Tony Robinson Talks About His Weird Worlds

Published on: 23 May, 2012
Updated on: 29 Sep, 2012

Tony Robinson reads from his new books at Holy Trinity Church

Tony Robinson of Blackadder and Time Team fame explained last night to a Guildford audience how he started writing children’s books. He was mentored by Richard Curtis who, after Blackadder, wrote the screenplays for the films Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill and Love Actually.

Robinson was giving a talk, organised by Waterstones bookshop to an audience of over a hundred, mainly parents with younger children. They had gathered at Holy Trinity Church to hear about his two new ‘Weird World of Wonders’ history books on the Egyptians and the Romans.

After writing his first three books with Curtis, Robinson rang him and said that he thought he could now manage on his own. “Richard said to me, ‘That’s what I have been waiting to hear!’, and I have written about twenty books since.”

The Weird World books are intended to make history interesting and accessible to children. So far, Robinson has written four. The first two on the Egyptians and the Romans were released in April and will be followed by two more in August on the British and the Greeks.

Readings were given from several of his books and four children and an enthusiastic adult from the audience were selected to join in.

Members of the audience join in

Robinson said that he intended to write more in the same series covering many different periods of history. “I am sometimes asked what my favourite period is”, he said, “but everything is interesting and I will let you into a little secret – the two I am working on now will be on the First and Second World Wars.”

The event concluded with questions and answers and a book signing: all those who wished their copies to be signed forming a long and patient queue.