"A classic." -- Evening Standard "Packed full of domestic detail, Briggs's enchanting labour of love provides a personal and social record of London life between the Thirties and Eighties. A guaranteed bestseller." -- Independent " Ethel & Ernest has a historical sweep and a sure command of social detail not often found in contemporary fiction. It deserves to be taken seriously as literature, whether told in cartoon form or not. A huge tranche of social history is here…." -- Daily Telegraph "Briggs's techniques are deceptively simple, yet terribly moving. The book is a considerable achievement, both simple and complex, emotional and dispassionate.

" -- Guardian "Its charm, its fun, its sense of period, and the sure-footedness of its characters, will leave most novels standing…Raymond Briggs has given us a classic." -- Evening Standard "A best seller in Britain, this winsome little book is one family's twentieth century, told as a comic strip that fast-forwards through the decades. Briggs's artful rendering of his parents' striving captures the English working class, and as the tale progresses, you find yourself slowly sucked into their daily patter, amused by their cooing voices, impressed by their bravery. At the end,you're hardly prepared for the emotional wallop." - Time "In the details of Briggs's sparkling cartoons, the characters become richly specific and endearing . both pathetic and heroic in the face of overwhelmingevents. [They are] what make you read through Ethel & Ernest over again." -Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, New York Times " Ethel & Ernest works brilliantly and artfully as an archetype.

It is the author's willingness to frame his love and anguish so piercingly that makes it such a singular piece of work. We should be grateful that Briggs is so brilliantly equipped to remind us of what we u sed to be, and why." -Nick Hornby, New York Times Book Review.