Terry Jones Popular Books
Terry Jones Biography & Facts
Terence Graham Parry Jones (1 February 1942 – 21 January 2020) was a Welsh actor, comedian, director, popular historian, writer and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. After graduating from Oxford University with a degree in English, Jones and writing partner Michael Palin wrote and performed for several high-profile British comedy programmes, including Do Not Adjust Your Set and The Frost Report, before creating Monty Python's Flying Circus with Cambridge graduates Graham Chapman, John Cleese, and Eric Idle and American animator-filmmaker Terry Gilliam. Jones was largely responsible for the programme's innovative, surreal structure, in which sketches flowed from one to the next without the use of punch lines. He made his directorial debut with Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which he co-directed with Gilliam, and also directed the subsequent Python films Life of Brian and The Meaning of Life. Jones co-created and co-wrote with Palin the anthology series Ripping Yarns. He also wrote an early draft of Jim Henson's film Labyrinth and is credited with the screenplay, though little of his work actually remained in the final cut. Jones was a well-respected medieval historian, having written several books and presented television documentaries about the period, as well as a prolific children's author. In 2016, Jones received a Lifetime Achievement award at the BAFTA Cymru Awards for his outstanding contribution to television and film. After living for several years with a degenerative aphasia, he gradually lost the ability to speak and died in 2020 from frontotemporal dementia. Early life Jones was born on 1 February 1942 in the seaside town of Colwyn Bay, on the north coast of Wales, the son of housewife Dilys Louisa (Newnes), and Alick George Parry-Jones, a bank clerk. The family home was named Bodchwil. As he recalled in The Pythons Autobiography by The Pythons, he was "born right bang slap in the middle of World War II," while his father served with the Royal Air Force in Scotland. A week after he was born, his father was posted in India as a Flight Lieutenant (Temporary). His brother Nigel was two years his senior. He reunited with his father when the war ended four years later; of their first meeting at Colwyn Bay railway station he recalled: "I'd only ever been kissed by the smooth lips of a lady up until that point, so his bristly moustache was quite disturbing!" When Jones was four and a half, the family moved to Claygate, Surrey, England.Jones attended Esher COE primary school and the Royal Grammar School in Guildford, where he was school captain in the 1960–61 academic year. He read English at St Edmund Hall, Oxford, but "strayed into history". He became interested in the medieval period through reading Chaucer as part of his English degree. He graduated with a 2:1. While there, he performed comedy with future Monty Python castmate Michael Palin in the Oxford Revue. Jones was a year ahead of Palin at Oxford, and on first meeting him Palin states, "The first thing that struck me was what a nice bloke he was. He had no airs and graces. We had a similar idea of what humour could do and where it should go, mainly because we both liked characters; we both appreciated that comedy wasn't just jokes." Career history Before Python and early Python Jones appeared in Twice a Fortnight with Michael Palin, Graeme Garden, Bill Oddie and Jonathan Lynn, as well as the television series The Complete and Utter History of Britain (1969). He appeared in Do Not Adjust Your Set (1967–69) with Palin, Eric Idle and David Jason. He wrote for The Frost Report and several other David Frost programmes on British television. Of Jones' contributions as a performer to Monty Python's Flying Circus, his depictions of middle-aged women (or "ratbag old women" as termed by the BBC, also known as "pepper-pots" or "grannies from hell") are among the most memorable. Directorial work Jones co-directed Monty Python and the Holy Grail with Terry Gilliam, and was sole director on two further Monty Python movies, Life of Brian and Monty Python's The Meaning of Life. As a film director, Jones finally gained fuller control of the projects and devised a distinct, signature style that relied on visual comedy and surreal touches to complement the jokes. He would repeatedly abandon punchlines and create fragmented, non-sequitur story arcs to bring out the deadpan humour. His later films include Erik the Viking (1989) and The Wind in the Willows (1996). In 2008, Jones wrote the libretto for and directed the opera Evil Machines. In 2011, he was commissioned to direct and write the libretto for another opera, entitled The Doctor's Tale.Three of the films which Jones directed—The Meaning of Life, Monty Python's Life of Brian and Personal Services—were banned in Ireland.Jones directed the 2015 comedy film Absolutely Anything, about a disillusioned schoolteacher who is given the chance to do anything he wishes by a group of aliens watching from space. The film features Simon Pegg, Kate Beckinsale, Robin Williams and the voices of the five remaining members of Monty Python. It was filmed in London during a six-week shoot.In 2016, Jones directed Jeepers Creepers, a West End play about the life of comic Marty Feldman. It would be Jones' last directing work before his death. Writer and brewer Jones wrote many books and screenplays, including comic works and more serious writing on medieval history.A member of the Campaign for Real Ale, Jones also had interest in real ale and in 1977 co-founded the Penrhos Brewery, a microbrewery at Penrhos Court at Penrhos, Herefordshire, which ran until 1983. The former brewery has now become a pub called The Python's Arms. Comedy Jones co-wrote Ripping Yarns with Palin. They also wrote a play, Underwood's Finest Hour, about an obstetrician distracted during a birth by the radio broadcast of a Test match, which played at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, in 1981. Jones also wrote numerous works for children, including Fantastic Stories, The Beast with a Thousand Teeth and a collection of comic verse called The Curse of the Vampire's Socks.Jones was the co-creator (with Gavin Scott) of the animated TV series Blazing Dragons (1996–1998), which parodied the Arthurian legends and Middle Ages periods. Reversing a common story convention, the series' protagonists are anthropomorphic dragons beset by evil humans. Screenplays Jones wrote the screenplay for Labyrinth (1986), although his draft went through several rewrites and several other writers before being filmed; consequently, much of the finished film was not actually written by Jones. History Jones wrote books and presented television documentaries on medieval and ancient history. His first book was Chaucer's Knight: The Portrait of a Medieval Mercenary (1980), which offers an alternative take on Geoffrey Chaucer's The Knight's Tale. Chaucer's knight is often interpreted as a paragon of Christian virtue, but Jones asserts .... Discover the Terry Jones popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Terry Jones books.
Best Seller Terry Jones Books of 2024
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The Seventh Tide
Joan LennonA teenage shapeshifter called Eo. A boy from the sixth century called Adom. And a girl from the twentysecond century called Jay. What do they have in common? Well, they're all bein...
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Girls of Grace Make it Real
Point of GraceThe Girls of Grace conferences have inspired thousands of young women across the globe. Now, Make It Real, based on the 20052006 Girls of Grace conference theme, inspires each and ...
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Echoes
Ellen DatlowThe essential collection of beloved ghost stories, compiled by the editor who helped define the genreincluding stories from awardwinning, bestselling authors such as Joyce Carol Oa...
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Always Look on the Bright Side of Life
Eric IdleNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From the ingenious comic performer, founding member of Monty Python, and creator of Spamalot (now back on Broadway!), comes an absurdly funny memoir...
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Monty Python
Richard ToppingHave you ever wanted to be a lumberjack? Had trouble with a dead parrot? Or gone for a silly walk?Combining outrageous humour, unbridled creativity and surreal animation, John Clee...
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Girls of Grace
Point of GracePoint Of Grace launches a new book and tour of the same title to give direction and hope to the next generation of young women. This unique book, designed to help young women grow ...
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ROAR
Bruce WagnerA new novel by Hollywood’s "master of satire."The myth of an epic, public lifeits triumphs and tragediesis a particularly American obsession. ROAR is a metafictional exploration of...
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Johnnie J. Jones Exposition v. Terry
In Banc Appellate Court of IndianaHAMILTON, Judge. This is an appeal from a judgment rendered in favor of appellee against appellants in an action to recover damages for personal injuries sustained by appellee as a...
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Terry Lynne Jones v. William K. Hinkle and
Supreme Court Of UtahSTEWART, Justice: Plaintiff brought this action for specific performance of a contract for the sale of realty and for damages allegedly resulting from defendants failure to convey ...
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Monty Python Speaks
David MorganWith a Foreword by John Oliver, host of Last Week TonightIn celebration of the 50th anniversary of its BBC debut, a revised and updated edition of the complete oral history of Mont...
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Hero of the Fleet
William StoneWilliam Stone died on 10 January 2009 aged 108. He received a hero's funeral. Born in rural Devon, he joined the navy during the First World War, travelled the globe just before th...
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Girls of Grace Daily Devotional
Point of GraceStart Your Day Off Right This madejustforyou devotional from Point of Grace is the perfect way to make sure you are centered on God and ready for whatever your day brings. Each...
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Monty Python Speaks, Revised and Updated Edition
David MorganWith a Foreword by John Oliver, host of Last Week TonightIn celebration of the 50th anniversary of its BBC debut, a revised and updated edition of the complete oral history of Mont...
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The Stolen Daughter
ReShonda Tate BillingsleyAwardwinning author ReShonda Tate Billingsley delivers a poignant, pageturning novel about the powerand fragilityof family, personal identity, and the choices we are called on to m...
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John Denver
John CollisJohn Denver was America's biggestselling solo star of the '70s. In commercial terms he was on a par with Sinatra in the '40s, Elvis in the '50s and the Beatles in the '60s. He expe...
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Castle In The Window
Laura C StevensonStaying for the summer with an unfamiliar aunt and uncle, Erin finds herself drawn into the magical world of a medieval castle, complete with knights and pages, a prince and a page...
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Terry L. Jones and Patricia K. Jones V.
Supreme Court of NebraskaWRIGHT, J. Terry L. Jones and Patricia K. Jones brought this action against the State of Nebraska, Department of Revenue (Department), and State Tax Commissioner M. Berri Balka. Th...
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Good Morning, Love
Ashley M ColemanFor fans of My (Not So) Perfect Life and Jasmine Guillory’s While We Were Dating, a disarmingly fun debut novel follows Carlisa Henton as her life comes undone after a chance meeti...
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Bootleg Stardust
Glenn DixonDaisy Jones & the Six meets Nick Hornby in this uplit debut novel about a young musician who auditions for a band and is suddenly catapulted into the wild world of rock and rol...
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Dangerous Days in Ancient Egypt
Terry DearyThink that Ancient Egypt is just a load of old obelisks?Don't bet your afterlife on it.Ancient Egypt should be deader than most of our yesterdays. After all it was at its height 5,...
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The Rise of Cromwell Jones
Roy ClewsYou're mugged on the street.Your sister is attacked in her home.The police are powerless.What would you do?This is England. Gang violence is on the rise and people live in fear. Af...
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People Person
Candice Carty-WilliamsThe author of the “brazenly hilarious, tellitlikeitis first novel” (Oprah Daily) Queenie returns with another witty and insightful “treat” (Jesse Armstrong, creator of Succession) ...