Ask the Author: Greg Jenner
Answered Questions (5)
Greg Jenner
I love answering people's queries about the past. It gives me great satisfaction to meet audiences at book talks, and see what burning questions are on their mind. History is a subject that constantly inspires me; so much of modern culture and politics is influenced by what happened in the past.
Greg Jenner
I have the opposite problem! I suffer from writer's verbosity - I get far too excited by the myriad linguistic possibilities, and there is always so much to say about history, so the challenge for me is always editing rather than firing up the creativity engine.
Greg Jenner
I'm jut starting work on an accessible history of celebrity that spans the ancient world up until the rise of Hollywood in the 1930s. I'll be recounting the biographies of people you may know, and big stars you've never heard of, and I'll examine the origins of the modern fame industry. It's going to be a fun, light-hearted book, but it will be full of fascinating stories and intriguing insights into the long history of what many of us assume is a modern phenomenon.
Greg Jenner
Sure, no problem!
Greg Jenner
After abandoning an academic career I'd spent 11 years in the TV industry making historical programmes, and 5 of those years had been as the Historical Advisor to the BBC comedy show 'Horrible Histories'. The show is a big hit with children, and it was hugely inspiring to see the impact it was having on their love of history. But I was meeting so many adults who said history was boring, or irrelevant, or they had hated it at school and it had given them a lifelong phobia of history books. I realised that, if I was serious about being a public historian, then I had to reach these people too.
My hope was to write an accessible, light-hearted book that wouldn't be off-putting to these people, but which would also surprise and delight history buffs. I thought the best way to do that was to write a book about the history of daily life - something everyone experiences - and, to ensure there's new information for everyone, I extended my remit all the way back to the Stone Age. I hope you enjoy the book! Thanks, Greg
My hope was to write an accessible, light-hearted book that wouldn't be off-putting to these people, but which would also surprise and delight history buffs. I thought the best way to do that was to write a book about the history of daily life - something everyone experiences - and, to ensure there's new information for everyone, I extended my remit all the way back to the Stone Age. I hope you enjoy the book! Thanks, Greg
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