Hello, folks. You know, I've been banging on about this passion project of mine for so long that the original proposal was printed by William Caxton. Boom-Tisch.

But seriously, folks. And this *is* serious.

Those wonderful people at Unbound have, quite understandably, called time on the Forgotten Heroes of Comedy. So, why people pledge? Well, this book celebrates some of the most inventive and influential clowns, wits, fools and farceurs who every tickled a funny bone. Architects of humour whose reign in the spotlight has gone and never been re-evaluated. Until now!

There are so many books vying for attention and, clearly the Forgotten Heroes have been vying for a very long time indeed. Still, the lovely Unbounders have rather charmingly given me a stay of execution. A final one. This is it, chaps. If we don't get fully funded before 1st September, then the book is not going to be published. It's as simple and as brutal as that. It's honestly now or never.

For me, this has became far, far more than a labour of love; much more than a fond kiss to that clutch of comedy greats who have somewhat unfairly slipped through the cracks of history. Over the years, this book has became a very personal and tangible display of affection to my dear old chum Terry Jones. It would make us both very happy to see the Forgotten Heroes of Comedy sitting cheerfully on your bookshelves.

So, please help with tweets, Facebook, and best of all, adding a personal recommendation to this plea and sharing with your e-mail contact list. A moment in their inbox can make all the difference and just 242 more people pledging support for the Forgotten Heroes will do it. Or you could upgrade your level of support - just see here for how to do this. So go on, do it for your friends, do it for yourselves, do it for Arthur Haynes!

Thank you!

Robert Ross

https://unbound.com/books/forgotten-heroes-of-comedy