''Monty Python's Big Red Book'' is a humour book comprising mostly material derived and reworked from the first two series of the '' Monty Python's Flying Circus'' BBC television series. Edited by

Eric Idle Eric Idle (born 29 March 1943) is an English actor, comedian, musician and writer. Idle was a member of the British surreal comedy group Monty Python and the parody rock band The Rutles, and is the writer of the music and lyrics for the Broadway ...

, it was first published in the UK in 1971 by

Methuen Publishing Methuen Publishing Ltd is an English publishing house. It was founded in 1889 by Sir Algernon Methuen (1856–1924) and began publishing in London in 1892. Initially Methuen mainly published non-fiction academic works, eventually diversifying to ...

Ltd. It was later published in the United States in 1975 by Warner Books. As well as the comedy content, the title itself is a humorous reference to

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also Romanization of Chinese, romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the List of national founde ...

's '' Little Red Book''— despite the title, the book has a blue cover. To add to the confusion, the credits page refers to it as ''Monty Python's Big Brown Book''. The book contains some stills of footage shot for '' And Now For Something Completely Different'' but not used, including "Ken Shabby" and "Le Pouff Celebre/Flying Sheep". Shortly after publication the book ran into trouble when a music publishing company objected to the use of their trade name being used on the "Bing Tiddle Tiddle Bong" sheet music. After the first 75,000 copies were sold, all subsequent editions removed the reference to "The Wright Ukulele Tutor" and replaced it with "The Volti Subito".Hewison, Robert: ''Monty Python: The Case Against'', p29-30, published in 1981 by Eyre Methuen In 1972 a paperback edition was issued with the words "Special New Hardback Edition" replacing the "Very Urgent" sticker on the front cover. In 1981 both this book and ''

The Brand New Monty Python Bok ''The Brand New Monty Python Bok'' was the second book to be published by the British comedy troupe Monty Python. Edited by Eric Idle, it was published by Methuen Books in 1973 and contained more print-style comic pieces than their first effort, ...

'' were reissued as a hardback book entitled ''The Complete Works Of Shakespeare And Monty Python: Volume One – Monty Python''. Paperback editions of both these books were reissued again in 1986 as ''The Monty Python Gift Boks'', sold together inside an outer cover which folded out into a mini poster. In 2008 ''Monty Python's Big Red Book'' was referenced in the '' Doctor Who'' episode " Silence in the Library".

* Forewords * Advertisements * Juliette – Ken Shabby & Rosemary, A True Love Story Of Our Times * Credits * Why Accountancy Is Not Boring * Naughty Pages * Join The Professionals * The Silly Party * Keyhole For voyeurs * Batley Ladies Townswomen's Guild * E.D. Silly's Page * Spam * Sports Page * Arts Page * Horace Poem * The World Encyclopedia Of Carnal Knowledge * Australia Page * Children's Page * Postal Blackmail * A Song For Europe * The Importance Of Being Earnest * Are You Civilised? * Le Pouff Celebre * Madame Palm Writes * The Family Tree Of Johann Gambolputty... * The Greatest Upper Class Race In The World * What To Look For In A Great Twit * Lumberjack Song * Do-It-Yourself Story * Goat's Page * Hello O.N.s Everywhere * Whizzo Assortment * English To Hungarian Phrasebook * Johnson's Novelties * How To Walk Silly * Be A Modern Hermit * The Poems Of Ewen McTeagle * The Piranha Brothers * Python Literary Guild * Bibliography

Credits

* Authors – Graham Chapman,

John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Emerging from the Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and ...

, Terry Jones,

Michael Palin Sir Michael Edward Palin (; born 5 May 1943) is an English actor, comedian, writer, television presenter, and public speaker. He was a member of the Monty Python comedy group. Since 1980, he has made a number of travel documentaries. Palin ...

* Illustrator –

Terry Gilliam Terrence Vance Gilliam (; born 22 November 1940) is an American-born British filmmaker, comedian, animator, actor and former member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam has directed 13 feature films, including '' Time Bandits'' (1981), '' ...

* Editor – Eric Idle * Photography – Doug Webb, BBC News Picture Library, The Radio Times, Hulton Picture Library, John Horton, Tony Sullivan * Art Director – Derek Birdsall * Art Editor/Lay-out – Katy Hepburn * Artwork – Roger Hudson, Stephen Scales * Music Arranger – Fred Tomlinson

References

{{Monty Python 1971 books Monty Python literature Comedy books

Contents

Credits

References