The Lady in the Van
By Alan Bennett

I think Alan Bennett is among the best writers in Britain today. This is a true story about an elderly vagrant lady called Miss Shepherd who lived in a van and whom Bennett allowed to park in his garden. He was never under the illusion that letting this lady on his property was a purely charitable act. There were other factors, like middle-class guilt. Still, their relationship is terribly funny. He always calls her Miss S., and she's always writing to Margaret Thatcher and the president of Argentina.