Chris Roberts (author)

Chris Roberts is a librarian in South London, England, and sometime walking tour guide, as he is the proprietor of F and M Walking Tours in London. The stories that Roberts incorporated into his walking tours became the inspiration for his book Heavy Words Lightly Thrown: The Reason Behind the Rhyme.^[1] which was first published in November 2003 with a limited print run of 2000 copies. What began as a self-published project in the UK soon attracted worldwide publicity, including coverage in USA Today. It also received some criticism for its speculative nature and lack of scholarship.^[2] The book is now widely available as it is published by both Gotham Books ^[3] and Granta.^[4] Roberts has also written Cross River Traffic on the history of bridges over the Thames. One Eye Grey, a series of penny dreadful booklets is another self published venture. These contain short stories based on London folklore. In June 2010 he published Football Voodoohttp://www.footyvoodoo.com/pages/football%20voodoo%20home.html A study of black magic and superstition in the world of football.

Roberts lived in New York City for several years after earning a degree in history at Swansea University. He also lived in Berlin for a while before settling in London.

References

1. ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2004/mar/02/highereducation.research1
2. ^ J. Walsh, Heavy Words Lightly Thrown, by Chris Roberts, Nursery rhymes of the expected, 5 March 2004, http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/heavy-words-lightly-thrown-by-chris-roberts-572060.html, retrieved 12/04/09; M. Joseph, "Heavy Words Lightly Thrown: The Reason Behind the Rhyme (review)" Children's Literature Association Quarterly, 31 (2) (2006), pp. 207-209.
3. ^ http://www.penguin.ca/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9781592402175,00.html
4. ^ http://www.bookmunch.co.uk/view.php?id=1484

External links

• Interview: Radio National

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