Pandora Braithwaite
| Pandora Braithwaite | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 1967 |
| Education | Oxford University |
| Occupation | Member of Parliament |
| Spouse(s) |
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| Relatives |
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Dr Pandora Louise Elizabeth Braithwaite is a fictional character in the Adrian Mole series of books by Sue Townsend. In the books, Pandora is the love of Adrian's life. Pandora is beautiful (Adrian especially loves her 'treacle-coloured' hair) and intelligent, and in the first books, she and Adrian Mole are happy together. In the later books, Pandora resists Adrian's advances in favour of physically and intellectually powerful men, although Adrian remains attached to her.
Life
Pandora's parents were called Ivan and Tania. She came to Leicester at the age of 13 and sat with Adrian during Geography classes, and soon became the most popular girl in their class. She started dating Nigel, but they soon broke up. A few weeks later, on Wednesday (June 10, 1981), Adrian and Pandora started dating together. They had many short break-ups, till they finally ended their relationship in True Confessions.
She attended the University of Oxford, studying Mandarin, Russian and Serbo-Croat. She graduated and married her first husband, Julian Twyselton-Fife, who was openly gay, as a "favour" done by Julian. They cemented their love at London's Astoria G-A-Y nightclub after he drove for hours to pick her up. Her aversion to germs meant that she was unable to take a train. She had several liaisons and drifted apart from Adrian. Eventually she cohabited with Jack Cavendish, an old professor of linguistics. After many years they split up, with Jack revealing many of her secrets.
Later, she entered politics in the New Labour era under Tony Blair and became a Labour MP for Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire. She referred to herself as Pan National and The Shiniest Star in Blair's Sky, nicknames that the media picked up and subsequently used. However, she vocally opposed the Iraq War and was seen to be one of the Labour Party's most left-wing MPs.
Nicknames
- Box (in book 1)
- Pan (in private)
- The Peoples' Pan (in media)
- Pan National (in media)
- The Shiniest Star in Blair's Sky (in media)
Portrayals
- Lindsey Stagg on The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ (1985—1987)
- Helen Baxendale on Adrian Mole: the Cappuccino Years (2001)