A scintillating and timely parody of Aesop and Beatrix Potter's classic story, updated to reflect contemporary urban and rural realities. The Town Mouse is sent to the country for moral improvement after being excluded from school for dealing Class C Cheese, while the Country Mouse marches on London to protest against the recent ban on stag beetle hunting. Their subsequent adventures form the basis of an uproarious, very funny fable of the modern town-country divide. The Tale... also features cameo roles from a down at heel Toad (his livestock has been decimated by paw-andmouth disease), Red Riding Hood (that's about all she wears...), Pete (a burly bunny in blue) and a certain rather saggy yellow bear (bar philosopher extraordinaire), TMCM will appeal to anyone with an irreverent or nostalgic bone in their body. The Author A country boy born and bred, Ben Illis has lived in town for the last 10 years, eking out an existence as, among other things, an actor, writer and editor. He is the author of The Irreverent Guide to London, and used to buy Children's and Humour books for a major bookselling chain. This is Alexander (son of Gerald) Scarfe's debut, in which he displays his delicate comic sensibility and virtuoso draughtsmanship.
