Description
Robert Eddison, a national journalist and playwright, has recorded every original thought he has had since June 1997. They now run to many thousand and take the form of witty, and often profound, one-line observations on an awesome variety of (150) different subjects, ranging from childbirth to political correctness. Publications in which they have most recently appeared include the Week and the London Times. Well known around the world for his witty one-liners, Robert has amassed a huge following on social media including more than 18,000 Twitter followers. His first book, volume one, contains a selection of his finest aphorisms to entertain and amuse the masses.
Gyles Brandreth says: “But, although not all gods reign for eternity, it never once occurred to me that this particular one could ever be dethroned – until now. Could it just be that, in the author of this remarkable book, Wilde has finally met his match?”
“I have been enjoying the aphorisms – a treasure house of them – some quite brilliant.” Matthew Parris – The Spectator
“A large collection of pleasing aphorisms… They are all original but show the influence of many schools: here a touch of Pascal, and there an echo of La Rochefoucauld, but most particularly the happy inspiration of Oscar Wilde.” Donald Mead – Chairman, The Oscar Wilde Society
Robert Eddison: “Originating pithy one-liners is my thing. So how, you may well ask, did I get to be doing this as a hobby? After spotting a few one-liners in the London production of a stage play I’d written, I thought it might be fun to devise them “neat”, to stand alone in their own right.I don’t keep a diary as such, since I’m not interested in whether I bought jam or peanut butter last Tuesday at Tesco’s. What I can claim, though, is that every original thought I’ve had in the past few years has been noted down. True, it’s not your normal kind of diary, but it’s one I love as I never know what I’m going to think up next and I’m constantly surprising myself. But I didn’t limit myself to this side of the channel as foreign languages also fascinate me. At eighteen, I went on a roll and hitchhiked across Europe to spend my two gap years learning German and Italian.
“After winning a European scholarship from Cambridge, I went on an American lecture tour and finally returned home to face Real Life – as an apprentice cub reporter on three local papers. What launched my journalistic career was a lengthy interview I did with the late Lady Thatcher for the Times of 10 May 1978, in the year before she became Prime Minister. The interview had to be recorded as I’d fallen off a bus the previous day and had cracked both my arm and my ability to write.
“My aphorisms are a celebratory send-up of the English language. Like my stage work and my journalism, they reflect my love affair – all right, my addiction – to words. Friends finally prevailed on me to bring my one-liners into the public domain and the immediate traction they gained on Twitter has further encouraged me to publish my first book, due out this winter.So that’s my journey so far and you are most welcome to come aboard as travelling together is so much more fun than keeping my thoughts to myself. At this early stage, though, I’m just putting my toe in the water. The foot may, or may not, follow.”
