Reardon, as his much-interrupted work on his memoirs attests, is an unreliable narrator, which was the topic of yesterday’s entertaining, inventive Archive on 4, presented by the stand-up and writer Stewart Lee. Lee begins his journey “walking along Cecil Court”, off the Charing Cross Road, which when Lee first arrived in London was lined with second-hand bookshops. “But do you trust me? Do you think I’m really on Cecil Court? Or would it be more impressive if we’d fabricated this with some clever sound design that I can just switch off?” Cue silence. “Or if we’d fabricated it, couldn’t we have fabricated something more impressive or atmospheric?” Cue howling winds and Lee shouting: “Somewhere like the Yorkshire moors, where I might speculate, loudly, on the persona of Nelly Dean, whose not necessarily trustworthy reminiscences Emily Brontë used to frame the story of Wuthering Heights.”
Lee has been preoccupied with unreliable narrators ever since his mother took him to see John Boorman’s Excalibur, which inspired a fascination with King Arthur. In the British Library he comes face to face with a 12th-century calfskin manuscript of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s History of the Kings of Britain. There are gales of laughter from the BL’s curator of medieval manuscripts, Julian Harrison, and the medievalist Hetta Howes as Lee reads out William of Newburgh’s assessment from 1190: “Everything this man [Geoffrey of Monmouth] said was made up . . . either from an inordinate love of lying or for the sake of pleasing the Britons.”
Lee is an obdurate obscurist and some of his more contemporary examples are niche (1960s experimentalist writers Rosemary Tonks and Ann Quin, performance poet Rob Auton). “You’re probably wondering when are we going to talk about an unreliable narrator you’ve heard of? That’s taught you not to trust me!” But then he brings on Nish Kumar to discuss (apparently reliably) Bob Dylan. The comedian Russell Kane talks of how he kept his late father alive for seven years in his stand-up because he “did not have the skill to tell an audience my dad was dead without spoiling the atmosphere of a gig”. Imaginatively produced by Michael Umney, this made for a stimulating hour.
Len Firewood, Twitter
Len Firewood, Twitter
Richard Herring, Comedian
Richard Herring, Comedian
Patrick Kavanagh, Guardian.co.uk
Patrick Kavanagh, Guardian.co.uk
Visualiser1, Twitter
Visualiser1, Twitter
Kozzy06, Youtube
Kozzy06, Youtube
Dominic Cavendish, Daily Telegraph
Dominic Cavendish, Daily Telegraph
Peter Ould, Youtube
Peter Ould, Youtube
Dave Wilson, Chortle.com
Dave Wilson, Chortle.com
BBC iPlayer edition of discussion of Stewart Lee on A Good Read
BBC iPlayer edition of discussion of Stewart Lee on A Good Read
Horatio Melvin, Twitter
Horatio Melvin, Twitter
Cojones2, Guardian.co.uk
Cojones2, Guardian.co.uk
Guest1001, Youtube
Guest1001, Youtube
James Dellingpole, Daily Telegraph
James Dellingpole, Daily Telegraph
DVDhth's grandparents, Twitter
DVDhth's grandparents, Twitter
Frankie Boyle, Comedian
Frankie Boyle, Comedian
Maninabananasuit, Guardian.co.uk
Maninabananasuit, Guardian.co.uk
Joe, Independent.co.uk
Joe, Independent.co.uk
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Someoneyoudon'tknow, Chortle.com
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Contrapuntal, Twitter
Birmingham Sunday Mercury
Birmingham Sunday Mercury
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Chez, Chortle.com
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Johnny Kitkat, dontstartmeoff.com
John Robins, Comedian
John Robins, Comedian
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Mini-x2, readytogo.net
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Meanstreetelite, Peoplesrepublicofcork
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Leach Juice, Twitter
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Rowing Rob, Guardian.co.uk
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Anon, westhamonline.com
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Brighton Argus
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Funday’schild, youtube.
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Dick Socrates, Twitter
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Bobby Bhoy, Twitter
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Z-factor, Twitter.
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Idrie, Youtube
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Dahoum, Guardian.co.uk
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Neolab, Guardian.co.uk
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Secretdeveloper, Youtube
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Sidsings000, Youtube
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Joskins, Leeds Music Forum
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Etienne, Chortle.com
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Al Murray, Comedian
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Rudeness, Youtube
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Alex Quarmby, Edfringe.com
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Borathigh5, Youtube
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Coxy, Dontstartmeoff.com
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Gabrielle, Chortle.com
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Jamespearse, Twitter
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Anonymous, The Northfield Patriot
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A D Ward, Twitter
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Jackmumf, Twitter
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Rubyshoes, Twitter
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Meninblack, Twitter
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Shane, Beverley, Dailymail.co.uk
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Fairy Pingu, Twitter
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Ishamayura Byrd, Twitter
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Liam Travitt, Twitter
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Pnethor, pne-online.com
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Cyberbloke, Twitter
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98rosjon, Twitter
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Danazawa, Youtube
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Joycey, readytogo.net
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World Without End, Twitter
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Anamatronix, Youtube
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Spanner, dontstartmeoff.com
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NevW47479, UKTV.co.uk
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Alwyn, Digiguide.tv
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Wharto15, Twitter
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Mearecate, Youtube
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Stuart, Chortle
Tweeter Kyriakou, Twitter
Tweeter Kyriakou, Twitter
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Lents, redandwhitekop.com
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Deepbass, Guardian.co.uk
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Lancethrustworthy, Youtube
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Keilloh, Twitter
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Clampdown59, Twitter.
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Nicetime, Guardian.co.uk
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Cabluigi, Guardian.co.uk
Karen Laidlaw, Edfringe. com.
Karen Laidlaw, Edfringe. com.
12dgdgdgdgdgdg, Youtube
12dgdgdgdgdgdg, Youtube
Esme Folley, Actress, cellist, Twitter
Esme Folley, Actress, cellist, Twitter
Sam Rooney, Youtube
Sam Rooney, Youtube
Robert Gavin, Twitter
Robert Gavin, Twitter
Lee Mack, Mack The Life, 2012
Lee Mack, Mack The Life, 2012
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Slothy Matt, Twitter
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Sweeping Curves, Twitter
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Lenny Darksphere, Twitter
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Gwaites, Digitalspy
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Bosco239, youtube
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Mpf1947, Youtube
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Hiewy, Youtube
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Pudabaya, beexcellenttoeachother.com
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Syhr, breakbeat.co.uk
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Gmanthedemon, bbc.co.uk
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Neva2busy, dontstartmeoff.com
Anonymous, don'tstartmeoff.com
Anonymous, don'tstartmeoff.com
Peter Ould, Twitter
Peter Ould, Twitter
Aaron, comedy.co.uk
Aaron, comedy.co.uk
Microcuts 22, Twitter
Microcuts 22, Twitter
Fowkes81, Twitter
Fowkes81, Twitter
Yukio Mishima, dontstartmeoff.com
Yukio Mishima, dontstartmeoff.com
Brendon, Vauxhallownersnetwork.co.uk
Brendon, Vauxhallownersnetwork.co.uk
Shit Crit, Twitter
Shit Crit, Twitter
Tokyofist, Youtube
Tokyofist, Youtube
Lucinda Locketts, Twitter
Lucinda Locketts, Twitter
Dominic Cavendish, Telegraph
Dominic Cavendish, Telegraph
Tin Frog, Twitter
Tin Frog, Twitter
General Lurko 36, Guardian.co.uk
General Lurko 36, Guardian.co.uk
Whoiscuriousgeorge, Youtube
Whoiscuriousgeorge, Youtube
Iain, eatenbymissionaries
Iain, eatenbymissionaries
Pirate Crocodile, Twitter
Pirate Crocodile, Twitter
GRTak, finalgear.com
GRTak, finalgear.com
Mrdavisn01, Twitter
Mrdavisn01, Twitter
Zombie Hamster, Twitter
Zombie Hamster, Twitter
Tweeterkiryakou, Twitter
Tweeterkiryakou, Twitter
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Aiden Hearn, Twitter
Stokeylitfest, Twitter
Stokeylitfest, Twitter
FBC, finalgear.com
FBC, finalgear.com
Pudabaya, Twitter
Pudabaya, Twitter
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Anon, BBC Complaints Log
Carla, St Albans, Dailymail.co.uk
Carla, St Albans, Dailymail.co.uk
Genghis McKahn, Guardian.co.uk
Genghis McKahn, Guardian.co.uk
Tres Ryan, Twitter
Tres Ryan, Twitter
Foxfoxton, Youtube
Foxfoxton, Youtube
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Peter Fears, Twitter
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Carcrazychica, Youtube
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Emilyistrendy, Youtube
Guest, Dontstartmeoff.com
Guest, Dontstartmeoff.com
Henry Howard Fun, Twitter
Henry Howard Fun, Twitter
Anon, dontstartmeoff.com
Anon, dontstartmeoff.com