Ethel and Ernest

Infobox Book
name = Ethel and Ernest
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = Cover to 1999 Hardcover edition
author = Raymond Briggs
illustrator = Raymond Briggs
cover_artist =
country = England
language = English
series =
subject =
genre = Graphic Novel Biography
publisher = Jonathan Cape
release_date = 7 Oct1999
english_release_date =
media_type = Hardback
Paperback
pages =
isbn = ISBN 0-224-06039-2
ISBN 0-375-40758-8
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"Ethel and Ernest" (subtitled "A True Story") is a graphic novel by English author and illustrator Raymond Briggs. It tells the story of the lives of Briggs' parents from their first meeting in 1928 to their deaths in 1971.

tory

The story is simply a progression through the lives of the titular couple, from courtship to death. Ethel is a maid with very strong ideas about proper English behaviour and her family's respectability; she gives up work when she gets married. Ernest is an easygoing milkman with socialist ideals. They live in London through the Great Depression, World War II, the advent of television, and raising a family. It is a richly detailed portrayal of London working class life throughout some of the most momentous times of the 20th Century.

Awards

"Ethel and Ernest" won the "Best Illustrated Book Of The Year" at the 1999 British Book Awards. [ [http://www.britishbookawards.co.uk/bba/pnbb_previouswinners.asp British Book Awards - previous winners ] ]

Connections to other works

Raymond Briggs' earlier works "Gentleman Jim" and "When the Wind Blows" feature a couple named Jim and Hilda, who are strikingly similar in character to Ethel and Ernest.

Notes