Praise for Cautionary Verses
and Ruthless Rhymes..

"Humorous verse is a classic, if recently neglected form, now happily revived by Charlie Ottley with his Cautionary Verses and Ruthless Rhymes, illustrated by Oliver Preston. This is an excellent and witty updating of Belloc, of which I suspect the old boy would have been proud." Independent on Sunday

"Those convinced that the world is going to hell in a handcart will find rich pickings here, Ottley sending up everyone from Burberry-clad 'chavs' to coke-snorting heiresses….Ottley's barbs find some worthy targets." Daily Mail

"Older children will adore this collection of rhymes (some of them slightly naughty) as long as they manage to wrench it away from their parents. The characters spring to life the second you start reading. They're exactly the type of poems that would encourage more children to the genre, were they read in schools." The Sunday Express.

"As one brought up on Belloc's Cautionary Tales, I have hugely enjoyed this hilarious twenty-first century version." John Julius Norwich

"Charlie Ottley does for Belloc what the Germans did for the Mini - he has revived a classic form....Great fun!" Quentin Letts

"Cautionary Verses and Ruthless Rhymes - it's a charmer of a book...beautifully, beautifully written!" Sue Perkins, LBC

 

Charlie specialises in comic verse to order and regularly gets commissions from the BBC. His tasks have included sending up conferences for Newsnight, summarising the news as Radio Five's rent-a-bard and attacking Westminster on the Daily Politics programme. During his time in Los Angeles, he performed alongside Charlie Sheen at Sean Penn's exclusive nightclub, Macinerneys. Charlie, 35, was City Bard for Carlton Television's Bulls & Bears and has written verses for GMTV, Meridian, the Big Breakfast and Bremner, Bird & Fortune. He was also staff poet for Tiscali for two years with his weekly column entitled the News In Verse. Last year he was recruited by Five Live to be the alternative Poet Laureate for the Royal Wedding of Charles and Camilla and was broadcasting live outside the Windsor Town Hall, in tights. Over the years Charlie's work has earned him praise from fellow pundits including Quentin Letts, John Julius Norwich, Jonathan Dimbleby, Ned Sherrin and Ian Hislop. Most recently he has written a modern update of Hilaire Belloc called "Cautionary Verses and Ruthless Rhymes, for modern times" published by Constable at £9.99

"Ottley's Sally is most satisfyingly blown up when she forgets to turn off her mobile near a petrol pump…" The Spectator

"Sorry we missed the doublet and hose - but I doubt it would have helped the impact which was terrific" Ned Sherrin, Loose Ends

"Wickedly witty words. (Charlie Ottley) creates a darkly comic world, that entrances and appals in equal measure." Southern Daily Echo

"Is this the new Hilaire Belloc? The comparison is valid….his verse displays a wicked sense of the ridiculous." Country Life