Giles Andreae is a British

British people

The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...

 poet

Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

, creator of the persona

Persona

A persona, in the word's everyday usage, is a social role or a character played by an actor. The word is derived from Latin, where it originally referred to a theatrical mask. The Latin word probably derived from the Etruscan word "phersu", with the same meaning, and that from the Greek πρόσωπον...

e "Purple Ronnie" and "Edward Monkton". He is an artist and greeting card writer.

Life

As a child Andreae went to Eton College

Eton College

Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....

 where he was best friends with David Cameron

David Cameron

David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....

. He then went on to Oxford University (Worcester College, 1985 – 88). Andreae completed his degree under difficult circumstances as he developed Hodgkin's lymphoma

Hodgkin's lymphoma

Hodgkin's lymphoma, previously known as Hodgkin's disease, is a type of lymphoma, which is a cancer originating from white blood cells called lymphocytes...

, a cancer

Cancer

Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...

 of the lymph glands, and began an intensive course of chemotherapy

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....

 and radiotherapy the day before his final exams began. He managed to sit some of his papers, and was awarded an upper second class degree. Giles lives with his wife Victoria, a children’s clothes designer, in Notting Hill

Notting Hill

Notting Hill is an area in London, England, close to the north-western corner of Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...

, where he shares an office with writer Richard Curtis

Richard Curtis

Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis, CBE is a New Zealand-born British screenwriter, music producer, actor and film director, known primarily for romantic comedy films such as Four Weddings and a Funeral, Bridget Jones's Diary, Notting Hill, Love Actually and The Girl in the Café, as well as the hit...

 and radio and TV presenter Mariella Frostrup

Mariella Frostrup

Mariella Frostrup is a Norwegian-born journalist and television presenter, well known on British TV and radio, mainly for arts programmes. Her 'gravelly' voice was once voted the sexiest female voice on TV, and research to find 'the perfect voice' has indicated that Frostrup's voice is one of the...

. He also has a holiday home on the north coast of Cornwall

Cornwall

Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...

. Giles and Victoria have four children: Flinn, twins - Freya and Nat - and Jakson.

Purple Ronnie

Purple Ronnie is a cartoon character used in greetings cards, T-shirts, and formerly for the Vimto

Vimto

Vimto is a soft drink originating from the United Kingdom. It was first manufactured as a health tonic in cordial form, then decades later as a carbonated drink. It contains the juice of grapes, raspberries and blackcurrants , flavoured with herbs and spices...

soft drink campaign. He is like a stick man except he has a large oval body, with crudely-drawn stick-like limbs. He is usually shown as a comic poet, with occasional use of mild taboo language and topics.

Purple Ronnie cards first came to the market in about 1987, being published by a company called Statics Ltd.

Blunderbus Theatre Company

In 2006 Andreae worked alongside Blunderbus Theatre Company (Nottinghamshire) to adapt his story Giraffes Can't Dance to bring it to stage. The company toured this story across the UK.

Edward Monkton

Under the name of Edward Monkton, Andreae created several pieces of art used on cards, bags e.g:

• The Pig of Happiness
• The Cow of Wisdom
• The Kitten of your Life
• The Cat of Glory
• The Butterfly of Freedom
• The 'Sensible' Machine
• Life
• The Lady and the Chocolate
• My "Killer" Heels
• The Lobster of Loveliness
• The Tidy People
• The "Madness" Hamsters
• Christmas Snack Assortment

To name a few.

External links

• Giles Andreae at Puffin Books
• PurpleRonnie.com — official website
• EdwardMonkton.com — official website