The True History of the Blackadder: The Unadulterated Tale of the Creation of a Comedy Legend Book

To mark the thirtieth anniversary of the first pilot episode of The Black Adder this is the complete history of the series with the co-operation of writers Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, producer John Lloyd, cast and crew. Including hitherto unseen material including extracts from a previously unseen and unproduced Christmas special.British history as we know it is a cluttered patchwork of questionable stories which have been re-written, re-evaluated and ridiculed, and yet there is still an unquestioned narrative thread which runs through the nation's historical record, accepted as fact. But final editorial control has always belonged to the winners. And nobody likes winners... The True History of the Black Adder is the very first in-depth examination of the creation of a British institution like no other - arguably the greatest sitcom of all time - not to mention the first historical investigation into the lives of the Blackadder family, one of the nation's most villified dynasties. Using existing archive footage and rare literature, plus new revelations from personal interviews with the makers including John Lloyd, Tony Robinson, Richard Curtis, Ben Elton, Stephen Fry, Brian Blessed; Rowan Atkinson and many more, J. F. Roberts relates the full scope of the tale of how the 70s alumni of three great universities - Oxford, Cambridge and not Hull, but Manchester - discovered a unique chemistry that would see them build a timeless comic masterpiece. At last Blackadder enthusiasts can now uncover THE cunning plan, in all its hideous hilarity. 'a rather elegant overview of Eighties British TV comedy... If you have any interest in comedy, you will love this book ... [Roberts'] research has been assiduous, his judgments are sound and his puppyish enthusiasm encouraged his interviewees to give their best. Unlike Baldrick's cunning plans, this one seems to have worked' - Marcus Berkman, Daily Mail 'This really is the full history... for true buffs, this is not to beRead More