The QI Book of the Dead

Last updated

The QI Book of the Dead
The QI Book of the Dead.jpg
The UK cover.
Author John Lloyd
John Mitchinson
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Subject Obituaries/Trivia
Publisher Faber and Faber
Publication date
5 November 2009
Media typeHardback
Pages435
ISBN 978-0-571-24490-4
Preceded by Advanced Banter  
Followed by The Second Book of General Ignorance  

The QI Book of the Dead (sold as The Book of the Dead in the United States) is the fourth title in a series of books based on the intellectual British panel game QI , written by series-creator John Lloyd and head-researcher John Mitchinson. It is a book of "quite interesting" obituaries.

Contents

Publication history

The QI Book of the Dead was first published by Faber and Faber in hardback on 5 November 2009. [1] The idea of the book originated before the television series QI was broadcast. Mitchinson wrote in an article for the Daily Telegraph newspaper that, "It first appeared on one of our "how to make life more interesting" lists at a time when Stephen Fry's erudite put-downs and the anteater impressions of Alan Davies weren't even gleams in Lloyd's eye." [2]

Structure

The book is divided into 10 chapters, covering 68 different people. [2] However, instead of dividing the chapters into subjects normally found in such books, like "Royalty", "Scientists" and "Sportsmen", The QI Book of the Dead uses "more diverting categories". Examples include "There's Nothing Like a Bad Start in Life", covering people who had bad childhoods; "Man Cannot Live by Bread Alone", about people with unusual diets; and "Is That All There Is?" about people interested in life after death. [1] [2]

Reception

Ian Wolf for the British Comedy Guide was mostly positive with his review, saying: "The QI Book of the Dead is definitely an enjoyable read, and makes for a great gift idea. For one thing, it allows us to look back and learn on the mistakes of our ancestors. Amongst those ancestors are Confucius and Nefertiti, whom everyone in the world is related to... interesting, isn't it!" [3]

However, Wolf also wrote that the book made mistakes. He wrote that the book wrongly claimed that Lord Shelburne was Prime Minister, when in fact he was First Lord of the Treasury, with the title of "Prime Minister" not being used to describe the leader of the British government until a century after Shelburne died by Henry Campbell-Bannerman. [3]

Obituaries

The people covered in The QI Book of the Dead are as follows. [4]

ChapterTitleSubjectPeople
1There's Nothing like a Bad Start in LifePeople with unhappy childhoods
2Happy-go-luckyPeople who were always happy
3DrivenThe highly motivated
4Let's Do ItThe sex mad
5Man Cannot Live by Bread AlonePeople with strange diets
6Grin and Bear ItThe pain ridden and disabled
7The Monkey-KeepersPeople who kept pet monkeys
8Who Do You Think You Are? Impostors
9Once You're Dead, You're Made for LifePeople who died penniless
10Is That All There Is?People interested in life after death

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Lloyd (producer)</span>

John Hardress Wilfred Lloyd is an English television and radio comedy producer and writer. His television work includes Not the Nine O'Clock News, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Spitting Image, Blackadder and QI. He is currently the presenter of BBC Radio 4's The Museum of Curiosity.

<i>QI</i> British comedy panel game television quiz show

QI is a British comedy panel game quiz show for television created and co-produced by John Lloyd. The series currently airs on BBC Two and is presented by Sandi Toksvig. It features permanent panellist Alan Davies and three guest panellists per episode who are mostly comedians. The series was presented by Stephen Fry from its beginning in 2003 until 2016.

<i>A Little Pretty Pocket-Book</i> Book by John Newbery

A Little Pretty Pocket-Book, intended for the Amusement of Little Master Tommy and Pretty Miss Polly with Two Letters from Jack the Giant Killer is the title of a 1744 children's book by British publisher John Newbery.

<i>The Book of General Ignorance</i>

The Book of General Ignorance is the first in a series of books based on the final round in the intellectual British panel game QI, written by series-creator John Lloyd and head-researcher John Mitchinson, to help spread the QI philosophy of curiosity to the reading public. It is a trivia book, aiming to address and address many of the misconceptions, mistakes and misunderstandings in 'common knowledge'—it is therefore known not as a 'General Knowledge' book, but as 'General Ignorance'.

The Museum of Curiosity, formerly titled The Professor of Curiosity, is a comedy talk show on BBC Radio 4 that was first broadcast on 20 February 2008. It is hosted by John Lloyd. He acts as the head of the (fictional) titular museum, while a panel of three guests – typically a comedian, an author and an academic – each donate to the museum an 'object' that fascinates them. The radio medium ensures that the suggested exhibits can be absolutely anything, limited only by the guests' imaginations.

John Mitchinson is the head of research for the British television panel game QI, and is also the managing director of Quite Interesting Limited. He is co-writer of the QI series of books with the show's creator John Lloyd. The two men are normally referred to as "The Two Johns" and are seen as the main controllers of QI, as they do most of the research of the show. His most recent work, 1,411 Quite Interesting Facts to Knock You Sideways, a collaboration with John Lloyd and James Harkin, was released in 2015 with W.W. Norton and Company.

<i>The Book of Animal Ignorance</i>

The Book of Animal Ignorance is the second title in a series of books based on the intellectual British panel game QI, written by series-creator John Lloyd and head-researcher John Mitchinson. It is a trivia book, consisting largely of little-known facts about various animals, alongside factual corrections to other pieces of supposedly "well-known" trivia that, although widely believed, are not always accurate. It is a sequel to The Book of General Ignorance.

Nicholas Rankin is a British writer and broadcaster.

Ted Dewan is an American-born British writer and illustrator of children's books who resides in England. He is best known as the creator of the award-winning book series, Bing, now adapted into an animated television series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quite Interesting Limited</span>

Quite Interesting Limited is a British research company, most notable for providing the research for the British television panel game QI and the Swedish version Intresseklubben, as well as other QI–related programmes and products. The company founder and chairman is John Lloyd, the creator and producer of QI, and host of the radio panel game The Museum of Curiosity, which also uses Quite Interesting Limited for its research. John Mitchinson is the company's director and also works as head of research for QI.

Piers Fletcher is a television producer and researcher, mainly working for the British panel game QI, broadcast on the BBC.

<i>Advanced Banter</i>

Advanced Banter: The QI Book of Quotations, known as If Ignorance Is Bliss, Why Aren't There More Happy People? in the United States, is the third title in a series of books based on the intellectual British panel game QI, written by series-creator John Lloyd and head-researcher John Mitchinson. It is a book of "quite interesting" quotations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Schreiber (producer)</span> Australian radio producer

Dan Schreiber is a radio producer living in the United Kingdom and is also a writer for radio and television. He co-created the BBC Radio 4 panel show The Museum of Curiosity with host John Lloyd and co-producer Richard Turner, and co-hosts the podcast No Such Thing As A Fish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helena, comtesse de Noailles</span>

Anna Maria Helena, comtesse de Noailles was an English noblewoman who used her wealth and influence to support the reform of women's rights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sara Pascoe</span> English comedian and writer

Sara Patricia Pascoe is an English actress, comedian and writer. She has appeared on television programmes including 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown for Channel 4, QI for BBC and Taskmaster for the digital channel Dave.

<i>The Second Book of General Ignorance</i>

The Second Book of General Ignorance is the fifth in a series of books based on the final round in the intellectual British panel game QI, written by series-creator John Lloyd and head-researcher John Mitchinson. It is the second book to be based on the show's final round "General Ignorance", the first being The Book of General Ignorance first published in 2006. Like the original book, it is a trivia book aiming to address and correct the comprehensive and humiliating catalogue of all the misconceptions, mistakes and misunderstandings in 'common knowledge' — it is therefore known not as a 'General Knowledge' book, but as 'General Ignorance'. A second, expanded edition called The Discreetly Plumper Second QI Book of General Ignorance was released on 4 October 2012.

<i>1,227 QI Facts to Blow Your Socks Off</i> Book by John Lloyd

1,227 QI Facts To Blow Your Socks Off is the sixth in a series of books based on the intellectual British panel game QI, written by series-creator John Lloyd, director of research John Mitchinson, and chief researcher James Harkin. Published on 1 November 2012, it is a trivia book containing 1,227 facts collected during the making of the series, which had been ten years in the making at the time of publication.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denmark Strait cataract</span> Underwater waterfall in the Denmark Strait of the Atlantic Ocean

The Denmark Strait cataract is an undersea waterfall found on the western side of the Denmark Strait in the Atlantic Ocean, on the Arctic Circle between Iceland and Greenland. It is the world's highest underwater waterfall, with water falling almost 3,505 meters.

Anne Miller is a Scottish author, scriptwriter, producer, comedian, and researcher, best known for her work on the BBC Two quiz show QI.

References

  1. 1 2 Wolf, Ian. "'QI' Merchandise". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 14 October 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 Mitchinson, John (24 November 2009). "QI Book of the Dead - exclusive extracts from the brains behind the tv show". The Daily Telegraph . Archived from the original on 27 November 2009. Retrieved 24 November 2009.
  3. 1 2 Wolf, Ian (1 December 2009). "The QI Book of the Dead Review". British Comedy Guide . Retrieved 1 December 2009.
  4. Lloyd, John; Mitchinson, John (5 November 2009). The QI Book of the Dead. London: Faber and Faber. pp. v–vi. ISBN   978-0-571-24490-4.

Further reading