And now for something completely different
Terry Jones is best known for his work on Monty Python. But he has written books on medieval history as well as a series of children’s stories. Now he has turned his hand to writing a Quick Read, one of the short, fast-paced books for people who are out of the habit of reading. It’s a work that is close to his heart, discovers ED MELIA
That leading authors are delighted to write a book for very little, if any, financial return is an indication of the impact the Quick Reads initiative is still having six years after its launch. Since 2005, dozens of bestselling writers and celebrities have contributed funny, dramatic and fast-moving books aimed at adults who have stopped reading or who find reading tough. The list of past and current authors is impressive but one name that stands out from the list for 2011 is that of ex-Python Terry Jones.
As well as being one of the finest and most influential comedy writers and performers of recent times, Terry Jones is also a film director whose credits include Monty Python’s Life of Brian, The Meaning of Life and, with co-director Terry Gilliam, The Holy Grail, and an author of several books on medieval history, a series of children’s stories and a collection of articles on current affairs. Now he has turned his hand to a 20,000-word Quick Read, Trouble on the Heath, a book based on events taking place where he lives in Highgate, North London. He explains:
We’re right on the heath … it’s been called the ‘last country lane in London’ but, unfortunately, people are always trying to buy into it because it is the last country lane in London and change the actual nature of the road and turn it into not the last country lane in London, which is why they wanted to come here in the first place.
He points out of his window, explaining how people are always trying to knock down small houses and ‘build huge monstrosities’ in their place. This is exactly how Trouble on the Heath begins, with history professor Malcolm taking his dog, Nigel, for a walk and finding a planning notice pinned to Nigel’s favourite tree. It’s easy to see what has inspired him:
There’s a big building … that a Russian has somehow persuaded the council to give him permission to build … they still haven’t finished it – it’s been 10 years … and there’s another one up the road that another Russian has been building for 12 years, and there’s no end in sight.
Writing a Quick Read is a more effective and detailed way of getting your message across than a letter to the editor of your local paper. ‘I feel Malcolm is probably me,’ he says. ‘He’s got an interest in history, particularly medieval history, he’s quite placid really but given to occasional rages.’
Malcolm tries to get the local residents’ association – of which he is chair – to fight the application, but most of his fellow residents are on the opposite, shrugged shoulders, side of the Big Society. What Malcolm doesn’t know is that the man behind the planning application is a Russian mafia boss who doesn’t speak English and has no idea what a residents’ association is. He thinks it must be an organised crime syndicate of one of his many enemies. The mafia boss, Koslov, starts to hit back and the whole thing escalates out of control. ‘He sends a very inept operative to wipe out the residents’ association and Malcolm has to flee. Without any plan in his head he finds himself on a plane going to Russia, vowing revenge against whoever this person is.’
The other characters who get tangled up in this trouble include Trevor, a ‘terrible pessimist’ who works for Camden Council’s planning department, and Cynthia who works with Trevor and desperately loves him (Trevor does not reciprocate her love. In fact, he prefers fish). And then there is Mr Kendrick the vet, the least enthusiastic member of the residents’ association, and Molotov, ‘the useless operative’, who would rather have been a concert pianist.
Jones became inspired to write stories when he was reading Snow White from the original Brothers Grimm, to his five-year-old daughter.
In the original story the wicked step- mother is punished by being made to put on red-hot iron slippers and dance until she falls down dead! And I thought, ‘I can’t read that to my little girl’, I don’t want her going to sleep thinking, ‘I’m so glad that they tortured that old woman to death’. So the next day I decided to write some stories.
He wrote two, making them simple and short because ‘the Grimm ones are Victorian and very, very long-winded’, and he read them to her. She seemed to like them so he continued writing two every day until he had 12.
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