Le Flying Circus des Monty Python : Trésors cachés

by Adrian Besley

This is the story of Monty Python, one the most popular and influential forces in modern comedy—and of their TV show—told in words and images. This celebratory book includes 22 removable facsimiles of rare memorabilia from their official archives, including hand-scribbled scripts, cue sheets, character lists, posters, and animation artwork. Written with active input from the Pythons themselves, the book recounts the adventures of all six members and their TV show, from early days in the Cambridge Footlights through early appearances on the BBC, global stardom, the inevitable fights, and their triumphant reunions.

Genres: Humor, Nonfiction, Comedy, Biography, History

96 pages, Paperback

Published October 12, 2017

About the author

Adrian Besley is a freelance writer and former copywriter for the BBC. He is the author of many non-fiction titles, including EXO: K-Pop Superstars, Blackpink: K-Pop's No.1 Girl Group and the forthcoming Billie Eilish: From e-girl to icon, as well as 5 Seconds of Summer Confidential and a series of top-selling YouTube books, including YouTube World Records.

Reviews

[Joe Davoust · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty book with lots of extras but no real substance, as a coffee table book really should be. The pullouts were cool little facsimiles of scripts, posters, press releases and show programs. They were all interesting to peruse but only slightly entertaining. There are links in the book through QR code’s to YouTube videos but all of them said unavailable, at least to me. Maybe because the rights are different in the US versus the UK? I did enjoy the book but it led me to find and rewatch many of the sketches on the "telly" and that ended up being much more enjoyable.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a considerable corpus of books about ‘Monty Python’s Flying Circus’, ranging across all manner of avenues, including scripts, critical studies, biographies, histories and personal accounts. As of today I have logged thirteen books that could be said to have a direct or indirect relationship with the work of Palin, Jones, Cleese, Chapman, Idle and Gilliam, and I suspect this is only the tip of the iceberg. This title, Monty Python’s Flying Circus: Hidden Treasures adds little substance or new perspectives on the comedy phenomenon, yet it does have some significance because of how it packages some materials that are not generally accessible. Promotional photos, script facsimiles, posters and other artefacts have been reproduced herein and it’s a genuine pleasure to see and hold these. It’s the key selling point of the book and one that marks it out as a different publication to the others I’ve read so far.

The extensive illustrations are also very pleasing, and whilst some have been seen in other formats and on other platforms, there are a few here that I’ve not seen before. The text is fine, synthesising and summarising narratives and information offered by other books, and when it comes to the treatment of the four Python TV series it’s all fine. Adam Beasley does an arguably better job writing about the stage productions presented by the Pythons; in fact, on reflection there hasn’t really been a book about the troupe that has done anything near enough about these performances. So this is another reason why the book is worthy of commendation.

It also needs to be said that Monty Python’s Flying Circus: Hidden Treasures includes a few ‘lost’ scripts and some information on those sketches that were presented to the public, and this helps the Python fan discern some different aspects of the team’s writing that are quite interesting. The question as to who wrote what sketches, and the editorial process for their collaboration is always worth further exploration for fans and Python scholars alike, so for Beasley to give us such content is pleasing indeed.

Finally, this book is now rather dated in that it doesn’t reference the passing of Terry Jones. It also, to my surprise, doesn’t speak to the movies, so this may tell against it for some Python fans. This is not a major entry in the field of Monty Python related books, but it is a well compiled and informative publication. I would expect most fans of the team’s writing will enjoy reading it.

[ReadaBook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brought back great memories of this hilarious comedy group. I can recall watching the Flying Circus on PBS every Sunday night, sitting alone in the family room, thinking how funny, risque, different and sometimes not very understandable it was. Loved every moment. The extras in the book -- various memorabilia -- were fun to look at too. If you're a Python fan, you're sure to enjoy this!

[Martín Torres Negri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great thing that its not only words and long phrases. It´s got lots of stuff coming out of the book. Pictures can be found all along the book making it really easy to progress and rate it here in goodreads once you´re done. For me its a 4 and not a 5 just because it would have been great to have some pages with black & white drawings to paint with whatever colour I wanted.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Silly! Just plain silly.

[Michael D Jedlowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty good. Some new takes on the Pythons.

[Melissa Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of fun to go through, some info I didn't know about the group, some never-before published sketch scripts and things that had been cut. If you're a Python Fan, it's a fun read.