When Jack Sued Jill: Nursery Rhymes for Modern Times

by Felix Dennis

"When Jack Sued Jill" is the latest collection of original verse by maverick multimillionaire publisher Felix Dennis. Taking the innocence of nursery rhymes and turning them into something altogether darker, Dennis turns his piercing eye on the follies and absurdities of modern life. From ASBOs to Osama Bin Laden, creationism to crack houses, Humpty Dumpty to Tony Blair, nothing and no one is spared. Even more shockingly, once you've read Dennis's updating of "Little Miss Muffet", you'll never be able to think of her in the same way again. Scathing and hilarious, imaginative and unpredictable, "When Jack Sued Jill" is an essential collection of twisted nursery rhymes for the twenty-first century.

Genres: Poetry

98 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2006

About the author

Felix Dennis (born 1947 in Kingston-upon-Thames, United Kingdom) was a British magazine publisher and philanthropist. His privately owned company, Dennis Publishing, pioneered computer and hobbyist magazine publishing in the United Kingdom. In more recent times the company has added lifestyle titles such as its flagship brand The Week, which is published in Britain, the United States and Australia.

Reviews

[Victoria]

I started reading this because my grandfather did something similar. I wouldn’t recommend reading this unless you’re really into niche reworks, even then. This whole collection was really negative and makes a lot of EU political references.

[Andrew]

This is an intriguing book - its basically retelling of famous European nursery rhymes with modern satirical changes to the words. They are very cleverly written but like any current affairs satirical comedian - their content instantly dates them. An interesting book but one once read you are unlikely to refer back to in a hurry