenient because she has long hair.

He's convinced that no one suspects what he's doing but he's also completely unaware of how he's being deceived. The people whose stories are told are familiar to us all -'The Brother', 'The Son' or 'The Mother', but each has a strange twist. When originally broadcast the first series comprised the women's tales and the second belonged to the men, but in the book the stories alternate, giving an excellent balance and making the book one which would appeal equally to both men and women. You might have heard the monologues on BBC Radio 4 in 20 but there is a certain joy in having them on paper in front of you - that way you can go back and savour the elegant plot twists and little quirks of character which speak so loud. Six men and six women each have their own tales to tell and the stories always say far more than the teller realises. Through one long cold, dark night I sat up with a sick dog and I read Lynne Truss' A Certain Age. Summary: Twelve monologues from the classic BBC Radio 4 series of the same name brought into book form to delight everyone who enjoys this format.

Lynne truss books