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Ben Elton

Author of Dead Famous

76+ Works 14,005 Members 282 Reviews 29 Favorited

About the Author

Born May 3, 1959 in Catford, South London, Ben Elton began life as a member of an upper-class academic family. During the war his family had been forced to flee Prague when Hitler invaded. In Godalming Grammar School young Elton participated in amateur dramatics and wrote his first play when he was show more fifteen years old. He later attended Manchester University and earned a degree in drama. He started his career as a stand-up comedian in 1980. Joining Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson in the Comedy Store in Leicester Square in London, Elton soon became one of the regular masters of ceremony. He continued to do stand-up in order to perform his own material. Soon, however, he branched out into plays, novels, and films. His first novel, Stark (1989), sold well in Britain and Australia. Popcorn, published in 1996, opened as a play in April 1997 and won the Laurence Olivier Award for best comedy in 1998. (Bowker Author Biography) Ben Elton is the author of four previous novels, Stark, Gridlock, This Other Eden, and Popcorn. He lives with his wife in London. (Bowker Author Biography) Ben Elton has written the British comedy series The Young Ones. His novels include Popcorn. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Ben Elton

Series

Works by Ben Elton

Dead Famous (2001) 1,464 copies
Popcorn (1996) 1,168 copies
Stark (1989) 1,043 copies
High Society (2002) 948 copies
Past Mortem (2004) 903 copies
Inconceivable (1999) 857 copies
The First Casualty (2005) 831 copies
Gridlock (1991) 785 copies
Blast from the Past (1988) 743 copies
Blind Faith (2007) 735 copies
This Other Eden (1993) 670 copies
Chart Throb (2006) 648 copies
Time and Time Again (2014) — Author — 519 copies
Two Brothers (2012) 344 copies
Meltdown (1900) 316 copies
Identity Crisis (2019) 122 copies
Mr. Bean: The Whole Bean: The Complete Set (2003) — Screenwriter — 101 copies
Blackadder the Third [1987 TV series] (2001) — Screenwriter — 55 copies
Black Adder II [1986 TV series] (1985) — Screenwriter — 45 copies
Gasping (1990) 44 copies
Love Never Dies [2012 film] (2012) — Screenwriter — 37 copies
Black Adder Goes Forth [1989 TV series] (2001) — Screenwriter — 35 copies
Blackadder's Christmas Carol [1988 film] (1992) — Screenwriter — 27 copies
All Is True [2018 film] (2018) — Screenwriter — 24 copies
Blackadder Goes Forth (BBC Radio Collection) (1995) — Author — 24 copies
Blackadder - Back and Forth (2000) 16 copies
Ben Elton Plays: 1 (1998) 15 copies
Silly Cow (1993) 14 copies
Upstart crow (2018) 13 copies
Blackadder II (BBC Radio Collection) (1995) — Author — 11 copies
Maybe Baby [2000 film] (2000) — Director — 8 copies
The Best Bits of Mr. Bean [1995 TV episode] (1996) — Screenwriter — 3 copies
The Man From Auntie 2 (1995) 3 copies
Three Summers [2017 film] — Editor — 2 copies
Live 1989 (1997) 2 copies
Une Jolie Bombe (2003) 1 copy
Motorvation 1 copy
Uncontrollable (2009) 1 copy

Associated Works

Tagged

Ben Elton (55) British (97) comedy (275) crime (88) crime fiction (27) detective (27) drama (27) drugs (29) DVD (69) dystopia (35) England (48) English (42) English literature (30) environment (34) fiction (1,317) funny (30) general fiction (52) historical fiction (71) history (37) humor (748) murder (54) mystery (93) novel (117) own (35) paperback (29) read (170) reality tv (50) Roman (28) satire (222) science fiction (134) script (76) social commentary (29) television (156) thriller (62) time travel (44) to-read (288) UK (46) unread (35) war (32) WWI (96)

Common Knowledge

Members

Discussions

One worthy of your attention in Time Travel, Alternate Histories and Parallel Worlds (May 2016)

Reviews

Hmmmm, that really didn't end the way I thought it was going to. Not sure if I'm okay with that or not.
 
Flagged
beentsy | 34 other reviews | Aug 12, 2023 |
This was an enjoyable read with a plot twist that I didn't see coming. Well done to BE for that.
 
Flagged
infjsarah | 22 other reviews | Aug 8, 2023 |
A story based on the premise of what would happen if Franz Ferdinand was not killed. An enjoyable read that was a bit too predictable at times.
 
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gianouts | 22 other reviews | Jul 5, 2023 |
Still a good book, but not up to the level of Ben Elton's other work.
 
Flagged
Zansho | 11 other reviews | Apr 16, 2023 |

Lists

Awards

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Associated Authors

Rowan Atkinson Actor, Performer, Artist
Richard Curtis Screenwriter
John Lloyd Director, Producer
Paul Weiland Director
Glenn Slater Librettist
Hugh Laurie Performer, Cast, Actor
Tim McInnerny Performer
Tony Robinson Performer, Actor
Stephen Fry Performer, Actor
Miranda Richardson Performer, Actor
Richard Boden Director
Robbie Coltrane Performer

Statistics

Works
76
Also by
1
Members
14,005
Popularity
#1,643
Rating
½ 3.5
Reviews
282
ISBNs
336
Languages
19
Favorited
29
Touchstones
182

Charts & Graphs