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A Local Book for Local People
A Local Book for Local People picks up where the second series of The League of Gentlemen left off. Viewers of the program saw the Local Shop attacked by a mob from Royston Vasey and burnt to the ground. Local Shopkeepers Tubbs and Edward were last seen engulfed by flames and falling masonry. But unbeknown to Edward, Tubbs had been keeping a scrapbook of things she had found on the moors, which she called "a local book for local people." Recovered from the smoking ruins of the building, 4th Estate now presents an exact facsimile of that scrapbook. It contains fold-out maps, photographs, brochures, guides to sites of local interest, Herr Lipp's pink pomplet, Val and Harvey Denton's toad-themed wallpaper, and much, much more.
128 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2000
5 people are currently reading
131 people want to read
About the author
Mark Gatiss
143 books782 followersMark Gatiss (born 17 October 1966) is an English actor, screenwriter and novelist. He is best known as a member of the comedy team The League of Gentlemen, and has both written for and acted in the TV series Doctor Who and Sherlock.
Fulfilling a lifelong dream, Gatiss has written three episodes for the 2005-revived BBC television series Doctor Who. His first, "The Unquiet Dead", aired on 9 April 2005; the second, "The Idiot's Lantern", aired on 27 May 2006 as part of the second series. In addition, Gatiss was the narrator for the 2006 season of documentary series Doctor Who Confidential, additionally appearing as an on-screen presenter in the edition devoted to his episode. Gatiss did not contribute a script to the third series, but appeared in the episode "The Lazarus Experiment", as Professor Lazarus. After his submitted script for the fourth series, involving Nazis and the British Museum, was replaced at the last minute with "The Fires of Pompeii", he eventually returned to the programme in 2010, writing the (also World War II-themed) episode "Victory of the Daleks" for the fifth series, in which he also appears uncredited as the voice of "Danny Boy". It has also been confirmed that Gatiss will be writing an episode for the 2011 season of Doctor Who, although details about the story are yet to be revealed.[19]
Gatiss wrote an episode of Sherlock, a modern day Sherlock Holmes series co-produced by him and Steven Moffat. The unaired pilot was shot in January 2009 and a full series was commissioned. This was aired in August 2010 and consisted of 3 episodes. Gatiss also starred in these as Holmes' older brother Mycroft. A second series has been confirmed, but dates have yet to be decided, since both Gatiss and Moffatt have additional commitments.[20]
Gatiss also wrote and performed the comedy sketches The Web of Caves, The Kidnappers and The Pitch of Fear for the BBC's "Doctor Who Night" in 1999 with Little Britain's David Walliams, and played the Master in the Doctor Who Unbound play Sympathy for the Devil under the name "Sam Kisgart", a pseudonym he later used for a column in Doctor Who Magazine. (The pseudonym is an anagram of "Mark Gatiss", a nod to Anthony Ainley, who was sometimes credited under an anagram to conceal the Master's identity from the viewers.) The pseudonym was used again in television listings magazines when he appeared in episode four of Psychoville, so as not to spoil his surprise appearance in advance.
In mainstream print, Gatiss is responsible for an acclaimed biography of the film director James Whale. His first non-Doctor Who novel, The Vesuvius Club, was published in 2004, for which he was nominated in the category of Best Newcomer in the 2006 British Book Awards. A follow up, The Devil in Amber, was released on 6 November 2006. It transports the main character, Lucifer Box, from the Edwardian era in the first book to the roaring Twenties/Thirties. A third and final Lucifer Box novel, Black Butterfly, was published on 3 November 2008 by Simon & Schuster.[21] In this the protagonist finds himself serving Queen Elizabeth II, in the Cold War era.
Gatiss also wrote, co-produced and appeared in Crooked House, a ghost story that was broadcast on BBC Four during Christmas 2008.
Fulfilling a lifelong dream, Gatiss has written three episodes for the 2005-revived BBC television series Doctor Who. His first, "The Unquiet Dead", aired on 9 April 2005; the second, "The Idiot's Lantern", aired on 27 May 2006 as part of the second series. In addition, Gatiss was the narrator for the 2006 season of documentary series Doctor Who Confidential, additionally appearing as an on-screen presenter in the edition devoted to his episode. Gatiss did not contribute a script to the third series, but appeared in the episode "The Lazarus Experiment", as Professor Lazarus. After his submitted script for the fourth series, involving Nazis and the British Museum, was replaced at the last minute with "The Fires of Pompeii", he eventually returned to the programme in 2010, writing the (also World War II-themed) episode "Victory of the Daleks" for the fifth series, in which he also appears uncredited as the voice of "Danny Boy". It has also been confirmed that Gatiss will be writing an episode for the 2011 season of Doctor Who, although details about the story are yet to be revealed.[19]
Gatiss wrote an episode of Sherlock, a modern day Sherlock Holmes series co-produced by him and Steven Moffat. The unaired pilot was shot in January 2009 and a full series was commissioned. This was aired in August 2010 and consisted of 3 episodes. Gatiss also starred in these as Holmes' older brother Mycroft. A second series has been confirmed, but dates have yet to be decided, since both Gatiss and Moffatt have additional commitments.[20]
Gatiss also wrote and performed the comedy sketches The Web of Caves, The Kidnappers and The Pitch of Fear for the BBC's "Doctor Who Night" in 1999 with Little Britain's David Walliams, and played the Master in the Doctor Who Unbound play Sympathy for the Devil under the name "Sam Kisgart", a pseudonym he later used for a column in Doctor Who Magazine. (The pseudonym is an anagram of "Mark Gatiss", a nod to Anthony Ainley, who was sometimes credited under an anagram to conceal the Master's identity from the viewers.) The pseudonym was used again in television listings magazines when he appeared in episode four of Psychoville, so as not to spoil his surprise appearance in advance.
In mainstream print, Gatiss is responsible for an acclaimed biography of the film director James Whale. His first non-Doctor Who novel, The Vesuvius Club, was published in 2004, for which he was nominated in the category of Best Newcomer in the 2006 British Book Awards. A follow up, The Devil in Amber, was released on 6 November 2006. It transports the main character, Lucifer Box, from the Edwardian era in the first book to the roaring Twenties/Thirties. A third and final Lucifer Box novel, Black Butterfly, was published on 3 November 2008 by Simon & Schuster.[21] In this the protagonist finds himself serving Queen Elizabeth II, in the Cold War era.
Gatiss also wrote, co-produced and appeared in Crooked House, a ghost story that was broadcast on BBC Four during Christmas 2008.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 5, 2024
Tie- in to the league of Gentlemen, perfect for an fan. It is designed to look like a scrapbook created by Tubba. From all her found clippings, you get to learn more about Royston Vasey and more about some of the characters.
You also see the appearance of Wise Owl (Inside No 9 series 7 Episode 6) if all the clippings have been found in Royston Vasey, does that mean the episode was set there? Or at least we would like to think so.
"Wise Owl' is always right and I have lots of secrets with him. We do lots of things when he comes out at night."
"Wise Owl' Coming into my room at night."
*you can definitely see how an idea from 20 ish years ago can be developed further.
You also see the appearance of Wise Owl (Inside No 9 series 7 Episode 6) if all the clippings have been found in Royston Vasey, does that mean the episode was set there? Or at least we would like to think so.
"Wise Owl' is always right and I have lots of secrets with him. We do lots of things when he comes out at night."
"Wise Owl' Coming into my room at night."
*you can definitely see how an idea from 20 ish years ago can be developed further.
December 3, 2012
I first encountered the League in the US courtesy of public television, and was immediately hooked. I got the first series on DVD when it came out there, but it was never followed by anything else. I even saw the book in shops around then, but never picked it up. When I inexplicably moved to the UK, one of the first things I bought for my video library was the League box set. Since then, I've moved on to reading Jeremy Dyson's very entertaining and well-written books, so when I spotted a near-new copy of the Local Book in a charity shop (appropriately enough) for only a pound, I had to jump on it.
It took me only two days to read the entire book, so it's clearly not heavy reading. This is not an episode guide, behind-the-scenes tell-all, or even a history of the League. Instead, it's designed as a scrapbook by Local Shop-keeper Tubbs, compiled from scraps she's found out on the moors. As such, it tells a bit of extra history to many of the characters through newspaper articles, pamphlets, postcards and even diary pages. We're given further views of the intersections of the lives of Royston Vasey, and even some unsettling insights into its denizens. The design of the book is exquisite, beautifully 'recreating' all the bits of paper Tubbs has found, in all their myriad forms. If I had a single complaint about the book, it's that some of the print gets almost unreadably tiny; a larger format might have been nicer (I think the hard and soft bindings are the same size), but that's really just quibbling. I'd give the book 5 stars, but according to Goodreads that would mean it was 'amazing.' It wasn't that, but it was quite good.
This is required reading for any die-hard League fan, but I have to think it would be utterly pointless for the uninitiated.
It took me only two days to read the entire book, so it's clearly not heavy reading. This is not an episode guide, behind-the-scenes tell-all, or even a history of the League. Instead, it's designed as a scrapbook by Local Shop-keeper Tubbs, compiled from scraps she's found out on the moors. As such, it tells a bit of extra history to many of the characters through newspaper articles, pamphlets, postcards and even diary pages. We're given further views of the intersections of the lives of Royston Vasey, and even some unsettling insights into its denizens. The design of the book is exquisite, beautifully 'recreating' all the bits of paper Tubbs has found, in all their myriad forms. If I had a single complaint about the book, it's that some of the print gets almost unreadably tiny; a larger format might have been nicer (I think the hard and soft bindings are the same size), but that's really just quibbling. I'd give the book 5 stars, but according to Goodreads that would mean it was 'amazing.' It wasn't that, but it was quite good.
This is required reading for any die-hard League fan, but I have to think it would be utterly pointless for the uninitiated.
July 20, 2024
We’ll have no trouble here
March 7, 2023
Quite possibly the best comedy TV tie-in ever.
This book expands on the mythology of the town of Royston Vasey and its disturbing inhabitants, and manages to go to darker, nastier corners than the television show could. It's hilarious, twisted and adds so many layers to the classic black comedy series.
This book expands on the mythology of the town of Royston Vasey and its disturbing inhabitants, and manages to go to darker, nastier corners than the television show could. It's hilarious, twisted and adds so many layers to the classic black comedy series.
December 21, 2024
TV tie in books originally existed because repeats were rare and home video non-existent. Some of these are pretty good, I’m still a big fan of the Monty Python ones (indeed I may prefer them to the series).
I used to buy and read a lot of these and, in the days of home video and dvd, they became a little more cash-grabby, a stocking filler or something similar. A Local Book for Local People is not like that though, besides being written by the League of Gentlemen themselves, it feels like the Gentlemen are enjoying experimenting in a new medium.
Yes, familiar characters are introduced but we see different sides of them. It’s not only that the book doesn’t feel like repurposed sketches, but at least two of the entries in the book were developed into later works. One was the pastiche of The Monkey’s Paw which featured in the Halloween special, another the small incidental detail of Wise Owl.
While not an exalted genre, A Local Book for Local People is a very good example of it.
I used to buy and read a lot of these and, in the days of home video and dvd, they became a little more cash-grabby, a stocking filler or something similar. A Local Book for Local People is not like that though, besides being written by the League of Gentlemen themselves, it feels like the Gentlemen are enjoying experimenting in a new medium.
Yes, familiar characters are introduced but we see different sides of them. It’s not only that the book doesn’t feel like repurposed sketches, but at least two of the entries in the book were developed into later works. One was the pastiche of The Monkey’s Paw which featured in the Halloween special, another the small incidental detail of Wise Owl.
While not an exalted genre, A Local Book for Local People is a very good example of it.
February 5, 2010
As dark and funny as the series, A Local Book For Local People is the perfect companion.
Presented in the style of a scrapbook kept by Tubbs, it gives an insight into the characters that isn't otherwise seen in the show. There is especially in-depth explorations of Hilary's relationship with Mrs Briss, Tubbs' and Edward's life and a couple of very dark journal entries by the Iain Cashmore character from the Attachments Dating Agency sketch. The font on the latter is quite dense and so difficult to decipher, but it was well worth the effort.
Other highlights for me wee the story of the curse of Kabbit Poor and an interview with Creme Brulee which included the lyrics to Voodoo Lady.
A must-have for any League Of Gentlemen fan.
Presented in the style of a scrapbook kept by Tubbs, it gives an insight into the characters that isn't otherwise seen in the show. There is especially in-depth explorations of Hilary's relationship with Mrs Briss, Tubbs' and Edward's life and a couple of very dark journal entries by the Iain Cashmore character from the Attachments Dating Agency sketch. The font on the latter is quite dense and so difficult to decipher, but it was well worth the effort.
Other highlights for me wee the story of the curse of Kabbit Poor and an interview with Creme Brulee which included the lyrics to Voodoo Lady.
A must-have for any League Of Gentlemen fan.
December 22, 2013
This has been on my wife's bookshelf for over a decade but despite being a fan of the League of Gentlemen series never really noticed it. We flicked through it almost by accident and I found it hilarious before deciding to read it fully. It's a companion to the series and is made up of things Tubbs has found. The humour is still fresh and very dark even revisting these characters many years later. Fans wil love it, non-fans will probably find it warped and twisted - potentially not in a good way!
April 19, 2009
Brilliant!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews