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First published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2015
FIRST EDITION
© Emily Barrett 2015
Illustrations © Alexei Penfold 2015 Cover layout design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2015 Front cover photograph © Shutterstock.com
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Emily Barrett asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
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Source ISBN: 9780008149338
Ebook Edition © November 2015 ISBN: 9780008149345 Version: 2015-10-05
Cum·ber·bitch
Variations: Cumbercookies; Cumberologists; Cumberbabes; Cumbercollective
e.g. I physically cannot leave my house today because I am a Cumberbitch, and Sherlock series 1–3 is playing back-to-back on TV
e.g. S/he clearly knows a thing or two; s/he’s a Cumberbitch
For the poor, unsuspecting souls who’ve yet to lay eyes on the subject of this book, and are therefore unaware of what lies in store for them once they do.
Contents
Copyright
Well, hello there, fellow Cumberlover
So you think you’re a Cumberbitch?
So you’re definitely a Cumberbitch
The Five-Point Plan to Dis-Batch Your Ben-Addiction
#4 A Benedict by Any Other Name
So you’re done with being a Cumberbitch!
Acknowledgements
Final Thought
About the publisher
Well, hello there, fellow Cumberlover
1976 will go down in history for many a reason. It was the year Steve Jobs formed Apple Computers, Inc. It was the year someone tried to kill Bob Marley. The UK’s ‘Save Your Kisses for Me’ unsurprisingly won top gong at the Eurovision Song Contest and somewhere in Canada the Olympics happened.
But most importantly, it was the year Benedict Cumberbatch was born – on 19 July, in a rather posh part of London, to parents Timothy and Wanda (better known as Mr and Mrs Holmes in series three of Sherlock). Ever since that fateful Monday, we, the common populace, have been blessed with his award-winning films, cracking TV shows, GIFs of his funniest facial expressions and memes of his photobombing prowess. In short, his contribution to modern-day life has been wonderful …
With the sweet comes the sour.
Weekends lost to YouTubing interview clips and compilations of his funniest sound bites. Days fallen prey to box sets and feeling unsatisfied with people who have fewer than six syllables in their name. Hours wasted fantasising about accidentally bumping into him with a skinny cappuccino and what would inevitably happen next. The emotional hangover of what that would do to Mrs Cumberbatch if she ever found out – followed by not feeling guilty at all and hence having to recognise that you’re a bad person because of it. It’s all right. We’ve all been there.
Some day you might want to use such productivity and emotional investment elsewhere. School, work, family, travel – things a Ben-addiction can get in the way of. If you’ve reached this point then what good timing! You are in the right place! Have a quick google to ascertain what BC’s favourite drink is, then make one, settle down into an armchair of your choice and begin.
First, we’ll run a quick diagnostic check to see if you’re in need of our services. Don’t panic, it’s nothing strenuous, just a quick quiz so we can get a reading on our Cumberometer.