Preferred citation: St John's College Library, Papers of Douglas Noël Adams
Douglas Noël Adams was born in Cambridge on 11 March 1952, first child of another Johnian, Christopher Douglas Adams (BA 1951), and Janet Dora Sydney (née Donovan).
He was awarded an exhibition to read English at St John's College, Cambridge, obtaining his BA in 1974. While at Cambridge, Adams occupied himself chiefly in writing, performing in, and producing comedy sketches and revues, establishing connections that were to be integral to his future work.
His career took off with 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', a six-part comic science-fiction radio series commissioned by the BBC in 1977 and broadcast in 1978. Novelisation and a second series were followed by further books in what became billed as 'the increasingly inaccurately named Hitchhiker's Trilogy'. The 'Hitchhiker's Guide' series has taken many forms, including audio recordings; stage adaptations; a television series; a computer game; publication of the original radio scripts; radio adaptations of the remaining novels, and a film.
Adams's other creative work included writing and script-editing for BBC Television's 'Doctor Who', novels featuring the private detective Dirk Gently, and collaboration with John Lloyd on a humorous dictionary, 'The Meaning of Liff'. A collaboration of a very different sort saw him embark upon a series of expeditions with zoologist Mark Carwardine in search of endangered species. The resulting radio documentary series, 'Last Chance to See', was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1989.
An enthusiastic technophile, Adams became a popular speaker on the subject. He was a co-founder in 1994 of the digital media and communications company The Digital Village (TDV), which produced the CD-ROM adventure game 'Starship Titanic' and created the website h2g2.
Adams married Jane Elizabeth Belson, a barrister, in November 1991; their daughter, Polly Jane Rocket Adams, was born in June 1994. Douglas Adams died suddenly on 11 May 2001 in Santa Barbara, California.
Further reading:
'Don't Panic: Douglas Adams and the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', by Neil Gaiman (3rd rev. edn., London: Titan, 2002); 'Hitchhiker: A Biography of Douglas Adams', by MJ Simpson (1st edn., London: Hodder and Stoughton, 2003); 'Wish You Were Here: The Official Biography of Douglas Adams', by Nick Webb (1st edn., London: Headline, 2003), who also wrote the entry for Adams in the 'Oxford Dictionary of National Bibliography'; and 'The Frood: The Authorised and Very Official History of Douglas Adams & The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', by Jem Roberts (London: Preface, 2014).
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The collection contains literary papers, including notebooks, manuscript and typescript drafts of sketches, novels and scripts; personal papers, including school and university work, notebooks, and ephemera; audio-visual material; and personal effects and artefacts, spanning from Douglas Adams's childhood to his death in 2001. In addition there is a quantity of press cuttings postdating his death. Media other than paper include sound recordings (chiefly reel-to-reel studio tapes; some cassettes); photographs, 35 mm transparencies and plastic negatives (a large quantity of photographic material is from 'Last Chance to See'); and digital backup tapes.
The collection is arranged approximately chronologically within series. Series currently include those for personal and family papers; projects ('Hitchhiker's Guide', 'Last Chance to See', etc.); and types (Notebooks, Artefacts, Press and Publicity, etc.).
The papers were deposited on loan by Douglas Adams's executors in late 2012.
Researchers should note that some of the material has been reorganised and used for private and literary purposes since Adams's death.
Handwritten or typed notes may be taken of the material. Photography is not permitted. Photocopies, where the condition and format permit, may be supplied by staff under fair dealing terms for private research purposes.
A small quantity of material is closed to researchers under the terms of the Data Protection Act (1998).
Additionally, material in magnetic or electronic form is currently inaccessible due to obsolete formats and/or the viability of the storage media.
35 mm transparencies and plastic negatives may be viewed using the Special Collections light-box.
Multiple rights-holders (both copyright and other Intellectual Property Rights) are represented in this collection.
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Contents of this series include manuscript and printed papers, photographs, correspondence (personal and business) and school/university work; juvenilia; diaries and address books; other printed materials such as posters and Aston Martin publications; artefacts (personal effects, awards, etc.).
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Assorted documents from Adams's personal life and professional life, ranging from electronics instructions booklets to the order of service for his funeral.
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1. Details of a medical examination. Discusses an attack of diarrhoea, Adams's use of his 'own laguage' (sic), and the possibility of 'mental deficiency'. 17 March 1954. Copied typescript.
2. Letter to Dr [G.] Brooks from A.T. Fripp. Discusses a fracture in Adams's foot. 14 June 1954. Copied typescript.
3. Letter to Dr G. Brooks from D.G. Leys. Discusses Adams's 'poor vocabulary'. 4 August 1954. Copied typescript.
4. Letter to Dr A.R. Reid from Denis Browne. Discusses Adams's 'bad walking', and suggests remedies. 29 May 1956. Copied typescript.
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Opticians.
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Advises that if Adams's eyes have not been examined since November 1967 he should arrange a further examination. Typescript and manuscript.
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Typescript and manuscript.
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Manuscript.
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Expiration date March 1979.
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The sketch is signed but indistinctly.
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Nine copies. Typescript.
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Adams is a 'comedy and drama writer, ex-Cambridge footlights'. Typescript.
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The event ran from 25 October to 1 November 1980.
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Typescript.
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Marks the nomination of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* for the World Science Fiction Achievement Award (the Hugo) for Dramatic Presentation at the 37th World Science Fiction Convention in Brighton, England.
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Confirms Adams's election to Active Member of the Academy.
Entertainment Industry Liaison, Apple.
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This was enclosed in Adams's tetanus vaccine card (AdamsDN/1/1/7) but does not appear related to it.
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Personal correspondence, business correspondence, and fan mail (including fanzines).
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Letters, postcards, greetings cards and telegrams from family, friends and partners, mainly to (and occasionally from) Adams.
The correspondence has been grouped by correspondent; these groups, arranged as chronologically as possible (with some ordering estimated from the contents where dates are not given), have been sequenced according to their earliest given dates. As they were found adjacent to dated ones, undated Christmas cards have been treated as circa December 1977. Some anonymous and/or undated items appear at the end.
Douglas Adams's stepfather.
Douglas Adams's mother.
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1. Envelope addressed to Ron Thrift. Typescript. 1 September 1965.
2. Telegram to Adams from Janet Thrift. Congratulates Adams on his exam results. Typescript. 17 August 1968.
3. Letter to Ron Thrift from [?] Rogers of the Sturminster Newton Carnival Committee. Typescript. 26 August 1968.
4. Letter to Adams from Ron Thrift, enclosing postal vote application material. Manuscript. 22 November 1970.
5. Get-well-soon card to Adams from Janet and Ron Thrift. Manuscript. Undated; might relate to Adams's summer 1973 tractor accident.
6. Letter to Adams from Ron Thrift, enclosing a postcard from Zsa Moncrieffe (also see AdamsDN/1/2/1/22). Manuscript. 27 October 1979.
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Requests updates on Adams's family, discusses The Beatles, and asks Adams to write back soon. Manuscript.
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Looks forward to seeing him in the summer. Manuscript.
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Thanks Adams and his father for their concern and for helping to ensure 'justice' with regard to a facial injury. Manuscript.
BA 1951. Douglas Adams's father.
Douglas Adams's stepmother.
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1. Telegram to Adams from Christopher Adams. Congratulates Adams on his exam results. Typescript. 17 August 1968.
2. Letter to Adams from Christopher Adams. Encloses items [not present]. Manuscript. 25 September 1972.
3. Postcard from Adams. Undated; early 1970s.
4. Postcard from Adams. Undated; early 1970s.
5. Christmas card to Adams. Circa December 1977.
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Discusses Jersey. Manuscript.
Douglas Adams's 'first real girlfriend' (as Jem Roberts describes her in 'The Frood').
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1. Letter to Adams, enclosing a photograph. Thanks him for the writing paper. Manuscript. 27 October 1968.
2. Letter to Adams. Discusses schoolwork. Manuscript. 30 October 1968.
3. Letter to Adams. Hopes to make peace after an argument. Manuscript. 7 November 1968.
4. Letter to Adams. Apologises for hurting his thumb and thanks him for missing a film and part of 'Antigone' to talk with her. Manuscript. 6 March 1969.
5. Letter to Adams. Thanks him for no longer being indecisive and clarifies that she has not changed her mind. Manuscript. 23 May 1969.
6. Letter to Adams. Apologises for having been 'so horrible'. Manuscript. Undated.
7. Letter to Adams. Congratulates him on getting a part, and looks forward to seeing him. Manuscript. 14 August 1969.
8. Letter to Adams. Wishes him a happy anniversary. Manuscript. Undated.
9. Note to Adams on the reverse of one of three photographs. 'See you in Penrith. Love, Helen.' Manuscript. Undated.
Douglas Adams's 'first real girlfriend' (as Jem Roberts describes her in 'The Frood').
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1. Letter to Adams. Suggests that they are 'made for each other'. Manuscript. 21 January 1970.
2. Telegram to Adams. 'Sorry for loving you'. Typescript. 27 February 1970.
3. Letter to Adams. Encourages him to work hard so that he can go to Cambridge. Manuscript. 22 September 1970.
4. Letter to Adams. Lets him know about settling into university at Warwick. Manuscript. 8 October 1970.
5. Letter to Adams. Encourages him to remain focused on exams, and looks forward to seeing him afterwards. Manuscript. 13 November 1970.
6. Letter to Adams. Calls him 'the most smuggest (!!!) little horror I know', and continues to encourage him to prepare for his exams correctly. Manuscript. 16 November 1970.
7. Letter to Adams. Informs him that she is enjoying her university work and has no intention of giving it up. Manuscript. 17 November 1970.
8. Letter to Adams. Considers leaving Warwick if he is accepted to Cambridge. Manuscript. 7 December 1970.
9. Anniversary card to Adams. Manuscript. 4 January 1971.
10. Letter to Adams. Asks if he is feeling better, and apologises for being 'silly' and 'possessive' when they last saw each other. Manuscript. 4 January 1971.
11. Letter to Adams. Wonders if his working Monday to Friday will mean they see each other less. Manuscript. 13 January 1971.
12. Letter to Adams. Thanks him for 'a lovely week-end', and says that it 'seems terribly odd' to be far away from him again. Manuscript. 13 April 1971.
13. Letter to Adams. Expresses disappointment at not having heard from him. Manuscript. 16 April 1971.
14. Letter to Adams. Hopes he has fun working on a building site, which 'isn't my idea of a holiday'. Manuscript. 24 May 1971.
15. Easter card to Helen from Adams. Manuscript.
Douglas Adams's 'first real girlfriend' (as Jem Roberts describes her in 'The Frood').
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1. Letter to Adams. Refuses to have lunch with him, and says that as she is now married she doubts they can even be friends. Manuscript. 15 October 1973.
2. Letter to Adams. Suggests that having parted as good friends they should leave things there, and wishes him luck with his writing. Manuscript. 13 June 1974.
3. Christmas card to Adams. Notes that she hasn't been to England recently. Undated; circa December 1977.
Douglas Noël Adams was born in Cambridge on 11 March 1952, first child of another Johnian, Christopher Douglas Adams (BA 1951), and Janet Dora Sydney (née Donovan).
He was awarded an exhibition to read English at St John's College, Cambridge, obtaining his BA in 1974. While at Cambridge, Adams occupied himself chiefly in writing, performing in, and producing comedy sketches and revues, establishing connections that were to be integral to his future work.
His career took off with 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', a six-part comic science-fiction radio series commissioned by the BBC in 1977 and broadcast in 1978. Novelisation and a second series were followed by further books in what became billed as 'the increasingly inaccurately named Hitchhiker's Trilogy'. The 'Hitchhiker's Guide' series has taken many forms, including audio recordings; stage adaptations; a television series; a computer game; publication of the original radio scripts; radio adaptations of the remaining novels, and a film.
Adams's other creative work included writing and script-editing for BBC Television's 'Doctor Who', novels featuring the private detective Dirk Gently, and collaboration with John Lloyd on a humorous dictionary, 'The Meaning of Liff'. A collaboration of a very different sort saw him embark upon a series of expeditions with zoologist Mark Carwardine in search of endangered species. The resulting radio documentary series, 'Last Chance to See', was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1989.
An enthusiastic technophile, Adams became a popular speaker on the subject. He was a co-founder in 1994 of the digital media and communications company The Digital Village (TDV), which produced the CD-ROM adventure game 'Starship Titanic' and created the website h2g2.
Adams married Jane Elizabeth Belson, a barrister, in November 1991; their daughter, Polly Jane Rocket Adams, was born in June 1994. Douglas Adams died suddenly on 11 May 2001 in Santa Barbara, California.
Further reading:
'Don't Panic: Douglas Adams and the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', by Neil Gaiman (3rd rev. edn., London: Titan, 2002); 'Hitchhiker: A Biography of Douglas Adams', by MJ Simpson (1st edn., London: Hodder and Stoughton, 2003); 'Wish You Were Here: The Official Biography of Douglas Adams', by Nick Webb (1st edn., London: Headline, 2003), who also wrote the entry for Adams in the 'Oxford Dictionary of National Bibliography'; and 'The Frood: The Authorised and Very Official History of Douglas Adams & The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', by Jem Roberts (London: Preface, 2014).
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Is enjoying 'total oblivion for a month with some nice people' in Greece.
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Typescript.
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Discusses Christmas jobs, and hopes 'the Revue' went well. Typescript.
Kimbrough's tribute on DouglasAdams.com, 15 May 2001: 'I knew Douglas in boarding school. I was an exchange student at Brentwood in England and he became my best friend there. We haven't seen each other in years, yet I have always treasured the time we spent together. Knowing he was just up the road in Santa Barbara (I live in Los Angeles) and that we could have had a reunion made his shocking departure all the more painful. The world lost his brilliance. I lost a piece of my life....We must never shed our friends as they are the threads that are woven together to give a life meaning. I am so sorry, dear friend, that we were not together more often'.
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1. Letter to Adams. Informs him, tongue in cheek, that his (Adams's) life is 'uninteresting', compares their dramatic performance endeavours, and provides additional contact details. Manuscript. 10 January 1972.
2. Letter to Adams. Discusses his (Kimbrough's) acting career. Manuscript. 10 January 1977.
3. Letter to Adams. Discusses the differences between British and American radio, and gives details of his recent breakup and his acting career. Typescript. 8 June [1977].
4. Letter to Adams. Apologises for the fact that his roommate lost a script Adams gave him, and describes various acting projects. Manuscript. Circa February/March 1978.
5. Letter to Adams. Discusses recently relocating to New York, mentions acting projects, and asks if Adams has had any more thoughts about moving to the US. Manuscript. 17 July 1978.
6. Letter to Adams. Congratulates him on his recent success, advises him not to go back to smoking (as there are 'better habits'), and discusses his (Kimbrough's) continuing acting career. Manuscript. 16 September 1978.
7. Letter to Adams. Apologises for the insufficient postage on his Christmas card, and discusses life as a touring actor and his forthcoming projects. Manuscript. 22 March [1979].
8. Letter to Adams.Updates him on acting projects, congratulates him again on his successes and hopes they can collaborate someday. Manuscript. 5 July 1979.
9. Postcard to Adams. Reports from Australia. Manuscript. 27 March 1980.
10. Letter to Adams. Describes the financial hardships of the acting life, and hopes to see Adams soon. 18 January [1981].
BA 1974. Adams's roommate at St John's alongside Johnnie Simpson, 1973-1974.
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1. Postcard to Adams. Updates him on 'outstanding' French hitchhiking progress. Manuscript. 18 March 1972.
2. Letter to Adams. Laments, at length, being ill. Typescript. 5 April [1972].
3. Letter to Adams. Asks if Adams is dying, remarks that he (Burton) is spending the vacation 'learning how much work it is possible for one averagely unhealthy Cambridge undergraduate not to do in a short space of time', and suggests that the current series of 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' seems to be building to a climax involving 'half an hour of the test card'. Typescript. 18 December 1972.
4. Letter to Adams. Manuscript. Discusses vacation exploits and job application tactics. 'One day in early August', [1972].
5. Letter to Adams. Discusses Adams's tractor accident and broken pelvis, and his (Burton's) love life. Typescript. 9 September [1973].
6. Postcard to Adams. Informs him that the luxury in Thailand 'would make you vomit'. Manuscript. 12 September 1973.
7. Letter to Adams. Discusses 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes' and disillusionment with Cambridge, along with other matters. Typescript. Undated ('Saturday').
8. Letter to Adams. Asks if he is 'pining away, desperate in [his] unwantedness', and discusses recent tensions. Typescript. Undated ('Saturday, I think').
9. Postcard to Adams. Reports on the Greek islands. Manuscript. 1974.
10. Christmas card to Adams from 'all the Burtons'. Undated; circa December 1977.
BA 1974. Adams's roommate at St John's alongside Nick Burton, 1973-1974.
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1. Postcard to Adams. Reports on hitchhiking in Italy. Manuscript. 22 March 1972.
2. Postcard to Adams. Discusses his (Simpson's) summer racetrack job. Manuscript. 27 June 1972.
3. Postcard to Nick Burton. Discusses his (Simpson's) summer racetrack job. Manuscript. 27 June 1972.
4. Postcard to Simpson from Adams. Reports on Corfu. Manuscript. Undated; circa July 1972.
5. Postcard to Adams. Threatens to tell many stories about horses. 22 August 1973.
6. Christmas card to Adams from 'Johnnie, Janie and Raoul'. Hopes that writing is going well and he will visit them soon. Undated; circa December 1977.
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Suggests that Adams must have had bad luck in Corfu because it is proving enjoyable. Manuscript.
Caroline Hirsch married Meredith Lloyd-Evans on 3 July 1976.
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1. Postcard to Adams. Wishes him luck for the 'first night and the rest of the week' of a performance. Manuscript. 30 October 1972.
2. Letter to Adams. Sympathises over his tractor accident, and discusses her recent breakup. Manuscript. 5 September 1973.
3. Letter to Adams. Discusses being cast in Ben Jonson's *The Alchemist* at the ADC, and asks if Adams would consider playing 'a neighbour on crutches'. Manuscript. Incomplete. 12 September 1973.
4. Letter to Adams. Asks about his recovery, and discusses struggling in an 'exceptionally empty' Cambridge. Manuscript. 21 September 1973.
5. Letter to Adams. Reports from Israel. Manuscript. 1 August 1974.
6. Order of service for the wedding of Caroline Hirsch and Meredith Lloyd-Evans at Churchill College, Cambridge. Manuscript. 3 July 1976.
7. Christmas card to Adams from Caroline and Meredith, containing a wedding photograph. Hopes he will visit them soon. Manuscript. December 1976.
8. Christmas card to Adams from Caroline and Meredith. Congratulates him on successes, and hopes to see him soon and to attend a recording of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* if possible. Manuscript. December 1977.
Mary's surname is also variously given in Adams's address books as Smith and Lees.
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1. Letter to Adams. Discusses their relationship. Manuscript. 6 April 1973.
2. Letter to Adams. Discusses unhappiness. Manuscript. 8 April 1973.
3. Postcard to Adams. Thanks him for his 'truthful' letter. Manuscript. 12 April 1973.
4. Postcard to Adams. Reports from Spain. Manuscript. 17 April 1973.
5. Letter to Adams. Discusses the dynamics of interacting with older adults who knew her as a child. Manuscript. 21 August [1973?].
6. Letter to Adams. Apologieses for having caused trouble, and thanks him for being good to her. Manuscript. Undated.
7. Letter to Adams. Muses on love. Manuscript. Undated.
8. Letter to Adams. Thanks him for caring and apologies for not being considerate. Manuscript. Undated ('Thursday').
9. Unfinished letter to Mary (not necessarily this same Mary) from Adams. Apologises for his recent behaviour. Manuscript. Undated.
BA (Cambridge)
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1. Letter to Adams. Discusses house-sharing plans for the coming academic year, and reports from Edinburgh. Manuscript. 14 August [1973].
2. Letter to Adams. Discusses Adams's broken pelvis ('Did the pogo stick arrive yet?') and the imminent academic year, and complains about the lasciviousness of Edinburgh reviewers. Manuscript. 14 September 1973.
3. Christmas card to Adams. Manuscript. Undated; circa December 1977.
BA (Cambridge) 1974. Member, with Douglas Adams and Martin Smith, of Adams-Smith-Adams.
BA (Fitzwilliam) 1974. Member, with Douglas Adams and Will Adams, of Adams-Smith-Adams.
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1. Unsigned letter to Adams. Asks for updates on his broken pelvis and his writing. Typescript. 24 September 1973.
2. Letter to Martin Smith from Adams. Discusses recent songwriting and progress with selling sketches. Typescript and manuscript. Undated.
3. Letter to 'Brunnhilde' (probably Will Adams or Martin Smith) from Adams ('Dismal Donald'). Discusses sketches. Typescript. Undated.
4. Letter to Will Adams from Adams. Sends 'bits and pieces'. Manuscript. Undated.
5. Unstamped envelope addressed to Will Adams. Manuscript.
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Sympathises about Adams's broken pelvis, notes that the card and notepaper are produced by her and her husband's new Cariad Cards venture, complains that they sound like 'absolute morons' in the enclosed article ('which of course we are'), and hopes Adams will visit soon. Manuscript.
The cutting is in two pieces: an article and a photograph. The former appears to have been enclosed with the card; the latter was found elsewhere in Adams's papers and has been united with the other pieces for convenience's sake. It is possible that at least one piece of the cutting was not sent by Rees and was separately acquired by Adams. The article and photograph caption spell Rees's husband Christopher Cazenove's surname 'Cavenove'.
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Sympathises over his broken pelvis, and discusses Corsica and Cambridge. Manuscript.
A postcard from Zsa is enclosed with one of Ron Thrift's letters: see AdamsDN/1/2/1/1.
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'Could pick you up at Bristol'. Manuscript.
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1. Letter to Adams. Reports from Leeds. Manuscript. 20 November 1973.
2. Christmas card to Adams. Mentions that she is on a PGCE course at York. Manuscript. Undated; circa December 1977.
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1. Letter to Adams. Laments her typing skills, and discusses Henry Miller and Gary Glitter, among other matters. Typescript and manuscript. No earlier than May 1973 (as she mentions listening to Paul Simon's *There Goes Rhymin' Simon*, which was released that month).
2. Letter to Adams. Sympathises over his broken pelvis, and discusses Rod Stewart and the exploits of various friends. Manuscript. Circa September 1973.
3. Letter to Adams. Invites him to her wedding. 12 August 1974.
4. Card to Adams. Calls him 'definitely one of the nicest men I've known in Cambridge'. Manuscript. Circa 1974.
5. Letter to Adams. Concludes with a portrait of herself as a cow. Manuscript. 24 May 1978.
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Wishes him good luck for a performance at Bush Theatre in London. Typescript.
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Asks for a conversation about renting flats and maisonettes, and reports from Paris. Manuscript.
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Asks if he can assist Adams with the forthcoming Bush Theatre show. Manuscript.
Graduate student at Trinity College, Cambridge, 1973-1974.
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1. Letter to Adams. Discusses his new role at *Harper's Weekly* and the success of Monty Python in the US, among other matters. Typescript. 3 December 1974.
2. Letter to Adams. Further discusses *Harper's Weekly* and Monty Python, and deletes part of his letter as 'Censored by order of the Ministry of Redundancy Ministry'. Typescript and manuscript. 9 March [1975].
3. Letter to Adams. Regrets that they won't see each other in New York. Typescript. 27 January 1976.
4. Letter to Adams. Informs him that he has left *Harper's Weekly*, and discusses other projects.Typescript. 10 February 1976.
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Notes that they are 'beginning to resemble a fat black French peasant slug'. Manuscript.
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Reports from the Greek islands. Manuscript.
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1. Postcard to Adams from Judy. Reports from the Greek islands. Manuscript. 16 September 1975.
2. Christmas card to Adams. Reveals that Judy and Denis will be married in September. Manuscript. December 1977.
Electoral Registration Officer.
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BA (New Hall). Occasionally 'Mary Adams' and a contributor to Adams-Smith-Adams projects.
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Discusses her touring theatrical work. Manuscript.
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Reports from Greece, and relates a story about a waiter: 'Dmitri fit your description exactly. I asked him if he remembered a tall Englishman called Douglas Adams. He smiled, nodded, and told me it was 9.30.' Manuscript.
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Typescript and manuscript.
Manager, Department of Health and Social Security.
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Arranges a visit from a Supplementary Benefit officer. Typescript.
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Thanks him for his (Christmas?) card, complains that he otherwise hasn't written for a long time, and discusses his writing career and her love life. Manuscript.
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Discusses his chaotic skiing holiday. Manuscript.
Married to 'Derek'.
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Discusses Hong Kong. Manuscript.
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Updates him on various life events. Manuscript.
Adams's cousin.
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1. Letter to Adams. Wishes him a happy birthday, and discusses his employment situation and her university prospects. The reverse of the final page features notes by Adams, including: 'What do you mean I'm not sensitive – of course I'm sensitive – just try me – go boo'. Manuscript. 9 March 1977.
2. Letter to Adams, enclosing a diary-style piece describing travels in Burma and Thailand. Wishes him a happy birthday and discusses her trip. Manuscript and typescript. 16 March 1982.
As well as the creator of the sitcom '2point4 Children', Marshall was the inspiration for the character of Marvin in 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'.
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1. Letter to Adams. Returns sketches, references a forthcoming meeting with Humphrey Barclay, mentions two new Robert Sheckley paperbacks from Pan (Sheckley was to be occasionally acknowledged as an influence upon *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*), and wonders why BBC2 is repeating 'antique' episodes of *Monty Python's Flying Circus*. Typescript. 16 April 1977.
2. Letter to Adams. Mentions that the previous night's episode of *Monty Python's Flying Circus* was 'pathetic', expresses an interest in collaborating with Adams on a television project, and notes that the shortest distance between two points is 'directly from one to the other without going through space at all'. Typescript. 21 April 1977.
Adams's half-sister.
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1. Christmas card to Adams. Manuscript. Undated; circa December 1977.
2. Postcard to Adams. Apologises for the 'grotty' postcard, and wishes him well with moving house. Manuscript. 8 August 1979.
3. Letter to Adams. Asks if he knows anybody in London who might want to put up a language student from Germany for a month, congratulates him on his success, and notes that 'Mummy' is 'v. pleased you had your hair cut for the photo in the *Guardian*'. Manuscript. 8 October 1979.
4. Letter to Adams. Requests an autograph for a friend's sister, and mentions having a 'defective' jawbone. Manuscript. 17 February 1980.
Douglas Adams's half-sister.
Douglas Adams's half-brother.
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1. Christmas card to Adams. Manuscript. Undated; circa December 1977.
2. Postcard to Adams from Jane. Manuscript. 11 October 1979.
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Manuscript.
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Manuscript.
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Manuscript.
Unknown correspondent of Douglas Adams.
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Manuscript.
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Manuscript.
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1. Christmas card to Adams. Manuscript. Undated; circa December 1977.
2. Card from Judith, enclosing a letter from Rosemary. Judith thanks Adams for lunch, and mentions people ordering his book; Rosemary discusses similar, and hopes Adams will visit them in Edinburgh soon. Manuscript. [1979].
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Manuscript.
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'I don't understand the card bar the fact that the whole world is there for you to confuse!' Manuscript.
BA 1974. Adams's roommate at St John's.
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Praises *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*, and discusses his (Jeffery's) career situation as he begins an academic career in Northern Ireland. Manuscript.
Whinney Murray & Co., Chartered Accountants
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Requests a cheque returning an overdistribution of income from Adams's grandmother's settlement. Typescript.
Producer of the 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' radio series.
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Reports from Jamaica, and hopes Adams is 'well into the *HHG* script', which suggests the Christmas special. Manuscript.
BBC.
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Expresses regret that Adams is 'going', and wishes him luck in television. Manuscript.
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Manuscript.
General Manager, Thorn Electrical Appliances.
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Relates to the purchase of an oven. Typescript.
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Agrees that some 'sorrow-drowning' or 'winner-toasting' is a good idea, and wishes him a happy summer. Manuscript.
BBC.
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Thanks him for the *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* records and book, and describes his (Wade's) daughters noticing cuts made on the record release as proof of 'the memorability of the delicious writing'. Manuscript.
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Asks him to keep dates free for a possible birthday party. Manuscript.
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Congratulates him on the publication of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*, speculates as to feelings at Brentwood on the nature of such success, wonders if the reference to Paul Neil Milne Johnstone was made with Johnstone's approval, and requests that Adams 'go easy on the flippancy in *Doctor Who*'. Copied typescript.
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Congratulates him on 'making number one'. Typescript.
'The Oxford Art Journal'.
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Form letter seeking subscriptions, with a personal note on the reverse. Typescript and manuscript.
Sperry Univac Computer Systems.
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Thanks him for sending a copy of the *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* record. Typescript.
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Criticises him for his Paul Neil Milne Johnstone joke. Manuscript.
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Thanks him for sending *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*, and apologises for having taken the title literally and not having realised it was a novel. Manuscript.
BBC.
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Congratulates Adams on the second series of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* despite his having been 'v. naughty' with regard to deadlines. Manuscript.
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Congratulates him ('but *do* get treatment *now*'), presumably on the second series of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. Manuscript.
Editorial Director, New English Library.
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Congratulates him on the second series of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*, and requests an autograph for his 'starstruck secretary'. Typescript.
'Doctor Who' writer, who when he wrote 'Full Circle' (broadcast 1980) was the youngest writer to contribute to the series.
Published
Discusses the imminence of his *Doctor Who* serial 'The Planet That Slept' (which would be retitled 'Full Circle'), and thanks Adams for his support. Typescript.
Played Romana in 'Doctor Who'.
Published
Declares that she is 'not still in glamorous North Acton but slumming it in the south of France'. Manuscript.
Published
Encloses her CV [not present] with reference to the forthcoming performance of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* at the Rainbow Theatre. Manuscript.
Published
Suggests that he is 'on to a real winner' with the television version of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*, and provides a list of US contacts. Typescript and manuscript.
Played Slartibartfast in 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'.
Published
Apologises for missing a party, and signs off as 'Slarts'. Manuscript.
Auhor of 'The Hitch-hiker's Guide to Europe'.
Published
Encloses a letter [not present] sent to Welsh but intended for Adams, thanks him for the many 'generous plugs', and suggests that they have a meal together if Adams is ever in Spain. Typescript.
Former English teacher at Brentwood.
Published
Apologises for being unable to accept an invitation to meet a few years previously and hopes they might see each other in London sometimes, and congratulates him on the success of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*, saying that he expected 'big achievements' from Adams ('not necessarily Don-ish. You are too alive to be merely academic') and that while he does not pick up on all of the significance and satire he is informed by a great-nephew that Adams has written an 'allegory on an allegory -- a modern *Pilgrim's Progress*'. Manuscript.
Published
1. Six photographs.
2. Postcard to Adams. Praises the 'vast prawns' and 'wonderful salads' in Sardinia, and regrets that 'all male sexuality' is situated at Adams's address. Manuscript. 27 September [1981].
3. Yorkshire Post Literary Luncheon programme. Adams and Emerson sat next to each other at the event. 14 October 1981.
4. Journal-style pieces about the relationship by Adams. Typescript and manuscript. 1981-1982.
5. Card-mounted photo of Adams and Emerson in Paris, with an enclosed manuscript note by Adams: 'It's no good, you see, I love her, and there's very little argument that will stand in the way of that.' Photo undated. Note written 15 January [1982].
6. Letter from Sally. Encloses a previously unsent and more affectionate letter dated 20 January 1982, and criticises Adams's 'affair' with Jane Belson.
7. Birthday card to Adams, containing a letter. Welcomes him home from his trip. Manuscript. 10 March 1982.
8. Two letters to Adams from Emerson and one letter to Emerson from Adams. Discuss the end of the relationship; Emerson encloses photographs, perhaps those placed at the beginning of this item. Two letters are undated; Emerson's second is dated 21 May 1982, and the envelope in the bundle is stamped 10 June 1982.
9. The folder.
Published
1. Five photographic negatives.
2. Promotional card from a Roux Brothers restaurants containing notes between Adams and Emerson. Manuscript. Undated.
3. Page beginning with a portion of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* script but then featuring notes to and about Adams in different typefaces. Discusses needing to type out her novel, and the prospect of appearing on the cover of his next one. Typescript. Undated.
4. Letter to Adams. Discusses reading *The 300 Best Hotels* and the prospect of their visiting luxurious Indian hotels together. Manuscript. Undated ('Wednesday').
5. Letter to Adams. Discusses the prospect of 'domestic bliss'. Typescript and manuscript. 27 [June] 1981.
6. Letter to Adams. Discusses the practicalities of their relationship. Typescript. Undated ('Wednesday').
7. Postcard to Adams. Discusses tensions. Manuscript. Undated.
Cardmember Relations, American Express.
Published
Apologises for difficulties, and confirms that Adams's card has been cancelled as requested, and that a card has been issued to his 'wife'. Typescript.
Published
Praises Adams's books.
Published
Discusses being bored in the US while working on a television show, and asks if he can remember a joke he recently told her. Typescript and manuscript.
Headmaster, Brentwood School.
Published
Appreciates that Adams will be unable to attend the school's prizegiving, wonders if 1983 would be a possibility, and confirms that Frank Halford still teaches there, along with other teachers who remember Adams. Typescript.
Douglas Adams's partner from the early 1980s until his death.
Published
1. Letter to Adams. Says she misses him, and discusses work. Typescript. Undated ('Wednesday'); circa October 1982.
2. Unfinished letter to Belson from Adams. Reports from the Rio Negro. Manuscript. Undated; circa 1989.
3. Note to 'Janey' [Thrift?] from 'Jane' [Belson?] about borrowing a jacket and a pair of earrings. Notes by Adams (including 'Aluminium guitars') are on the reverse. Undated; circa 1994.
Douglas Noël Adams was born in Cambridge on 11 March 1952, first child of another Johnian, Christopher Douglas Adams (BA 1951), and Janet Dora Sydney (née Donovan).
He was awarded an exhibition to read English at St John's College, Cambridge, obtaining his BA in 1974. While at Cambridge, Adams occupied himself chiefly in writing, performing in, and producing comedy sketches and revues, establishing connections that were to be integral to his future work.
His career took off with 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', a six-part comic science-fiction radio series commissioned by the BBC in 1977 and broadcast in 1978. Novelisation and a second series were followed by further books in what became billed as 'the increasingly inaccurately named Hitchhiker's Trilogy'. The 'Hitchhiker's Guide' series has taken many forms, including audio recordings; stage adaptations; a television series; a computer game; publication of the original radio scripts; radio adaptations of the remaining novels, and a film.
Adams's other creative work included writing and script-editing for BBC Television's 'Doctor Who', novels featuring the private detective Dirk Gently, and collaboration with John Lloyd on a humorous dictionary, 'The Meaning of Liff'. A collaboration of a very different sort saw him embark upon a series of expeditions with zoologist Mark Carwardine in search of endangered species. The resulting radio documentary series, 'Last Chance to See', was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1989.
An enthusiastic technophile, Adams became a popular speaker on the subject. He was a co-founder in 1994 of the digital media and communications company The Digital Village (TDV), which produced the CD-ROM adventure game 'Starship Titanic' and created the website h2g2.
Adams married Jane Elizabeth Belson, a barrister, in November 1991; their daughter, Polly Jane Rocket Adams, was born in June 1994. Douglas Adams died suddenly on 11 May 2001 in Santa Barbara, California.
Further reading:
'Don't Panic: Douglas Adams and the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', by Neil Gaiman (3rd rev. edn., London: Titan, 2002); 'Hitchhiker: A Biography of Douglas Adams', by MJ Simpson (1st edn., London: Hodder and Stoughton, 2003); 'Wish You Were Here: The Official Biography of Douglas Adams', by Nick Webb (1st edn., London: Headline, 2003), who also wrote the entry for Adams in the 'Oxford Dictionary of National Bibliography'; and 'The Frood: The Authorised and Very Official History of Douglas Adams & The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', by Jem Roberts (London: Preface, 2014).
Published
Attempts, at length, to explain that his address has changed. Typescript.
Published
Three letters to, and three letters from, Adams. Typescript.
Published
Thanks Adams for 'bailing [him] out', apparently on a computer issue. Typescript.
Honorary Secretary, The Society of Old Brentwoods.
Published
Encloses an Application for Membership form [not present]. Manuscript.
Restaurant Manager, The Connaught.
Published
Confirms a dinner reservation. Typescript.
Paxton Locher Architects.
Paxton Locher Architects.
Published
Pertains to refurbishment work to be carried out at the home of Adams's grandmother, Mrs E. Donovan. Typescript.
Customer Services, Northern District Post Office.
Published
Apologises for Adams's difficulty with collecting a parcel. Typescript.
Food Customer Services, Marks and Spencer.
Food Customer Services, Marks and Spencer.
Published
1. Letter from K. Frost. Informs him that there are no plans to introduce sushi, that fresh pasta has been withdrawn owing to lack of popularity, and that while Swiss pies topped with pâté are still available in some stores they are not available in Islington. Typescript. 15 October 1986.
2. Letter from N.P. Finn. Apologises for shortages in chicken & salad sandwiches in the Islington store, assures him that the letter has been passed on to the Store Manager, and speculating as to the character of sandwich touts. 13 January 1987.
Buyer, W.H. Smith.
Published
Discusses his letter on alternatives to the 'naff browns' of magazine binders. Typescript.
Published
Typescript.
Published
Discusses having resolved problems, mentioned by Adams, with MacAuthor v1.3. Typescript.
The Macintosh User Group.
Published
Discusses renewal of Adams's subscription. Typescript.
Published
Wonders if Susan in *Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency* is an indication that Adams has composed for the cello, and expresses an interest in seeing such compositions. Manuscript.
Published
Apologises for not having sent the magazine ('normally' sent as a sampler with a modem purchase) sooner, and asks if the modem has been useful. Manuscript.
Advertising Control Officer, Independent Broadcasting Company.
Published
Responds to his complaint about images of cane-field burning in a Peugeot advertisement. Typescript.
Collaborator with Adams on computer games, and the inspiration for Dirk Gently.
Published
1. Thanks him, in sickness and at length, for a delivered gift of food and drink. 'News of your bounty spread rapidly throughout this strange and disenfranchised warren, precipitating the heathen inhabitants into a sort of cargo-cultism which may in time prove irksome.' Typescript. 18 March 1988.
2. Praises *The Restaurant at the End of the Universe* for its 'unusual combination of wit and benevolence'. Manuscript. 10 April 1988.
3. Discusses the nuances of romantic love, an arrangement for Adams to help him with a significant tax payment on a loan basis, and plans for a 'spoof translation from the German, *Das Erotisches Hausbuch* (*The Erotic Housebook*)'. Typescript and manuscript. 14 June 1989.
Chairman, Kent Leukemia & Cancer Equipment Fund.
Published
Thanks him for his donation in memory of Graham Chapman. Typescript.
Douglas Noël Adams was born in Cambridge on 11 March 1952, first child of another Johnian, Christopher Douglas Adams (BA 1951), and Janet Dora Sydney (née Donovan).
He was awarded an exhibition to read English at St John's College, Cambridge, obtaining his BA in 1974. While at Cambridge, Adams occupied himself chiefly in writing, performing in, and producing comedy sketches and revues, establishing connections that were to be integral to his future work.
His career took off with 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', a six-part comic science-fiction radio series commissioned by the BBC in 1977 and broadcast in 1978. Novelisation and a second series were followed by further books in what became billed as 'the increasingly inaccurately named Hitchhiker's Trilogy'. The 'Hitchhiker's Guide' series has taken many forms, including audio recordings; stage adaptations; a television series; a computer game; publication of the original radio scripts; radio adaptations of the remaining novels, and a film.
Adams's other creative work included writing and script-editing for BBC Television's 'Doctor Who', novels featuring the private detective Dirk Gently, and collaboration with John Lloyd on a humorous dictionary, 'The Meaning of Liff'. A collaboration of a very different sort saw him embark upon a series of expeditions with zoologist Mark Carwardine in search of endangered species. The resulting radio documentary series, 'Last Chance to See', was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1989.
An enthusiastic technophile, Adams became a popular speaker on the subject. He was a co-founder in 1994 of the digital media and communications company The Digital Village (TDV), which produced the CD-ROM adventure game 'Starship Titanic' and created the website h2g2.
Adams married Jane Elizabeth Belson, a barrister, in November 1991; their daughter, Polly Jane Rocket Adams, was born in June 1994. Douglas Adams died suddenly on 11 May 2001 in Santa Barbara, California.
Further reading:
'Don't Panic: Douglas Adams and the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', by Neil Gaiman (3rd rev. edn., London: Titan, 2002); 'Hitchhiker: A Biography of Douglas Adams', by MJ Simpson (1st edn., London: Hodder and Stoughton, 2003); 'Wish You Were Here: The Official Biography of Douglas Adams', by Nick Webb (1st edn., London: Headline, 2003), who also wrote the entry for Adams in the 'Oxford Dictionary of National Bibliography'; and 'The Frood: The Authorised and Very Official History of Douglas Adams & The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', by Jem Roberts (London: Preface, 2014).
Published
Reports from Rio, where life is 'a bit like being trapped in a gigantic Barry Manilow song', and discusses the progress of the *Last Chance to See* research. Manuscript.
Assistant Librarian.
Published
Encloses the article after finding out at 'the Barnicoats conference' about Adams's interest in virtual reality, recommends William Gibson's Sprawl trilogy, and repeats her offer of professional assistance in the organisation of his library. Typescript.
Accompanied by an Ian S. Chapman (Publishing Director, Pan Books) compliments slip.
Falcon Chambers.
Published
Reports from the Greek islands. Manuscript and typescript.
Bandleader of Dark Blues.
Published
Notes that they have both been 'slagged. . . off' in the article about middle-aged men playing Fender Stratocasters. Typescript.
Douglas Adams's distant cousin: they share a great-grandfather.
Published
'As promised, your paternal ancestry etc.' Manuscript and typescript.
Published
Typescript and manuscript.
Published
Transcribes A.A. Milne's 'The King's Breakfast'. Typescript and manuscript.
Published
Quotes Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's *The Little Prince*. Manuscript.
Published
'I am dreaming from a better time, you know?' Manuscript.
Published
Two of the three wax blobs bear a 'T' seal. Manuscript.
Published
Typescript.
Published
'Point to Point' written near Adams's address.
Perhaps compare AdamsDN/1/2/1/45 and the discussion of travelling from one point to another.
Published
Published
Published
Published
One card, in plastic wrap, is by Cariad Cards (Angharad Rees's enterprise: see AdamsDN/1/2/1/21).
Published
Published
Correspondence relating mainly to Adams's professional writing career but also covering his involvement in Cambridge student drama and early attempts to find employment. Much of the correspondence is from Adams's agents Jill Foster and Ed Victor.
BA (Newnham) 1968
Published
Offers Adams the role of the 'the Man in the family of eight' in Bertolt Brecht's *The Good Person of Szechwan* (*Der gute Mensch von Sezuan*). Manuscript.
BA (Newnham) 1968
Published
Thanks Adams for his contribution to Bertolt Brecht's *The Good Person of Szechwan* (*Der gute Mensch von Sezuan*). Manuscript.
Published
Asks if Adams will contribute writing to a Footlights May Week Revue. Typescript.
Published
Apologises for failure to reply to an invitation. Typescript.
BA (Gonville and Caius)
Matric (Christ's) 1972.
Published
Confirms that Adams is in the Late Night cast and suggests some material. Manuscript.
Jane Ellison played Cinderella in 'Cinderella: A Stunnerama' (in which Adams played King Groovy); Cindy Rose was the wardrobe supervisor. This is potentially either of them; alternatively, the signature could conceivably be 'Crispin [Thomas]', the play's director.
Published
Thanks Adams for letting the cast of *Cinderella: A Stunnerama* use his college room, for a present, and for being 'the wonderfullest King we could have hoped to have'. Typescript.
Published
Discusses Coren's review of a Footlights television revue, and suggests that 'the genuine talent will survive such tiny onslaughts'. Typescript.
Published
Offers feedback on a *Doctor Who* outline and on *Nigel and Simpson*/*Astronomy* (and suggests a title, *You in Your Small Corner*). Typescript.
BA (Cambridge). Producer, 'Doctor on the Go', London Weekend Television.
Published
Thanks Adams for his scriptwriting contributions to 'Doctor on the Go'. Typescript.
Published
Breaks the news that a *Doctor Who* outline has been rejected, and requests a short piece detailing Adams's writing achievements to date. Typescript.
Oximal Limited.
Published
Attaches cheque [not present] on the behalf of Graham Chapman as a share of an advance. Typescript.
Published
Agrees to an end to their official writing partnership. Copied typescript, with preservation photocopy.
Central Office of Information, London.
Published
Matheson & Co. Limited.
Published
Offers Adam an interview. Typescript and manuscript.
Published
Encloses contract for *The News Huddlines* [not present] and asks, 'When are you going to send me something to sell?' Typescript.
Director Administration, Walt Disney Productions Ltd.
Published
Rejects Adams's job application. Typescript, with envelope.
Vice President / Broadcasting, WITF.
Published
Confirms that WITF broadcast *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*, and encloses audience reaction transcripts and programme guides [not present]. Typescript.
Adams's reply mentions the imminent novel and vinyl release. Typescript.
English Department, Clissold Park School.
Published
Confirms arrangements for a class trip to 'the Studios'. Manuscript.
'Blue Peter | Liaison' written on reverse.
Arts Officer, Rotherham Borough Council.
Published
Invites Adams to speak at a workshop run by the Rotherham branch of the Workers' Educational Association. Typescript and manuscript.
Published
Discusses visual design of the Hitchhiker's Guide.
Studio Season Administrator, Theatr Clwyd.
Published
Offers information on performances of the Jonathan Petherbridge adaptation of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. Copied typescript.
Arts Officer, Rotherham Borough Council.
Published
Confirms some details, and promises further confirmation, of Adams's talk for the Rotherham Workers' Educational Association. Typescript.
Arts Administrator, Theatr Clwyd.
Published
Explains that Fire Officer restrictions, enclosed, preclude the financial viability of the theatrical production of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* . Copied typescript.
Macmillan Children's Books.
Published
Asks if Adams will contribute a children's story to a new list. Typescript.
Photographer.
Published
Typescript.
Managing Director, Pan Books.
Published
Assures Johnstone that the imminent reprint of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* will be without his name and his mother's address. Copied typescript.
BBC Radio Birmingham.
Published
Thanks Adams for a recent interview. Typescript.
'Punch'.
Published
Asks if Adams would like to write an article for *Punch* (which 'ranks second only to an *RT* [*Radio Times*] cover'. Typescript.
The Simkins Partnership, Solicitors.
Published
Advises Adams that the reference to Paul Neil Milne Johnstone in *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* can reasonably be considered defamatory, that the deletion of the reference from the book and the record is 'strongly' advisable, and that he should bear in mind the matter of libel insurance. Typescript.
Pan Books.
Published
Refers to the matter of capitalising 'Tannoy' in *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. Copied typescript. Includes an advertisement from Tannoy objecting to the trend against their capitalisation.
Transcription Programmes Manager.
Published
Lists the US radio stations that have ordered *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. Typescript.
Art Editor, Associated Newspapers Group Limited.
Published
Asks if Adams has ever considered working in the medium of comic strips.
Macmillan Children's Books.
Published
Provides further details on the children's-story idea he has previously proposed. Typescript.
A.D. Peters & Co. Ltd, Writers' Agents.
Published
Discusses Graham Williams's contributions to the scripts for 'Shada' (*Doctor Who*). Copied typescript.
Accompanied by typed note on Jill Foster compliments slip: 'Let's talk about this on Monday'.
The Simkins Partnership, Solicitors.
Published
Refers to the authorisation to make sound recordings pertaining to *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. Typescript.
Accompanied by typed note on Jill Foster compliments slip: 'For your information.'
Published
Thanks Adams for sending the LP and paperback of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*, regrets that they arrived too late to be mentioned in an article for *Cosmopolitan*, and encloses a cheque for US$20 [not present]. Typescript.
Accompanied by business card.
Brentwood School.
Published
Confirms Adams's visit to the school on Monday 10 December. Manuscript.
Senior Vice President for Programming, National Public Radio.
Published
Informs Adams that there is currently no set date for distribution of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. Typescript.
Art Editor, Associated Newspapers Group Limited.
Published
Asks if Adams has thought any more about the possibility of writing a comic strip. Typescript.
Includes manuscript notes of contact details for Sue Limb and Edward Campbell.
Director, St Andrews Writers' Week.
Published
Thanks Adams for agreeing to participate in Writers' Week.
'Rat' magazine.
Published
Apologises for a guest-list issue at the magazine's launch party, and thanks Adams for his 'Paul McCrappy' piece, which he has confirmed isn't likely to be considered libellous. Typescript.
Head of Arts, BBC Radio London.
Published
Thanks Adams for a recent appearance. Typescript.
Manuscript note of an address on reverse.
Shandwick PR Company Limited.
Published
Proposes that Adams write a leaflet advertising Clarks Athleisure shoes. Typescript.
Lecturer in Computing, University of Bath.
Published
Asks about the prospect of a roleplaying game based upon *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. Typescript.
Producer, The Set Books Series, Capital Radio.
Published
Invites Adams to participate in a discussion of Brian Aldiss's *Science Fiction Omnibus* (Penguin), and encloses three stories [not present]. Typescript.
BBC.
Published
Thanks Adams for the 'splendid' new series of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. Manuscript.
Editor, Harmony Books.
Published
Informs Adams of plans for the US hardcover publication of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*.
Oxford University Broadcasting Society.
Published
Requests an interview for a Radio Cherwell documentary on *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. Manuscript.
Pan Books.
Published
Discusses listings of printings in the reprints of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. Typescript.
Published
Informs Adams of the resignation of Simon Baker (due to ill health), and assures him that Colin Webb and Marcia Fenwick will continue to look after Adams's interests. Typescript.
Published
Discusses contractual matters pertaining to Campbell's theatrical adaptation of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. Copied typescript.
Accompanied by Jill Foster compliments slip.
Editor, SADGMag, The Studio Amateur Dramatic Group, BBC TV.
Published
Encloses a copy of *SADGMag* [not present] containing an interview with Adams. Typescript.
Community Programme Unit, BBC TV.
Published
Thanks Adams for his help during filming. Typescript.
Islington South Labour Party
Published
Invites Adams to speak at the Party's dinner. Manuscript.
Shandwick PR Company Limited.
Published
Thanks Adams for 'the splendid copy' for the Clarks Athleisure leaflet and mentions the minor alterations he has made. Typescript.
Associate Director, Old Vic Company.
Published
Regrets that contractual issues prevented an Old Vic run for *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*, and asks if Adams would be interested in working with them on a future theatrical project. Typescript.
Chairman, BCS[British Computer Society]-FACS Group.
Department of Computing, Sheffield City Polytechnic.
Published
Confirms details for Adams's after-dinner speech at a workshop at Loughborough Institute of Technology on 17 April. Copied typescript.
Accompanied by Jill Foster compliments slip signed by Katherine.
Registrar, University of Birmingham.
Published
Invites Adams to give an Open Lecture during the 1980/81 season.
Published
Invites Adams to a dinner meeting (regarding US publicity for *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*) on 14 April.
Published
Discusses contractual difficulties regarding the film adaptation of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. Typescript.
Head of Comedy, Light Entertainment, BBC TV.
Published
Discusses travel plans around the pilot of the *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* television series. Copied typescript.
Published
Discusses a proposed meeting about the film adaptation of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. Copied typescript.
Accompanied by Jill Foster compliments slip.
Keegan's Bookshop, Reading.
Published
Invites Adams to sign copies of *The Restaurant at the End of the Universe*. Manuscript.
Published
Discusses US publicity for *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*, and assure Adams with regard to the cover design that 'we have taken the eyes out of the grinning planet'. Typescript.
The Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal.
Published
Invites Adams to give 'a reading/talk/discussion', and encloses brochure [not present]. Typescript.
Managing Director, Bestridge Ltd.
Published
Discusses merchandising for *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. Copied typescript.
Accompanied by Jill Foster compliments slip.
Producer, Cyranoid Publishing Corporation.
Published
Discusses the Rainbow Theatre production of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. Typescript.
Accompanied by Barnett Russell & Company compliments slip.
Broughton Hall, Banbury School, Oxfordshire.
Published
Thanks Adams for giving permission for a stage version of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*, and enclosing a cheque, complimentary tickets, and costume designer's sketches [not present]. Typescript.
Review Editor, 'New Scientist'.
Published
Asks if Adams would be interested in reviewing Stanisław Lem's *Memoirs of a Space Traveller*. Typescript.
General Secretary, The Writers' Guild of Great Britain.
Published
Provides an update on a dispute between the Writers' Guild of Great Britain and W.H. Allen. Typescript.
Department of Literature, University of Essex.
Published
Invites Adams to perform at a festival. Typescript.
Young Adult Services Division, American Library Association.
Published
Informs Adams of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*'s inclusion on the 1980 'Best Books for Young Adults' list. Typescript.
Association of Assistant Librarians.
Published
Invites Adams to address the group's Annual General Meeting. Typescript.
Secretary, East Kilbride Children's Book Group.
Published
Invites Adams to attend a book fair. Typescript.
Editorial Director, New English Library.
Published
Confirms his offer for Adams's next book. Copied typescript.
Published
Summarises points from a recent conversation pertaining to *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* developments.
Published
Discusses the possibility of a US television deal for *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. Copied typescript.
Published
Advises him that Adams is unlikely to accept an offer to move from Pan. Copied typescript.
Published
Updates him on negotiations with Pan. Copied typescript.
Accompanied by Jill Foster compliments slip.
Published
Discusses *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* rights. The letter from Nige Timperley is not present. Typescript.
Published
Discusses a contract pertaining to *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. Copied typescript.
Published
Encloses artwork pertaining to a proposed Cadbury special offer [not present]. Copied typescript.
Published
Thanks her for her letter of 25 June, discusses being sent copies of Adams's various contracts, and thanks her for being understanding about Adams's transition to the new agency. Copied typescript.
Published
Confirms the deal with Pan for *Life, the Universe and Everything*. Copied typescript.
Director, Heffers Booksellers.
Published
Informs Adams that *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* has been included in the first issue of the *Read On!* book club magazine, and encloses the Bookworm club bulletin [not present]. Typescript, with manuscript note on reverse.
Published
Discusses the possibility of Adams writing a non-*Hitchhiker's* novel. Typescript.
Published
Discusses the contract between Adams and Original Music. Copied typescript.
Published
Confirms arrangements about 'the motion picture/TV representation of the *Hitchhiker* series'. Typescript.
Published
Discusses the rights to audio recordings of the *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* series. Copied typescript.
Literary Events Organiser, Newcastle Literary Festival.
Published
Invites Adams to participate in the Festival. Typescript.
Ed Victor Ltd.
Published
Confirms details regarding an appearance on BBC Radio London's *Morning Star*. Typescript.
Published
Confirms 'Pan's willingness to make a substantial contribution towards' Adams's proposed Australia trip. Typescript.
Published
Requests information on Crown's publication plans for *The Restaurant at the End of the Universe*. Copied typescript.
BBC Radio London.
Published
Sets out the terms for Adams's *Morning Star* appearance. Copied typescript.
Published
Discusses film rights to *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. Copied typescript.
Accompanied by Ed Victor compliments slip.
Davenport, Lyons & Co., Solicitors.
Published
Encloses a copy of Recording and Mechanical Rights Agreements [not present]. Typescript.
Published
Discusses options on *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*, which Taffner insists upon retaining. Copied typescript.
Published
Confirms 6 October as the date for Adams's BBC Radio London *Morning Star* appearance.
Published
Discusses the Don Taffner television option on *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. Copied typescript.
Published
Discusses the television option on *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. Copied typescript.
The Box Club, Blackpool.
Published
Asks if Adams would be interested in performing a one-man show in Blackpool. Copied typescript.
Accompanied by a typed Ed Victor compliments slip signed by Maggie Phillips informing Adams that she has declined on his behalf without consultation ('thinking I could read your mind on the topic of a one night stand in Blackpool').
Published
Agrees that she should no longer be receiving money in connection to the null contract with Original Records. Typescript.
Davenport, Lyons & Co., Solicitors.
Published
Discusses Adams's contract with Original Records. Copied typescript.
MPL Communications Limited.
Published
Confirms Adams's fee for contributing to *Rupert the Bear* dialogue. Copied typescript.
Published
Confirms the deal for Adams's contribution to *Rupert the Bear*. Copied typescript.
Ed Victor Ltd.
Published
Discusses Adams's payment for contributing to *Rupert the Bear*. Typescript.
Deputy Editor, 'Office Systems'.
Published
Proposes an interview about computers. Typescript.
Published
Discusses the payment structure for contributions to *Not the 1982 Rip Off*, and encloses a list of currently uncredited jokes. Typescript.
Published
Encloses a cheque [not present] for an advance on royalties on *Not the 1982 Rip Off*. Typescript.
Published
Asks about advances and percentages pertaining to *Not the 1982 Rip Off*. Typescript.
Davenport, Lyons & Co., Solicitors.
Published
Discusses Adams's dispute with Original Records.
Ed Victor Ltd.
Published
Discusses the involvement of Marvin the android in *The Generation Game*. Typescript.
Published
Thanks him for his work on the Original Records deal. Copied typescript.
Published
Typescript.
William Morris Agency.
Published
Discusses a deal for a television pilot based upon *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*.
Published
Discusses *The Oxtail Dictionary*, which would become *The Meaning of Liff*, and asks if Adams is as 'mightily pissed off' with Martin Bergman 'ripping off' Footlights material as John Lloyd is. Typescript.
Davenport, Lyons & Co., Solicitors.
Published
Discusses the Original Records dispute. Typescript.
Published
Turns down, on Adams's behalf, an endorsement offer. Copied typescript.
William Morris Agency.
Published
Offers a reminder of the need for ABC to confirm their commitment to a television adaptation of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. Copied typescript.
Published
Confirms details of the proposed payment terms for *The Oxtail Dictionary* (*The Meaning of Liff*). Typescript.
Davenport, Lyons & Co., Solicitors.
Published
Mentions that he has conceded a point in the Original Records dispute. Typescript.
Published
Informs Adams that *Life, the Universe and Everything* is listed in the column 'The Big Ones' in *The Bookseller*, and hopes that this – or a separate enclosed item [not present] – will 'act as a spur' to finishing the book on schedule. Typescript.
Published
Discusses a proposal for a tour of US colleges. Typescript.
London Management.
Published
Objects to Martin Bergman's 'breach of copyright' with regard to material written by Adams and John Lloyd. Typescript.
Published
Discusses the tie-up of contracts for *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*, and encloses copies of contracts [not present]. Typescript.
Public relations company founded by Judith Louise Hilsinger (b 1942).
Published
Typescript.
Published
Discusses a German radio deal for *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. Victor is 'not quite sure why' Foster appears to be making such deals. Typescript.
Ed Victor Ltd.
Published
Discusses overpayments of 18p and 38p, and assures Adams that 'a wonderful new bookkeeper' and 'a new calculator' will prevent further such errors. Typescript.
Trinity College Dublin Metaphysical Society.
Published
Invites Adams to address the Trinity College Metaphysical Society. Typescript.
Published
Discusses Adams's tour of Australia for Pan, and confirms the deal with Crown for *Life, the Universe and Everything*. Typescript.
Davenport, Lyons & Co., Solicitors.
Published
Discusses the approved corrective Agreement with Original Music, and encloses two copies thereof [not present]; the enclosed letter to Ed Victor is concerned with the American television series deal for *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. Typescript.
A further copy of the letter to Victor is enclosed, and might have been sent to Adams by Victor's office.
Pan Books.
Published
Confirms details for Arthur Baker Ltd's offer for hardcover rights to *Life, the Universe and Everything*.
Assistant Editor, 'Contemporary Authors'.
Published
Asks further questions. Typescript.
Published
Asks about the state of the film rights to *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*, and expresses his desire to co-write with Adams and to direct. Typescript.
Davenport, Lyons & Co., Solicitors.
Published
Discusses continuing difficulties with Original Records. Typescript.
Davenport, Lyons & Co., Solicitors.
Published
Discusses the continuing dispute with Original Records. Typescript.
Davenport, Lyons & Co., Solicitors.
Published
Mentions that 'things appear to be pretty much all over' with Original Records, whose solicitor has agreed that Adams's team should 'do our worst'. Typescript.
Business Department, BBC Enterprises.
Published
Discusses payments relating to international television licensing of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. Copied typescript.
Published
Confirms the agreement with Faber for *The Oxtail Dictionary* (*The Meaning of Liff*). Copied typescript.
Published
Regrets that the negotiations for the US television version of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* and for the film adaptation mean that licensing Davies's proposed animated version 'would only serve to complicate an already very complicated picture'. Copied typescript.
Published
Conveys Adams's consent to the proposed 'Guide to the Hitchhiker's Guide', and mentions that Adams 'would be willing to spend a certain amount of time cooperating' on the project. Copied typescript.
Ed Victor Ltd.
Published
Discusses the licensing deal with Hannibal Records for the US and Canadian release of the *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* double album. Typescript.
Published
Rejects counter-proposals in the Original Records dispute. Copied typescript.
Accompanied by a Leon Morgan compliments slip.
Business Department, BBC Enterprises.
Published
Follows up on the letter of 22 June. Copied typescript.
Davenport, Lyons & Co., Solicitors.
Published
Discusses Adams's contract with the BBC. Copied typescript.
An additional copy is present and was presumably sent by Ed Victor's office. The first copy is accompanied by a Leon Morgan compliments slip.
Published
Encloses three letters [not present] regarding international licensing for the television version of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. Typescript.
In all likelihood the Leon Morgan letter is that of 11 August 1982 and the other two are Carol S. Woodburn's of 22 June and 10 August 1982, but as this is not certain those letters have been kept as separate items.
Published
Encloses an item [not present] that 'arrived too late for insertion in *Not 1983*', and expresses regret at not seeing Adams in New York and enthusiasm for seeing him in September. Manuscript.
William Morris Theatrical Agency (Australia).
Published
Discusses the theatrical script for *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* and Australian theatrical companies that might have an interest. Copied typescript.
Articles Editor, 'Playboy'.
Published
Looks forward to Adams's piece on Paul McCartney, and gives details on requirements and payment. Typescript.
Ed Victor Ltd.
Published
Discusses a deal with the German publishers Rogner & Bernhard for *Life, the Universe and Everything*. Typescript.
Davenport, Lyons & Co., Solicitors.
Published
Discusses the current state of the continuing Original Records dispute. Typescript.
Editor, Radio-Drama-Department, Bayerischer Rundfunk.
Published
Encloses scripts [not present] for *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*, as the decision has been made 'not to produce the last sequences'. Typescript.
Published
Discusses the possibility of Games Workshop manufacturing a game based upon *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. Copied typescript.
Davenport, Lyons & Co., Solicitors.
Published
Discusses progress, being made 'little by little', on the dispute with Original Records. Typescript.
Publisher, Oracle Enterprises.
Published
Outlines a proposed project for a comics adaptation of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. Copied typescript.
Published
Expresses delight at the film deal for *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* having been closed. Copied typescript.
Published
Confirms details of Adams's *Playboy* contribution. Copied typescript.
Davenport, Lyons & Co., Solicitors.
Published
Discusses the continuing Original Records dispute.
Ed Victor Ltd.
Published
Responds to a letter concerning a BBC1 science programme and says that Adams will be unable to respond until his return from Australia. Copied typescript.
Rigrod and Surpin, Attorneys at Law.
Published
Confirms details of the licensing agreement between Serious Productions and Columbia Pictures Merchandising. With blind postscript to Adams, Ed Victor et al. ('this is a lot of fun – it reminds me of the old *Star Wars* days').Copied typescript.
Published
Copied typescript.
Ed Victor Ltd.
Published
Confirms that Adams has no objection to Metherell using the title *The Answer Is 42* for his science programme. Copied typescript.
Davenport, Lyons & Co., Solicitors.
Published
Expresses optimism about resolving the Original Records dispute. Puxley's letter to their solicitor explains that recent communication is 'a step in the right direction' but 'does not go far enough'. Copied typescript. A second copy of Puxley's letter has been combined with this item.
Davenport, Lyons & Co., Solicitors.
Published
Confirms that Original Records are unwilling to agree to further points proposed in the dispute.
Rigrod and Surpin, Attorneys at Law.
Published
Supplements his letter of 8 November 1982. Copied typescript.
Published
Introduces himself, and stresses the urgency of contacting Crown with regard to rights and marketing. Copied typescript.
Published
Turns down the proposal for a comics adaptation of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. Copied typescript.
Published
Asserts that 'all bets are off' and that suing Original Records and 'collapsing their little house of cards' makes sense as the next step. Typescript.
Published
Suggests that 'even more' can be done in terms of selling rights. Typescript.
Published
Discusses licensing for a board game based on *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. Copied typescript.
Rigrod and Surpin, Attorneys at Law.
Published
Encloses Ed Victor's 1 December 1982 letters to Lester Borden and Andrew Sands, and Sands's 22 October 1982 letter to Victor.
Published
Confirms that the agency will charge a 10% rather than a 15% commission on US rights sales from now on. Typescript.
Original Records.
Published
Copied typescript.
Rigrod and Surpin, Attorneys at Law.
Published
Discusses the agreement between Serious Productions and Spadina Road Productions regarding film adaptations of Adams's novels. Copied typescript with copied manuscript annotations.
Hannibal Records.
Published
Discusses details of the Hannibal Records release of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. Typescript.
Davenport, Lyons & Co., Solicitors.
Published
Discusses Powderworks Records' Australian sales figures for *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. Typescript.
Rigrod and Surpin, Attorneys at Law.
Published
Discusses contractual matters pertaining to the agreement between Serious Productions and Spadina Road Productions. Copied typescript.
Pan Books (Australia).
Published
Expresses the hope of meeting Adams in Australia when he next visits, and mentions having compiled 'a whole bunch' of press coverage. This might have been enclosed and then been filed with press cuttings. Manuscript.
Published
Encloses a copy of George R. Stewart's *Names on the Land* [not present], believing it will be 'extremely useful'. Manuscript.
Editorial Assistant. Harmony Books.
Published
Encloses author's galleys for *The Meaning of Liff* [not present]. Typescript.
Published
Encloses a copied list of *Spitting Image* characters; the letter is on *Spitting Image* stationery. Manuscript.
Published
Asks permission to use a quotation from *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* in a book entitled *The Chemistry of Ruthenium*. Manuscript.
Comptroller, Madagascar Hilton.
Published
Thanks Adams for his payment for his stay at the Madagascar Hilton in April 1985, and asks for contact details for Alain le Garsmeur, who has not paid. Typescript.
Titan Books.
Published
Manuscript and typescript.
Writers Against Experiments on Animals.
Writers Against Experiments on Animals.
Published
Requests moral and financial support. Typescript.
Published
Manuscript and typescript.
Publisher, Firebird Licensees Inc.
Published
Also encloses a copy of The Advanced Music System [not present]. Typescript.
OWL International, Inc.
Published
Asks for permission to develop a hypertext version of portions of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*, specifically those portions pertaining to the Guide's contents. Typescript.
Senior Account Executive, Burson Marsteller.
Published
Asks for details about Adams's involvement in a Comic Relief auction for the purposes of a press release. Typescript.
Assistant Producer, The Domesday Project.
Published
Confirms arrangements for delivery of a Domesday Advanced Interactive Video System, and for the audio recording of Adams's exploration of the system. Typescript.
Chief Travel Correspondent, the *Observer*.
Published
Turns down Adams's suggestions for articles, including one on sushi. Typescript.
Burson Marsteller.
Published
Manuscript and typescript.
Editor, The Domesday Project.
Published
Proposes a fee and other arrangements for Adams's continuing involvement in the Domesday system. Typescript.
Burson Marsteller.
Published
Manuscript and typescript.
Published
Mentions the film version of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. The comic strip discusses the difficulties involved in making film adaptations. Manuscript.
Chief Travel Correspondent, the *Observer*.
Published
Proposes Adams return to Madagascar as part of a press trip organised by Hilton Hotels. Adams says ('provisionally') yes. Typescript.
Press Office, George Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
Published
Notifies Adams that the publication and launch dates of the *School Report* book to which he has contributed have changed. Adams is unsure if he will be able to make it, owing to his 'chaotic' schedule. Typescript.
Chief Travel Correspondent, the *Observer*.
Published
Confirms that Adams will be contacted by Hilton about Madagascar travel dates when they are confirmed. Typescript.
Area Director of Public Relations, Hilton International Hotels.
Published
Copied typescript.
Accompanied by an *Observer* compliments slip in Desmond Balmer's name.
Collaborator with Adams on computer games, and the inspiration for Dirk Gently.
Published
Proposes that an Infocom computer game based upon *The Restaurant at the End of the Universe* be written by Bywater, with Adams as a consultant. Typescript.
Press Office, George Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
Published
Informs him that *School Report* will be serialised by the *Daily Star*. Typescript.
Published
Thanks Adams for his contributions to 'an otherwise dry programme' and wishes him well for his US trip. Manuscript.
Apple Computer UK.
Published
Typescript.
Promotion Officer, Pan.
Published
Informs Adams that *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* is among the selected books, and asks if Adams will be willing to participate.
Greenpeace.
Published
Thanks Adams for his contribution to the *Coastline* book. Typescript.
Promotion Officer, Pan.
Published
Typescript.
Victor Gollancz.
Published
Invites Adams to participate in a panel discussion on 'the pleasures and perils of overnight success', which will also involve Clive Barker, William Gibson and 'possibly' Iain Banks, at the World Science Fiction Convention in Brighton. Typescript.
Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom.
Published
Thanks Adams for agreeing to participate in a public reading of Peter Wright's *Spycatcher*. Typescript.
Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom.
Published
Thanks Adams for participating in a public reading of Peter Wright's *Spycatcher*. Typescript.
Editorial Assistant, Basil Blackwell.
Published
Asks if Adams would be willing to provide a report on the final typescript of the book. Typescript.
Kingfisher Books.
Published
Thanks Adams for agreeing to appear on *BBC Breakfast Time* to discuss the project, and hopes he will make it to the launch event. Manuscript.
Victor Gollancz.
Published
Informs Adams that the event at the World Science Fiction Convention went 'pretty well' in Adams's absence, and promises to give more notice next time. Typescript.
Quantum Conferences Limited.
Published
Asks Adams to consider speaking at the 'Personal Information Management' session. Typescript.
Adams's manuscript note expresses enthusiasm for participating in a music panel at the event.
Apple Computer UK.
Published
Invites Adams to participate in a 'World-wide Hypercard Developer's Bulletin', and encloses a form [not present]. Typescript.
Secretary General, MENCAP.
Published
Asks Adams to participate in a collaboration between MENCAP, Storytime and ITV. Typescript.
Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom.
Published
Asks if Adams will attend and participate in a further set of readings from Peter Wright's *Spycatcher*. Typescript.
Published
Recalls talking with Adams 'this past spring' 'between interviews', and mentions other authors who have since 'come and gone'. Manuscript.
Ed Victor Ltd.
Published
Discusses Adams availablility with regard to the MENCAP/Storytime/ITV project. Typescript.
Director, Arvon Foundation.
Published
Requests Adams's contribution to an anthology of writers' first published pieces. Typescript.
The Moving Picture Company.
Published
The compliments slip and treatment would have been sent separately from the letter, but as they are not dated they have been filed with it. Typescript and manuscript.
Pan.
Published
Typescript.
Producer, 'Novel Ideas', BBC Radio.
Published
Provides details on the recording of *Novel Ideas* in which Adams is to participate. Typescript.
Publishing Manager, Tigerprint.
Published
Encloses twelve 35mm transparences [not present] and regrets that Tigerprint were unable to use them. Typescript.
Editor, BBC Radio 5.
Published
Typescript.
Published
Thanks Adams for his cooperation. Typescript.
Tigerprint.
Published
Informs Adams that he has been unable to sell the *Last Chance to See* calendar to any American publishers, and encloses a dummy of the calendar [not present]. Typescript.
Published
Thanks Adams for a gift of two books, and encourages him to send his *Save the Earth* contribution as soon as possible. Manuscript and typescript.
Pan.
Published
Informs Adams that Chris Gibson, Production Editor, is looking into rectifying the reproduction quality of Adams's backlist for reprints, that dates pertaining to the publication of *The Deeper Meaning of Liff* are confirmed, and that 'a great Douglas Adams autumn' is imminent. Typescript.
Department of Adult Education, University of Southampton.
Published
Typescript.
Pan.
Published
Asks for confirmation that Adams wants his copyright line to be changed to 'Serious Productions'. Typescript.
Published
Typescript.
William Heinemann.
Published
Informs Adams that *Last Chance to See* is selling strongly. Typescript.
William Heinemann.
Published
Typescript.
Sales & Marketing Director, Trade Publishing Division.
Published
Apologises for Stoddart's publicity team having been 'obviously so casual' in their efforts, and assures Adams that Octopus Canada will do 'a much better job'. Typescript.
William Heinemann.
Published
Confirms details for Adams's signing with Mark Carwardine at Dillons, Kensington High Street. Typescript.
Fellow in Organizational Behaviour, King's Fund College.
Published
Invites Adams to contribute to the Top Manager Programme for 1992. Typescript.
Producer, Features Group, Central Productions; CEO of The Digital Village.
Published
Describes the project and expresses his eagerness to discuss it with Adams. Typescript.
Edinburgh Book Festival.
Published
Confirms details for Adams's appearance at the Festival. Typescript.
Two copies, the second of which has a manuscript note: 'I'm not sure if this went through first time so am trying again.'
Reed International.
Published
Discusses inaccuracies in Ed Victor's article for *The Bookseller* about Adams's move to Cape, and warning him that other information given in the article might have 'tax implications' for Adams, who should 'seek some financial advice'. Typescript.
Crown Publishers.
Published
Confirms that September will be the optimum time to publish *Mostly Harmless*, notes that the manuscript due date has been extended 'again', and reminds Adams that his on-signing payment will be due for return should the manuscript be undelivered.
Literary agency. Ed Victor Ltd was acquired by Curtis Brown in 2017 after the death of Ed Victor.
Published
Reproduces Adams's letter to *The Bookseller* as printed in the 27 March 1992 issue regarding Richard Charkin's earlier letter.
Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, Attorneys at Law.
Published
Discusses a legal case against Garrison's client's software 'Hitchhiking on the Information Highway'. Copied typescript.
BBDO Hamburg.
Published
Proposes Adams's involvement in an Apple testimonial campaign. Typescript.
The Agency.
Published
Mentions a film enquiry pertaining to *Life, the Universe and Everything* and assumes the rights are covered by the current film deal. Typescript.
Contemporary Authors.
Published
Invites Adams to participate in the 'Contemporary Authors Autobiography Series'. Typescript.
Multimedia Technologies Ireland.
Published
Relates to 'BAM '96 – Keynote Address'. Manuscript.
Digital Media Solutions.
Published
Encloses a copy of a January 1996 letter to Adams [not present] and asks about arranging a meeting between DMS and The Digital Village. Typescript.
Projektmanager, kom:m 1996.
Published
Invites Adams to participate as a lecturer or panellist, and encloses a promotional page. Typescript.
Zablac Entertainment.
Published
Comments on a cutting from *MicroScope* about *Starship Titanic*, and expresses concern that Adams's comments on selling the game online and on the possibility of the game going 'down the plughole' might be 'very damaging from the retailers' perspective'. A note reads 'spoke to Alec 18.2.98'. Manuscript.
Brillstein Grey Entertainment.
Published
Encloses Michael Duggan's resume. Manuscript and typescript.
Accompanied by a label: 'File. *Secret Empire*.'
Brillstein Grey Entertainment.
Published
Discusses the television deal for *The Secret Empire*. Typescript.
Zablac Entertainment.
Published
Points her towards the editorial and page 19, and says that Zablac are 'very pleased' with the *Starship Titanic* coverage. Manuscript.
Published
Informs him that Jacobs's CAA will not be able to be involved in *The Secret Empire*, and thanks him on Adams's behalf for this interest. Typescript.
Published
Offers his services as a sound engineer. Typescript.
Durrants Press Cuttings.
Published
Summarises services on offer. Typescript.
Qualifications and Curriculum Authority.
Published
Thanks Adams for supplying the quotation, on information and communications technology, featured on the enclosed page. Typescript.
The letter is to enclose the entire handbook; Adams evidently retained only the pertinent page.
Hugh Lauter Levin Associates.
Published
Asks again if Adams would like to contribute to the text of a book about diving, featuring Wu's photography. Copied typescript.
BBC Worldwide.
Published
Discusses the agreement to re-use an extract from *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* in the h2g2 electronic press kit. Typescript.
Ed Victor Ltd.
Published
Encloses a copy of Eoin Colfer's *Artemis Fowl* [not present] and asks if Adams will provide an endorsement. Typescript.
Published
Includes fanmail, fan club newsletters and fanzines.
Douglas Noël Adams was born in Cambridge on 11 March 1952, first child of another Johnian, Christopher Douglas Adams (BA 1951), and Janet Dora Sydney (née Donovan).
He was awarded an exhibition to read English at St John's College, Cambridge, obtaining his BA in 1974. While at Cambridge, Adams occupied himself chiefly in writing, performing in, and producing comedy sketches and revues, establishing connections that were to be integral to his future work.
His career took off with 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', a six-part comic science-fiction radio series commissioned by the BBC in 1977 and broadcast in 1978. Novelisation and a second series were followed by further books in what became billed as 'the increasingly inaccurately named Hitchhiker's Trilogy'. The 'Hitchhiker's Guide' series has taken many forms, including audio recordings; stage adaptations; a television series; a computer game; publication of the original radio scripts; radio adaptations of the remaining novels, and a film.
Adams's other creative work included writing and script-editing for BBC Television's 'Doctor Who', novels featuring the private detective Dirk Gently, and collaboration with John Lloyd on a humorous dictionary, 'The Meaning of Liff'. A collaboration of a very different sort saw him embark upon a series of expeditions with zoologist Mark Carwardine in search of endangered species. The resulting radio documentary series, 'Last Chance to See', was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1989.
An enthusiastic technophile, Adams became a popular speaker on the subject. He was a co-founder in 1994 of the digital media and communications company The Digital Village (TDV), which produced the CD-ROM adventure game 'Starship Titanic' and created the website h2g2.
Adams married Jane Elizabeth Belson, a barrister, in November 1991; their daughter, Polly Jane Rocket Adams, was born in June 1994. Douglas Adams died suddenly on 11 May 2001 in Santa Barbara, California.
Further reading:
'Don't Panic: Douglas Adams and the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', by Neil Gaiman (3rd rev. edn., London: Titan, 2002); 'Hitchhiker: A Biography of Douglas Adams', by MJ Simpson (1st edn., London: Hodder and Stoughton, 2003); 'Wish You Were Here: The Official Biography of Douglas Adams', by Nick Webb (1st edn., London: Headline, 2003), who also wrote the entry for Adams in the 'Oxford Dictionary of National Bibliography'; and 'The Frood: The Authorised and Very Official History of Douglas Adams & The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', by Jem Roberts (London: Preface, 2014).
Published
Answers questions on photographs, plot, differences between the incarnations of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*, the second television series, the third novel, the possibility of a new record album and of further radio episodes and of a film, and 'Marvin's career as a solo recording artist'. Typescript.
Douglas Noël Adams was born in Cambridge on 11 March 1952, first child of another Johnian, Christopher Douglas Adams (BA 1951), and Janet Dora Sydney (née Donovan).
He was awarded an exhibition to read English at St John's College, Cambridge, obtaining his BA in 1974. While at Cambridge, Adams occupied himself chiefly in writing, performing in, and producing comedy sketches and revues, establishing connections that were to be integral to his future work.
His career took off with 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', a six-part comic science-fiction radio series commissioned by the BBC in 1977 and broadcast in 1978. Novelisation and a second series were followed by further books in what became billed as 'the increasingly inaccurately named Hitchhiker's Trilogy'. The 'Hitchhiker's Guide' series has taken many forms, including audio recordings; stage adaptations; a television series; a computer game; publication of the original radio scripts; radio adaptations of the remaining novels, and a film.
Adams's other creative work included writing and script-editing for BBC Television's 'Doctor Who', novels featuring the private detective Dirk Gently, and collaboration with John Lloyd on a humorous dictionary, 'The Meaning of Liff'. A collaboration of a very different sort saw him embark upon a series of expeditions with zoologist Mark Carwardine in search of endangered species. The resulting radio documentary series, 'Last Chance to See', was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1989.
An enthusiastic technophile, Adams became a popular speaker on the subject. He was a co-founder in 1994 of the digital media and communications company The Digital Village (TDV), which produced the CD-ROM adventure game 'Starship Titanic' and created the website h2g2.
Adams married Jane Elizabeth Belson, a barrister, in November 1991; their daughter, Polly Jane Rocket Adams, was born in June 1994. Douglas Adams died suddenly on 11 May 2001 in Santa Barbara, California.
Further reading:
'Don't Panic: Douglas Adams and the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', by Neil Gaiman (3rd rev. edn., London: Titan, 2002); 'Hitchhiker: A Biography of Douglas Adams', by MJ Simpson (1st edn., London: Hodder and Stoughton, 2003); 'Wish You Were Here: The Official Biography of Douglas Adams', by Nick Webb (1st edn., London: Headline, 2003), who also wrote the entry for Adams in the 'Oxford Dictionary of National Bibliography'; and 'The Frood: The Authorised and Very Official History of Douglas Adams & The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', by Jem Roberts (London: Preface, 2014).
Published
Asks for the rules of Brockian Ultra Cricket, which Adams provides. Manuscript and typescript.
Published
Seeks approval for setting up 'an Earth branch of the Zaphod Beeblebrox Appreciation Society'. Manuscript.
Published
Encloses a copy of his review of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* from *The Stage and Television Today* [not present]. Manuscript.
Published
Asks about the possibility of the radio scripts for *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* being published. Manuscript.
Published
Asks, in character and a roundabout fashion, when the second radio series of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* can be expected. Manuscript.
Published
Thanks Adams for confirming his attendance at TerraCon '79. Typescript.
Chariman, Birmingham Science Fiction Group.
Published
Confirms arrangements for Adams's talk. Typescript.
Secretary, Cambridge University Science Ficton Society.
Published
Confirms arrangements for Adams's visit. Typescript.
Published
Encloses a cheque [not present] for the record of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. Manuscript.
Published
Begs Adams not to allow the television version of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* to go ahead. Typescript.
Published
Discusses the *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* novel. Typescript.
Published
Asks about acquiring copies of the record of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*, mentions a series of paintings inspired by Adams's writing, and discusses coffee grinders in the US cavalry and bottle openers in the Israeli army. Typescript.
Published
Points out an inconsistency in the *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* novel, asks about the availability of the record and proposes a game of postal chess.
Published
First letter discusses Helen Joy Hibbert taking over the Hitchhiker's fan club, and encloses some items [not present]; the second encloses a carbon copy of a letter about 'HHA' (Hitchhikers Anonymous) [not present] and requests information on forthcoming projects. Manuscript.
Published
Discusses *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* and the inferiority of the book to the radio series. Manuscript.
Published
Asks if there will be a sequel to *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. Typescript.
A manuscript note from 'C' informs Adams that they have replied to the effect that a sequel is forthcoming.
University of Toronto Radio.
Published
Praises the radio and book versions of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. Typescript.
Published
Updates Adams on the Hitch-Hikers Anonymous fan group. Typescript.
Published
First letter discusses Hitchhikers Anonymous and encloses a fanzine and a flyer for AlbaCon [not present]; the second provides membership updates and asks about Adams's Hugo Awards eligibility. Manuscript.
Published
Both letters express enthusiasm for a sequel to *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. Manuscript.
Published
Discusses *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*, and asks if taping the radio broadcasts is illegal. Manuscript.
Published
Asks about forthcoming *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* projects. Typescript.
Published
Complains about the sudden ending of the *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* and the absence of the apostrophe on the front cover. Typescript and manuscript.
Published
Asks about forthcoming *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* projects and the availability of recordings. Manuscript.
Published
Discusses *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* and the meaning of life. Typescript.
University of Kent Science Fiction Society.
Published
Invites Adams to address the Society. Manuscript.
Published
Expresses enthusiasm for Adams's work on *Doctor Who*. Typescript.
Published
Asks for permission to produce a stage version of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. Manuscript.
Published
Discusses, in character, *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. Manuscript.
Published
Praises, and queries some small details of, *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. Manuscript.
Published
Praises *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*.
Published
Praises *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* and Adams's work on *Doctor Who*. Manuscript.
Published
Praises *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. Manuscript.
Published
Asks to know the contents of the final episode of the first radio series of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*, as she and her son didn't hear it and it isn't included in the novel. Manuscript.
Published
Proposes 'a money-making situation' regarding a Marvin slogan T-shirt. Manuscript.
Published
Requests copies of the scripts from the 'second and third' [sic] series of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*, for a computer programme based upon the Guide. Typescript.
Published
Encloses his card [not present], and insists there was 'no need for such flattery. I was a fan already.' Manuscript.
Published
Requests a signed photograph. Manuscript.
Published
Exclaims and questions, exclusively by way of punctuation marks. Manuscript.
Published
Praises *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* and asks several questions about it. Manuscript.
Published
Praises *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. Manuscript.
Published
Praises *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* in the voice of Zaphod Beeblebrox. Manuscript.
Penkridge Middle School, Staffordshire.
Published
Encloses stories written by schoolchildren to conclude the story of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* after listening to the first side of the record. The stories are by Geoffrey Smith, Chris Lester, David Files, Paul Appelquist, Caroline Firth, Charis Williams, Heath Hibbert, and Heather Rhind. Manuscript.
Published
First letter asks for Adams's assistance in forming an 'official' fan club, The Heart of Gold; the second offers him the role of Honorary President, requests an article and invites him to speak at the 1980 Media-Con in Manchester. Typescript.
Published
Praises *The Hitchhiker's Guide the Galaxy*, in character. Typescript.
Published
First letter praises the second radio series of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*, and hopes that the television version will be better than *Blake's 7*, wherein space looks insufficiently 'spacious'; the second thanks him for his reply and mentions that the fan club HIROK has been disbanded. Manuscript.
Published
Asks if there are any plans for an audio cassette of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. Manuscript.
Published
Praises *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*, and wonders why the album is so expensive and the publicity has been so little. Typescript.
Published
Asks if producing a small number of sweatshirts featuring a slogan inspired by *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*, for fandom rather than commercial purposes, would breach copyright. Manuscript.
Published
West asks to interview Adams for his fanzine *Cygnus Alpha*; Smith asks for permission to start an Exeter and District *Hitch-hiker's Guide* Appreciation Society. Typescript and manuscript.
Norwich Anti Nuclear Campaign.
Published
Invites Adams to participate in an Anti Nuclear Festival. Manuscript.
Published
Encloses a copy of *Forty Two*, the Hitch-Hikers Anonymous newsletter [not present], and asks some questions. Manuscript.
Published
Invites Adams to 'an absolutely pointless party'. Manuscript.
Includes photocopy.
Published
Requests an interview. Typescript.
Published
Asks about forthcoming *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* projects. Manuscript.
Published
Asks if Adams is a genius, and offers to buy him a pint in Nottingham. Manuscript.
Secretary, Bedford College Geographical Society.
Published
Invites Adams to speak at the Society's Annual Dinner. Manuscript.
Published
Asks several questions about *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*, one of them relating to the change from Paul Neil Milne Johnstone to Paula Nancy Millstone Jennings between the first and second printings of the novel. Manuscript.
Published
Requests an interview, and insists: 'I'm not trying to seduce you or anything idiotic like that'. Manuscript.
Published
Queries apparent inconsistencies pertaining to Ford Prefect's name and Zaphod Beeblebrox's arms. Typescript.
Published
Asks to be put in touch with Adams for help with compiling 'a book of the Guide's history'. Typescript.
Published
Praises *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* and asks if Adams has started writing the third book yet. Manuscript.
Published
Presents an equation relating to 42 and Murphy's Law, and asks for Peter Jones's autograph ('I've already got yours twice'). Manuscript.
Published
Asks Adams to marry her, on the grounds that they are both unmarried and living in Surrey and she has nothing to do after finishing her degree. Manuscript.
Published
Praises *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* and asks several questions. Manuscript.
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Praises *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* and the visual design of Marvin and the Heart of Gold in the television series. Manuscript.
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Asks for information about the *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* television series. Manuscript.
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First letter thanks Adams for a visit to the BBC studios, discusses the *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* television series, and invites him to be the Honorary President of ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha; the second asks about forthcoming projects and invites him to attend a ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha meeting in London. Typescript.
Jill Foster Ltd.
Published
Discusses Shada, asks to borrow the scripts, and wonders if Adams will write any further *Doctor Who* stories. Typescript and manuscript.
Published
Offers to translate Adams's books into Serbocroat. Typescript.
Published
Credits *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* with rescue from 'a six-foot-deep depression'. Manuscript.
Published
Discusses the correspondences between *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* and *The Pilgrim's Progress*, John Bunyan having been 'much influenced' by a book by another Arthur Dent (*The Plain Man's Pathway to Heaven*), encloses an article on the subject [not present], and asks if there is any factual basis for this idea. Manuscript.
Published
Requests details on forthcoming *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* projects. Manuscript.
Published
Asks if *The Hitchhiker's Guide to Galaxy* is now 'finished on radio', and if there will be a second television series. Manuscript.
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Praises *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* and asks about forthcoming projects. Manuscript.
Published
Asks if his letter can be forwarded to Adams so that Unstead can send him some writing for appraisal. Manuscript.
Published
Makes suggestions for a sequel to *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*, and requests a list of Adams's other books. Typescript.
Published
Suggests that 42 indicates 'for tea, two', and explains the philosophy behind this. Manuscript.
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Asks if Adams has any news that could be included in Larkin's column for *Science Fiction Chronicle*. Typescript.
Published
Asks if Adams is planning a second book. Manuscript.
Published
Informs Adams of a new fanzine, *The Celestial Homecare Omnibus*, asks for news that can be included in said fanzine, and encloses a sample comic strip [not present]. Manuscript.
Published
1. Praises *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* and asks questions about Ford Prefect. Manuscript.
2. Speculates that Adams did not reply to her previous letter because he was 'totally nonplussed and flummoxed' by her questions. Typescript.
Published
Praises *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*, hopes there will be another radio series, and asks for Adams's autograph. Manuscript.
Published
Asks several questions about *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*, and praises *Black Cinderella Two Goes East*. Manuscript.
Published
Thanks Adams for his letter, and points out that he spilled coffee over her request, in her previous letter, for an autographed photograph, which she repeats. Manuscript.
Published
Asks what awards *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* has won, and for details of fan clubs. Manuscript.
The Aylesford School, Warwick.
Published
Asks for biographical details to be used in an author-profiling assignment. Manuscript.
Published
Praises *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* and asks if there is, or will be, a second book. Typescript.
Published
Recounts an anecdote about buying *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* ('Counter girl: "It's not a guide, you know"') and asks if there is a second book. Manuscript.
Published
Asks about the television version of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* and about the second book. Typescript.
Department of Cybernetics, University of Reading.
Published
Asks two questions, one of them on behalf of his daughter Julia, about plot points in *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. Typescript.
Published
Praises *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* and adds many postscripts. Manuscript.
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Praises *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* and asks about forthcoming projects. Manuscript.
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First letter praises *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*; the second discusses Adams's contributions to the *Not the Nine O'Clock News* book. Manuscript.
Published
Asks about the differences between the versions of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. Typescript.
Published
Asks about the television version of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*, discusses the meanings of names, and asks other questions, including one on 'how, when and where Zaphod, Ford and Arthur shave'. Manuscript.
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Asks about merchandise relating to *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*, among other matters. Manuscript.
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Discusses various matters relating to *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*, including the album's having cheered and comforted a friend's 12-year-old son during the last weeks of his life. Manuscript.
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Requests an autograph. Manuscript.
Published
Discusses the television series of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* and a rejected proposal to analyse Adams's writing technique for a Sixth Year Studies English project. Final page only. Manuscript.
Douglas Adams's secretary.
Published
Gives details of fan clubs. Typescript.
Published
Declares that Adams's *MacUser* article 'finally does it'. Typescript.
Published
Asks if Adams will consider giving him financial support for his acting career, giving Adams 'the chance to invest in both me and the British Culture', and encloses a review [not present] of his performance at the 1995 Ediburgh Fringe Festival. Manuscript.
Published
Typescript.
Published
Asks if Adams will ever open a real Milliways restaurant. Manuscript.
Published
Asks for writing advice. Manuscript.
Published
Praises *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* and asks if there will be another computer game. Manuscript.
Published
Praises *The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul* and *Last Chance to See*, and requests an autograph for his girlfriend Katy. Typescript.
Published
Suggests what the Ultimate Question might be, on the basis of a water boiler control box's clock: 'HOW MANY MINUTES DO YOU NEED TO ADD TO THE NUMBER SHOWN TO GET THE RIGHT TIME?' Typescript.
3 if by air Publishing / May Day Records.
Published
First letter asks for clearance to record a CD under the name Disaster Area, and encloses a demo tape [not present]; the second apologises for a parcel not having yet arrived. Typescript.
'Sensei' / 'The Imago'. Headmaster of the Hatamoto School of Kendo and Iaido.
Published
Claims to be 'super-sane', praises *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* for being 'just about the only book on Earth that people can read, and understand, that has anything to do with mental illness', and encourages Adams to sign up to a society of 'enlightened' people, which seems mainly to involve becoming a paying member of Wright's Kendo club. Typescript.
Published
Asks for writing advice. Manuscript.
Published
Manuscript.
Published
Asks about fan clubs and the possibility of the *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* television series being repeated. Manuscript.
Published
Asks questions relating to a school project. Manuscript.
Published
Praises *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. Manuscript.
Published
Suggests that he and Adams can help each other with writing the first three sentences of their novels. Manuscript.
Published
Asks various questions, one of them regarding the matter of Adams's books being translated. Manuscript.
Published
Requests an autographed photograph. Manuscript.
Published
Questions a plot point in *Mostly Harmless* and asks for information on other Adams's non-Hitchhiker's books. Typescript.
Published
Discusses the matter of why the universe exists. Manuscript.
Published
Requests an autographed photograph. Manuscript.
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Requests an autograph. Typescript.
Published
Asks if Adams believes in UFOs and if he based Arthur Dent on himself. Manuscript.
Published
Asks questions relating to a school book report. Manuscript.
Staff Writer, The Sci-Fi Fantasy Club, Western Washington University.
Published
Asks if Adams wishes to continue receiving the *Dataphile* newsletter. Typescript.
Published
Manuscript.
Published
Requests information about Adams for a school project. Manuscript.
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Requests two autographs. Typescript.
Published
Typescript.
The University of Sydney Union.
The University of Sydney Union.
Published
Typescript.
Published
Douglas Noël Adams was born in Cambridge on 11 March 1952, first child of another Johnian, Christopher Douglas Adams (BA 1951), and Janet Dora Sydney (née Donovan).
He was awarded an exhibition to read English at St John's College, Cambridge, obtaining his BA in 1974. While at Cambridge, Adams occupied himself chiefly in writing, performing in, and producing comedy sketches and revues, establishing connections that were to be integral to his future work.
His career took off with 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', a six-part comic science-fiction radio series commissioned by the BBC in 1977 and broadcast in 1978. Novelisation and a second series were followed by further books in what became billed as 'the increasingly inaccurately named Hitchhiker's Trilogy'. The 'Hitchhiker's Guide' series has taken many forms, including audio recordings; stage adaptations; a television series; a computer game; publication of the original radio scripts; radio adaptations of the remaining novels, and a film.
Adams's other creative work included writing and script-editing for BBC Television's 'Doctor Who', novels featuring the private detective Dirk Gently, and collaboration with John Lloyd on a humorous dictionary, 'The Meaning of Liff'. A collaboration of a very different sort saw him embark upon a series of expeditions with zoologist Mark Carwardine in search of endangered species. The resulting radio documentary series, 'Last Chance to See', was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1989.
An enthusiastic technophile, Adams became a popular speaker on the subject. He was a co-founder in 1994 of the digital media and communications company The Digital Village (TDV), which produced the CD-ROM adventure game 'Starship Titanic' and created the website h2g2.
Adams married Jane Elizabeth Belson, a barrister, in November 1991; their daughter, Polly Jane Rocket Adams, was born in June 1994. Douglas Adams died suddenly on 11 May 2001 in Santa Barbara, California.
Further reading:
'Don't Panic: Douglas Adams and the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', by Neil Gaiman (3rd rev. edn., London: Titan, 2002); 'Hitchhiker: A Biography of Douglas Adams', by MJ Simpson (1st edn., London: Hodder and Stoughton, 2003); 'Wish You Were Here: The Official Biography of Douglas Adams', by Nick Webb (1st edn., London: Headline, 2003), who also wrote the entry for Adams in the 'Oxford Dictionary of National Bibliography'; and 'The Frood: The Authorised and Very Official History of Douglas Adams & The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', by Jem Roberts (London: Preface, 2014).
Published
Discusses *Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency*, *The Utterly Utterly Merry Comic Relief Christmas Book*, *Bureaucracy*, *Last Chance to See* and other projects.
Published
Encloses an issue of *Sub-Etha* [not present], and provides information on the Guild's other activities. A manuscript note from 'Brian's Mom' notes that there have been thirty-eight responses in two weeks to the Guild's write-up in the *Boston Globe*.
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Two copies, plus one 'Local Group Supplement' insert.
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Two copies.
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Includes schoolwork, exam papers, reports, awards certificates, publications, items from extracurricular pastimes, and related ephemera.
Published
Published
Booklet containing photographs of Brentwood School with captions; intended as 'an introduction and a reminder'.
Published
A manuscript note on the reverse of the 1966 volume reads: 'My name is Douglas Adams and I am in School Hearse'.
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Manuscript.
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1. Oxford Higher School Certificate Examination, History III. 19 July 1948.
2. Oxford Local Examinations General Certificate of Education, Scholarship Level, History, Paper III. 29 June 1962.
3. Oxford Local Examinations General Certificate of Education, Advanced Level, History, Paper III. 26 June 1964.
4. Oxford Local Examinations General Certificate of Education, Advanced Level, History, Paper S. 20 June 1967.
5. Oxford Local Examinations General Certificate of Education, Advanced Level, History, Paper S. 26 June 1968.
6. Oxford Local Exminations General Certificate of Education, Ordinary Level, Physics, Paper II. 28 May 1968.
7. Oxford Local Examinations General Certificate of Education, Advanced Level, Economic History, Paper II. 18 June 1970. Adams sat this paper and has marked some of the questions.
8. C.M. Ing's report on 'English Literature at Advanced Level', reprinted from the 1968 'General Report' of the University of Oxford Delegacy of Local Examinations.
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Published
'Mrs W.E. Raynor No 2 Accord' written on the reverse. Manuscript.
Published
Typescript and manuscript.
Published
'To D.N. Adams on his last day at School: a Memento of the Past with a Message of Good Wishes for the future.' Typescript and manuscript.
Published
The photograph is marked '1963', and the reverse specifies 'Summer 1963' and that it was taken by 'Mr Davis'. Manuscript.
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A note on the reverse mentions that the photograph was taken on a pre-war Kodak Retina. Manuscript.
Published
Contains sketches with comments and grading from Adams's teacher, with an insert of a magazine cutting used as a reference for one sketch.
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Typescript and manuscript.
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Manuscript.
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Manuscript.
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Manuscript.
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Typescript.
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With a diagram or doodle on the reverse. Manuscript.
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Manuscript.
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Including doodles/sketches, some of John Lennon. Manuscript and typescript.
Published
Manuscript.
Published
Copied manuscript.
Published
A quotation from Burton's 'The Anatomy of Melancholy' appears on the reverse along with a list of the names of twentieth-century political figures and commentators. Manuscript.
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Manuscript.
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The final piece is labelled as a History essay but discusses poetry and includes a list of names, and is unmarked. Manuscript.
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Manuscript.
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Manuscript.
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Manuscript.
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Manuscript.
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Manuscript.
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Manuscript.
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Manuscript.
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Manuscript.
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One page lists 'Summertime' (George and Ira Gershwin) and '[The] Long and Winding Road' (The Beatles) on the reverse. Manuscript and typescript.
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Manuscript.
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Manuscript.
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Manuscript.
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Manuscript.
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Manuscript.
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Manuscript.
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Manuscript.
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Manuscript.
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Manuscript.
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Manuscript.
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Manuscript.
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The folder bears the observation 'Upper Five is jes' sittin, waitin'. Manuscript and copied typescript.
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Manuscript.
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Manuscript.
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Contains a specific reference to 'O' Level Music. Manuscript.
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Manuscript.
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Sheet music. With a note from 'C.L.' about dotted lines as an aid to counting ('no bar-lines at this time'). Manuscript.
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Manuscript.
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Sheet music. Typescript.
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Sheet music. Marked '"O" Level Music'. Typescript with manuscript annotations.
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Manuscript.
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Manuscript.
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Somebody else: 'Did I bump into you coming round the corner at 11.0 [sic] because after I had gone past it struck me that it might have been you.' Adams: 'I thought you were sweeping past in a Hough.' Manuscript.
Published
'My head is bending low, I hear those angel voices calling. Poor old Joe'. Adams adds the suggestion that Foster was referring to 'J.W.H. Rennie Esq M.A. Cantab', a Brentwood teacher. Manuscript.
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Accompanied by a piece of blotting paper that might be unrelated. Manuscript.
Previously contained in AdamsDN/1/14/45.
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Manuscript.
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Possibly but not necessarily by Adams, and possibly but not necessarily for the Artsphere magazine 'Broadsheet'. Copied typescript.
Published
'The first, and in the Editor's cynical opinion probably the last, issue'. Adams contirbutes the cover illustration and a set of comedic book reviews. Copied typescript.
Published
Manuscript.
Published
The stationery is that of Adams's local branch of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; his grandmother was honorary secretary. Typescript and, for 'P.T.O.', manuscript.
Published
The reverse repeats the title and opening words. Typescript, with manuscript note: 'a *year* before the play!'
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Manuscript.
Published
M.J. Simpson in 'Hitchhiker' mentions this speech as having been delivered in Michaelmas 1969 for the Brentwood Senior School Debating Society. Manuscript.
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Play scripts. Manuscript and typescript.
Published
The cover is not present.
Published
1. *Swan Song*, 'Brentwood School's Umpteenth V.C.' Undated,
2. The Brothers Čapek, *The Insect Play: An Entomological Review*. Adams played the Tramp. 7-8 May 1965. Signed by cast members and accompanied by a microfilm slide (including the signatures).
3. Christopher Fry, *The Boy with a Cart*. Adams played Tawm. 6-7 May 1966.
4. William Shakespeare, *The Tempest*. Adams played the Boatswain. 7-10 December 1966.
5. William Shakespeare, *Macbeth*. Adams played the Sergeant. 7-9 December 1967. One copy is signed by cast members.
6. William Shakespeare, *Julius Caesar*. Adams played Julius Caesar. 12-14 December 1968.
7. William Shakespeare, *Hamlet*. Adams played the Ghost. 11-13 December 1969.
8. William Shakespeare, *Richard III*. 8-11 December 1971.
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The Tramp is 'capably played by D.N. Adams'.
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Typescript and manuscript.
Published
Apologises for not having shown up in 1969 or 1970, having been awarded a civics prize and been invited, and discusses students and university. Typescript and manuscript.
Published
Contains a Lent Term 1967 meetings schedule, pasted over a schedule for Michaelmas 1966.
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Discusses low attendance. Manuscript.
Headmaster, Brentwood School.
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Typescript.
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Typescript, with the manuscript beginnings of a calculation of 5000 divided by 370.
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Typescript, with some answers in manuscript.
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Manuscript.
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Typescript and manuscript.
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Typescript. Adams has, in manuscript, filled in the blank in 'My Christian name is _____'.
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Typescript.
Published
Pin marks suggest that this was displayed on a wall; that Adams retained it might imply that it was more decorative than academic.
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A manuscript message on the back cover reads: 'Douglas. What on earth were you doing with a bowler hat and hanky on your face last night? It gave me a shock. DON'T wake me up to tell me!'
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The front cover bears several signatures.
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The front cover bears a picture (perhaps Adams's self-portrait); the back, 'RSPCA'.
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The back cover bears doodles of Aston Martins, with focus on the front grille.
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Two copies, the second without Adams's name on the front cover.
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Two copies, the second without Adams's name on the front cover.
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Two copies, the second without Adams's name on the front cover.
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Two copies.
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The issue number is given as 46:2 but this is likely a misprint. Compare AdamsDN1/3/2/31.
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The back cover bears Adams's signature practice.
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Adams's poem 'A Winter's Evening' appears on page 11.
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Four copies.
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Includes administrative paperwork, academic essays, items relating to student drama and to clubs and societies, and ephemera.
Published
Includes College documentation, dinner menus, May Ball information and tutorial correspondence.
Published
1. Paper 301: Practical Criticism. 24 November 1969. Presumably Adams had this in his possession for preparation purposes.
2. Paper 301: Practical Criticism. 23 November 1970.
3. Paper 302: Chaucer and/or Shakespeare. 25 November 1970.
4. Paper 303: Engl. Lit from 1300 to the present day. 24 November 1970.
BA 1932, Fellow 1945-2001, Senior Tutor 1965-72.
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Congratulates him on having been awarded an Open Exhibition. Typescript.
BA 1941; Tutor 1965-1980; Tutor for Graduate Admissions 1978-1980; Director of Studies in Engineering 1980-1984; Steward 1980-1982 and 1986-1987.
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Informs him that he has been awarded an Exhibition in English, and asks him to confirm acceptance. Typescript.
Tutor for Admissions – Philosophy and Literature, University of Warwick.
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Thanks him for informing Warwick of his Cambridge exhibition award, about which they are 'not surprised', and says that he was in line for an unconditional offer on the basis of his 'outstanding' response to the Philosophy and Literature test paper. Typescript.
Secretary, The Universities Central Council on Admissions.
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Confirms Adams's offer from Cambridge. Typescript.
Published
Adams is mentioned.
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Adams is mentioned in both.
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Mentions Adams's scholarship award.
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Signed by then-NUS President Jack Straw.
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1. Fifth edition. October 1972.
2. Sixth edition. October 1973.
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Copied typescript.
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Matric 1934. Praelector, St John's College.
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Copied typescript.
Published
1. Michaelmas 1971.
2. Lent 1972.
3. Easter 1972.
4. Michaelmas 1972.
5. Lent 1973.
6. Easter 1973.
7. Michaelmas 1973.
8. Lent 1974.
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1. Preliminary Examination, Paper 3: Practical criticism. 18 April 1972.
2. Preliminary Examination, Paper 4: Translation. 18 April 1972.
3. English Tripos, Part I Paper 1: English Literature and its background from 1300 to 1550. 29 May 1973.
4. English Tripos, Part I Paper 2: English literature and its background 1550 to 1700. 31 May 1973.
5. English Tripos, Part I Paper 4: English literature and its background since 1830. 28 May 1973.
6. English Tripos, Part I Paper 5: Shakespeare. 1 June 1973.
7. English Tripos, Part I Paper 6: Literary Criticism. 30 May 1973.
8. English Tripos, Part II Paper 1: Practical Criticism. 18 May 1974.
9. English Tripos, Part II Paper 2: Tragedy. 17 May 1974.
10. English Tripos, Part II Paper 5: Special period of English literature, 1640 to 1680. 21 May 1974.
11. English Tripos, Part II Paper 10: The novel. 20 May 1974.
BA 1941; Tutor 1965-1980; Tutor for Graduate Admissions 1978-1980; Director of Studies in Engineering 1980-1984; Steward 1980-1982 and 1986-1987.
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Lists his preliminary examination results, and advises: 'These marks would just get you a II.ii'. Manuscript.
Deputy Clerk of Examinations, University of Cambridge.
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Confirms that the Chairman of the English Tripos, Part II, has no objection to Adams sitting Paper 5 instead of, as he had been expected to do, submitting a second dissertation. Copied typescript.
Cambridge Faculty of English examination chairman for Part I.
Cambridge Faculty of English examination chairman for Part II.
Published
Asks them to remind candidates of the possibility of viva voce examinations. Copied typescript.
Registrary, University of Cambridge.
Published
Discusses statistics on Cambridge graduates and requests information on subsequent employment. Typescript.
Published
Begins with 'Tonight is my last night in College and in a few hours I will be quitting Cambridge', and ends with 'Goodbye Cambridge -- it's been good and bad -- mostly good'. Copied manuscript.
Published
Typescript and manuscript.
BA 1941; Tutor 1965-1980; Tutor for Graduate Admissions 1978-1980; Director of Studies in Engineering 1980-1984; Steward 1980-1982 and 1986-1987.
Published
Agrees to provide a reference to Adams's landlady, mentions that a cheque from Essex County Council arrived after Adams left St John's, and provides, in a postscript, Adams's Part II examination results. Typescript.
The accompanying envelope was not found with the letter but appears to match it.
Published
Signed on reverse by various people, including Paul Johnstone. Typescript and manuscript.
Published
In 1972, Adams turned 20 and Burton turned 19. Typescript.
Published
Manuscript.
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1. Invitation to 'Douglas Adams and lady'.
2. Programme.
3. Dinner menu.
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Published
Typescript and manuscript.
A portion of a song, 'I'm in love with a multistorey car park', is written on the reverse of the large menu.
Published
The coasters bear a message in faux, or perhaps falsch, German: 'Hierbei sind freundlich geinvitet your biertrinkenclothen onzuputten und am 8 p.m. Samstag 3rd November at K6, Second Courten, St John's alongzukommen wo / Studenführer Nick von Burton / Gruppensexleiter Johnnie Simpson / Douglas der Graf von Hangover / EIN GROSSEN BIERFEST holden will. / Wein please / bloodywell answer senden.' Typescript.
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Adams Smith Adams performed. Typescript
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Honorary Secretary, the Johnian Society.
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Describes the Society and encourages life subscription. Copied typescript.
Published
1. *The Eagle* #278. June 1972.
2. *The Eagle* #279. January 1973.
3. *The Eagle* #280. June 1973.
4. Contents page for *The Eagle* vol. LXV (#277-28).
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Notes, essays and reference texts for the Cambridge English Tripos, including Adams's Part I dissertation on Christopher Smart's 'Jubilate Agno'.
Adams's notes often take the form of continuous essay-like prose, meaning that the distinction between personal notes and submitted essays is not always clear.
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1. Notes and a marked essay on *Emma*. Manuscript.
2. Notes on various topics, including 'the novel of manners' and 'the general literary tradition'. Manuscript.
Published
1. Notes on 'Don Juan'. Manuscript.
2. Notes on Maurice Bowra's 'The Romantic Imagination'. Manuscript.
3. Notes and an marked essay on 'Don Juan' in relation to conceptions of imagination. Manuscript.
Published
Unknown author's parallel translation of, and notes on, Chaucer. Copied corrected typescript.
Published
1. Translation of the opening of 'The Wife of Bath's Tale'. Manuscript.
2. Notes on *Troilus and Criseyde*. Typescript.
3. Essay on '*Troilus and Criseyde* and the conditions of life'. Typescript and manuscript.
Published
1. Notes on various topics. Manuscript.
2. Two versions, the first incomplete, of an essay on '*David Copperfield*: Dickens' treatment of women, marriage and morality'. Typescript.
Published
1. Essay on *Absalom and Achitophel*. Manuscript.
2. Notes on *All for Love*. Manuscript.
Published
1. Notes on various topics including 'Burnt Norton', also containing a question on Senecan tragedy. Manuscript.
2. Notes on 'The Frontiers of Criticism'. Typescript and manuscript.
3. Notes on 'The Social Function of Poetry'. Manuscript.
4. Marked essay on 'Free verse and structure: *The Waste Land*'. Manuscript.
Published
1. Notes on *Seven Types of Ambiguity*. Typescript and manuscript.
2. Essay 'On the Squeezing of Lemons', discussing the extent to which Empson is part of T.S. Eliot's 'lemon-squeezer school of criticism'. Typescript.
Published
1. Quotations from *Howards End*. Typescript and manuscript.
2. Marked essay on 'E.M. Forster: Some Aspects of Culture'. Typescript and manuscript.
Published
Essay on 'Carnal Knowledge', accompanied by a marked photocopy of a poem with the essay question written on the reverse. Manuscript.
Published
Notes on *Jude the Obscure*, *The Return of the Native* and *The Mayor of Casterbridge*. Manuscript.
Published
1. Notes on *The Testament of Cresseid*. Typescript.
2. Essay on *The Testament of Cresseid* as 'a protest against the conditions of life'. Typescript with manuscript corrections.
Published
Notes on Hobbes, Francis Bacon and René Descartes. Manuscript.
Published
Essay on 'Spring and Fall: to a young child'. Manuscript.
Published
Marked essay on 'The Enigmatic Crow'. Manuscript.
Published
1. Notes on *Ghosts*. Manuscript.
2. Notes on *Rosmersholm*. Manuscript.
Published
Notes on various topics.
Published
1. Notes on *Paradise Lost*. Manuscript.
2. Essay on *Paradise Lost*. Manuscript.
Published
Essay on 'Anthem for Doomed Youth'. Typescript with manuscript corrections.
Published
1. Essay on *Pearl*: 'The significance of the Pearl herself is symbolic rather than allegorical'. Typescript with manuscript corrections and a concluding annotation.
2. Essay on *Sir Gawain and the Green Knight*: 'The descriptions of nature, of the seasons, of the hunt, all that glorious scene painting are in fact irrelevant to Sir Gawain's progress, physical and spiritual'. Adams opens with the suggestion that the quotation 'was specially dreamed up for the purpose of having the word "discuss" tacked on after it, for it seems to be almost insupportable'. Typescript with one manuscript correction.
Published
Notes and copies on various topics. Numbered continuously (including blank pages) by Adams. Manuscript and typescript.
Published
Notes.
Published
1. Notes on *Redgauntlet*. Manuscript.
2. Notes on the Waverley Novels. Manuscript.
Published
Unbound pages of a book taped to notepaper.
Published
Unbound pages of a book taped to notepaper.
Published
1. *Hamlet* I.v.31-40 ('I find thee apt' to 'Now wears his crown') transcribed twice, followed by lines 31-37. Manuscript.
2. Essay on '*Hamlet* – a matter of life and death'. Manuscript.
3. Essay on the 'vulgar nationalism' in *Henry V*. Typescript.
4. Two versions of an essay on 'optimistic' tragedy and *King Lear*. Manuscript.
5. Essay on Christianity in *Measure for Measure*.
6. Essay on the possibility of 'theme' in Shakespearean comedy, specifically *Much Ado about Nothing*. Manuscript.
7. Notes on Shakespearean tragedy. Manuscript.
8. 'Scholarship Questions', with writing on *The Winter's Tale*. Manuscript.
BA (Pembroke) 1743/44
Published
Copied book with manuscript annotations.
Published
Essay. This might have been preparation material for Adams's Part I dissertation, or a weekly essay from which said dissertation was born. Manuscript. Incomplete.
Published
Contains notes towards Adams's Part I dissertation on Christopher Smart. Manuscript.
Published
A note suggests that Adams passed, or intended to pass, this material to a fellow student: 'Dear Tony, Herewith *Jubilate Agno*. All my own notes are in random chaos and I doubt if you'll find anything useful in them without doing a sort of jigsaw puzzle exercise.' Manuscript and typescript.
Published
Adams's Part I dissertation, with the folder in which it was enclosed. Typescript and manuscript.
Published
1. Notes on *Antigone*. Manuscript.
2. Notes and a marked essay on *Oedipus Rex*. Manuscript.
Published
Notes on *Vile Bodies* and twentieth-century social background. Manuscript.
Published
1. Notes on revenge tragedy. Manuscript.
2. Notes on satire. Manuscript.
3. Notes on *The White Devil*. Manuscript.
4. Notes and an essay on *The Duchess of Malfi*. Manuscript.
Published
Notes on Wordsworth's relationship with the sonnet. Manuscript.
Published
Notes on Restoration comedy. Manuscript.
Published
Contains notes on Christopher Smart, William Wycherley and William Congreve. Manuscript.
Published
Contains notes on E.M. Forster, Thomas Hardy, Charles Dickens and Geoffrey Chaucer.
Published
Published
Includes articles, reviewery, Adams Smith Adams and Footlights material, Cambridge Union Society speeches, press cuttings and memorabilia.
Published
Published
Contains contact details for various writers, comedians et cetera, plus other lists of names, dates and expenses. Manuscript.
Published
Article by Adams discussing the fallout of the discovery that St John's College 'is in fact a deep sea squid' (whereas Trinity and Magdalene are 'giant jellyfish'). Typescript, with photocopy.
Published
Article by Adams exploring the naming and construction of a new Cambridge college. Typescript.
The article is typed on the reverse of two glued-together illustrations.
Published
Includes, on page 8, Adams's article 'But I like bacon!', about not being Jewish.
Published
1. Adams's membership card.
2. Note from John Parry confirming Adams's membership. 4 February 1972.
3. Term card for Lent 1972
4. Term card for Easter 1972.
5. Footlights Club Dinner menu 1972.
6. Term card for Michaelmas 1973.
Published
Published
Typescript, with manuscript markings and annotations.
Published
Includes photos and biographies of Geoffrey McGivern and Griff Rhys Jones.
Published
New Court Cellars, St John's College, Cambridge, 22 January 1972.
Published
ADC Theatre, Cambridge, 31 October to 4 November 1972. Adams played Sir Lucius O'Trigger. Some of the cast have signed the programme.
Compare AdamsDN/1/15/17/4.
Published
ADC Theatre, 22-26 February 1973.
Compare AdamsDN/1/15/17/5.
Published
Christ's Theatre, 7–10 March 1973; a marking on the programme indicates that Adams saw it on 8 March. Some notes by Adams are on the reverse of the programme and were presumably written during the play. Manuscript and typescript.
Published
1. Arts Theatre Cambridge programme. 11–23 June 1973.
2. Oxford Playhouse programme. 25–30 June 1973.
3. The Round House (Chalk Farm, London) flyer. 3–14 July 1973.
Published
School of Pythagoras, St John's College, Cambridge, 14–16 June 1973.
Published
Triad, 24 November 1973. Some material is repeated from *Every Packet Carries a Government Health Warning*.
Published
ADC Theatre, Cambridge, 27 November to 8 December 1973. Adams played King Groovy.
Published
1. Cambridge Arts Theatre programme. 3--15 June 1974.
2. Oxford Playhouse programme. 24--29 June 1974.
3. Comedy Theatre, London flyer. 15 July to circa 9 August 1974 ('July 15 for 4 weeks only').
Published
Most pieces relate to the run at The School of Pythagoras, St John's College, Cambridge, 15–17 November 1973; also included is the original collage poster for a performance at the Bush Theatre, London on 13 January 1974.
Compare AdamsDN/1/15/17/6.
Published
One copy has manuscript annotations.
Published
Published
ADC Theatre, Cambridge, 6–9 November 1974.
Compare AdamsDN/1/15/17/7.
Published
Three copies.
Published
Cambridge Arts Theatre, 7–19 June 1976, and Oxford Playhouse, 21–26 June 1976. The copy of the Arts Theatre programme with Adams's name on the cover is signed inside by the cast.
Compare AdamsDN/1/15/17/8.
Published
Oxford Playhouse. 20-25 June 1977.
Published
Published
Scholars' Garden, Peterhouse, 'Thurs. & Fri. 14' [page is damaged]. Typescript and manuscript, some copied.
Published
Typescript with manuscript corrections.
Published
Two excerpts and three complete issues.
1. Excerpt with Adams's review of *The Revenger's Tragedy*. March 1973.
2. October 1973.
3. February 1974.
4. March 1974.
5. Excerpt with Mary Allen's review of *Cerberus*. November 1974.
Published
Some original, some copied.
Published
Published
Published
Contains a list, of ideas or for a running order of sketches, and financial calculations. Manuscript.
Published
Contains a brief list of accepted and rejected sketches. Manuscript.
Published
Published
Published
Published
Published
Published
1. 'This House has no confidence in Her Majesty's Government'. 14 October 1971.
2. 'Pornography should never be forbidden'. 28 October 1971.
3. 'Nothing succeeds like Excess'. 17 October 1971.
4. 'This House is Sated, Saturated, but not Satisfied'. Adams proposes. 5 March 1973.
5. 'This House would rather have lived a hundred years ago'. Adams proposes. 22 November 1973.
Published
Published
Manuscript.
Published
Typescript with manuscript corrections.
Published
Typescript, with a manuscript correction and a manuscript addition calling for 'a rousing chorus' of 'We're not tired of the sound of Douglas Adams's voice and we heartily approve of the president's move in getting him to speak again tonight'.
Published
Typescript with manuscript corrections.
Published
Typescript with manuscript corrections.
Published
Typescript and manuscript.
Published
Discusses the notion of the Union being 'a deep sea squid'. Typescript.
Published
Typescript.
Published
Typescript with manuscript corrections.
Published
Manuscript.
Published
Published
Manuscript.
Published
Manuscript.
Published
Contains, on page 11, Adams's John Cleese interview.
Published
One copied, the rest original.
Published
Published
Covers cows, fish and the First World War.
Published
Published
Manuscript.
Published
Typescript with manuscript corrections.
Published
Published
Published
Matric (Emmanuel) 1974
Published
Published
Includes an explanation of waffles: 'crisp indented "cakes" of rich batter baked in iron moulds'.
Published
Published
Published
Published
Published
Loose items found in the scrapbook have been catalogued separately in this sequence.
Published
Loose items found in the scrapbook have been catalogued separately in this sequence.
Published
Published
Published
Financial documentation, and items pertaining to Adams's attempts to find employment before his writing career was established.
Published
Typescript and manuscript.
Published
Published
£11.21. H.M.C./R.H.B. district: South Somerset PR2. Tax year 1971-1972.
Published
Published
The context suggests that, rather than looking for a publisher for his writing, Adams was looking for employment. Manuscript and typescript.
Published
Typescript and manuscript.
Published
Partially completed, in manuscript, by Adams.
Published
Potentially relates to Adams considering applying for work there. Manuscript.
Published
Contains twenty-nine documents pertaining to the sale of Apartment 14-A, 120 Central Park South, New York, New York 10019. Typescript and manuscript, mostly copied.
Published
Invoice information primarily sent from the offices of Ed Victor. Typescript and manuscript; some copied, some original.
Published
Manuscript annotations.
Published
Published
Brown Walker's address book.
Published
Red Letts address book. With a record at the end of Christmas cards sent and received 1974-77.
Published
Green Foreign address book.
Published
Blue Ryman address book.
Published
Blue Ryman address book.
Published
Red Collins address book. Its leather cover is AdamsDN1/6/7.
Published
The address book to which this corresponds is AdamsDN/1/6/6.
Published
Brown; unbranded.
Published
Loose-leaf and unbranded. Largely typescript.
Published
Douglas Noël Adams was born in Cambridge on 11 March 1952, first child of another Johnian, Christopher Douglas Adams (BA 1951), and Janet Dora Sydney (née Donovan).
He was awarded an exhibition to read English at St John's College, Cambridge, obtaining his BA in 1974. While at Cambridge, Adams occupied himself chiefly in writing, performing in, and producing comedy sketches and revues, establishing connections that were to be integral to his future work.
His career took off with 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', a six-part comic science-fiction radio series commissioned by the BBC in 1977 and broadcast in 1978. Novelisation and a second series were followed by further books in what became billed as 'the increasingly inaccurately named Hitchhiker's Trilogy'. The 'Hitchhiker's Guide' series has taken many forms, including audio recordings; stage adaptations; a television series; a computer game; publication of the original radio scripts; radio adaptations of the remaining novels, and a film.
Adams's other creative work included writing and script-editing for BBC Television's 'Doctor Who', novels featuring the private detective Dirk Gently, and collaboration with John Lloyd on a humorous dictionary, 'The Meaning of Liff'. A collaboration of a very different sort saw him embark upon a series of expeditions with zoologist Mark Carwardine in search of endangered species. The resulting radio documentary series, 'Last Chance to See', was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1989.
An enthusiastic technophile, Adams became a popular speaker on the subject. He was a co-founder in 1994 of the digital media and communications company The Digital Village (TDV), which produced the CD-ROM adventure game 'Starship Titanic' and created the website h2g2.
Adams married Jane Elizabeth Belson, a barrister, in November 1991; their daughter, Polly Jane Rocket Adams, was born in June 1994. Douglas Adams died suddenly on 11 May 2001 in Santa Barbara, California.
Further reading:
'Don't Panic: Douglas Adams and the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', by Neil Gaiman (3rd rev. edn., London: Titan, 2002); 'Hitchhiker: A Biography of Douglas Adams', by MJ Simpson (1st edn., London: Hodder and Stoughton, 2003); 'Wish You Were Here: The Official Biography of Douglas Adams', by Nick Webb (1st edn., London: Headline, 2003), who also wrote the entry for Adams in the 'Oxford Dictionary of National Bibliography'; and 'The Frood: The Authorised and Very Official History of Douglas Adams & The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', by Jem Roberts (London: Preface, 2014).
Published
Mostly desk diaries, some pocket. Most used sporadically; some have very few entries. Doodles and notes feature in addition to appointments.
Data Protection considerations apply; consult Special Collections Librarian for access.
Published
Published
Published
Published
Published
12 July: 'They loved The Pirate Planet, and suggested that the Cricketers [sic] should be a film.' 'One of the best days of my life.'
Published
Published
Published
Published
Published
Published
'(please return this book if found. There will be a small reward but no guarantee that you'll necessarily like it).'
Published
Published
Published
Press coverage of, or mentioning, Adams and his work is in the Press and Publicity sequence (AdamsDN/10).
Published
Published
Reviews Simon & Garfunkel's concert at the Albert Hall.
Published
Reviews The Beatles' album *Let It Be*.
Published
Discusses nudists.
Published
Published
Lists unusual names.
Published
Profiles Samuel Beckett and discusses new plays 'That Time' and 'Footfalls'.
Published
Reviews *Monty Python Lives*.
Published
Profiles Sherrin, and mentions his New York run in *Side by Side by Sondheim*.
Published
Discusses an advertising campaign for After Eight mints. The campaign bears some similarity to the imminent *The Meaning of Liff*.
Published
Discusses the new Greenpeace headquarters.
Published
Profiles Pete Dexter.
Published
Discusses the likelihood of intelligent humanoid robots being developed. Two passages have been circled.
Published
1. 'A writing johnny in office-land'. Discusses the experience of working in a shared office when accustomed to a solitary writing life. 25 May 1996.
2. 'Just don't ask me to wipe the blood off my telephone'. Discusses missing the office, and wanting to be a rich bachelor. 20 July 1996.
Published
Discusses risk-taking in television commissioning, making mention of *Monty Python's Flying Circus*.
Published
Reviews recent television programming.
Published
Features a crossover between Superman and The Flash.
Published
Cambridge student arts magazine, co-edited by Paul Neil Milne Johnstone. Includes work by George Steiner, Jon Silkin, Jonathan Culler, Alan Brownjohn, Veronica Forrest-Thomson and Stephen Poliakoff, among others.
Published
Published
1. 3 December 1970.
2. 4 March 1976.
3. 25 March 1976.
4. 13 May 1976.
5. 24 June 1976.
Published
Sexually explicit image.
Published
Published
Published
Material pertaining to cycling and driving; Aston Martin memorabilia; maps, postcards and tourist information documents.
This sub-series is drawn together from loose, largely individual items found throughout the boxes transferred to Special Collections.
Published
'67646 GG' is written twice on the back cover in manuscript.
Published
Published
The 1968 edition has a doodle of a road on the front cover.
Published
Manuscript.
Published
Includes errata slip.
Published
1. 1963 edition.
2. Alterations of the 1963 edition with the List of Members at September 1965.
3. 1967 edition.
Published
The invitation did not necessarily accompany the News Sheet but appears likely to have done so given the format and the dates.
Published
1. Spring 1966.
2. Summer/Autumn 1966. Two copies.
3. Winter 1966.
4. Spring 1967.
5. Summer 1967.
6. Autumn/Winter 1967.
7. Spring 1971.
Published
Published
Published
Published
Published
Published
Published
Published
The image of Keats in his sitting-room at Wenwtworth Palace, as painted by Joseph Severn, has been cut out by Adams and pasted into the schoolwork at AdamsDN/1/3/1/18.
Published
Published
Published
Published
Published
'Fiorentina Florenz Florence' is written in manuscript on the cover.
Published
Includes 'Camping sites / Points of interest / Scenic roads / Ascents'.
Published
Published
Published
Published
Published
Published
Addresses of consulates on the back.
Published
Published
Published
Guitar and piano instruction books and sheet music; album inserts; Beatles memorabilia.
Musical compositions and arrangements by Adams are included in the School, University and Early Material sequences.
Published
Page 11 has manuscript annotations.
Published
Sheet music. Pages 2 and 22 have manuscript annotations.
Published
Sheet music. Page 10 has manuscript annotations.
Published
Sheet music.
Published
Sheet music.
Published
Sheet music, with manuscript annotations.
Published
Sheet music.
Published
Sheet music, with manuscript annotations.
Published
Sheet music, with manuscript annotations.
Published
Sheet music, with manuscript annotations.
Published
Sheet music.
Published
Sheet music.
Published
Sheet music, with manuscript annotations.
Published
Sheet music.
Published
Sheet music, with manuscript annotations.
Published
Sheet music. Inscribed to Adams.
Published
Sheet music.
Published
Sheet music.
Published
Sheet music, with manuscript annotations.
Published
Sheet music, with manuscript annotations.
Published
Sheet music.
Published
Sheet music, with manuscript annotations.
Published
Sheet music.
Published
Published
1. Sleeve for The Beatles' 'All My Loving' EP.The vinyl is not present.
2. 'Lady Madonna' / 'The Inner Light' 45 rpm vinyl record by The Beatles.
3. 'Let It Be' / 'You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)' 45 rpm vinyl record by The Beatles.
4. 'Let It Be' / 'You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)' 45 rpm vinyl record by The Beatles, from the BBC Gramophone Library.
5. 'Temma Harbour' / 'Lontano Dagli Occhi' 45 rpm vinyl record by Mary Hopkin.
The four vinyl records were previously contained in AdamsDN/1/14/48.
Published
Published
Published
The postcard, a parody of a photograph of Paul McCartney, was included with early pressings of Lennon's album *Imagine*.
Published
Beatles cover story.
Published
Beatles cover story.
Published
A small selection of books owned by Adams.
Published
London: Cambridge University Press, unknown date.
Inscribed: 'Douglas Noël Adams / Oct 17th 1960 / from his Grandmother'.
Pages 898 and 899 of the Old Testament (Jeremiah 12-13) are marked with a crucifix card with 'From Me to Me' in manuscript on the reverse.
Published
Oxford: Oxford University Press and Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1961.
Inscribed: 'Douglas Noël Adams / Easter 1961'.
Pages 428 and 429 (Revelation 19 and 20) are marked with an envelope bearing some contact details.
Published
London and Glasgow: Collins, 1966.
Inscribed: 'D. Adams', with home and school addresses
Published
London: The Royal Life Saving Society, 1968.
Inscribed: 'D. Adams'.
Published
Leicester: Knight Books, 1969.
Published
London: George G. Harrap & Co., 1949.
Published
London: Evans Brothers, 1969.
Inscribed: 'Douglas Adams'.
Published
London and Glasgow: Collins, 1957.
Inscribed: 'Douglas N. Adams / 11th March 1964'.
Published
Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1967.
Inscribed: 'D. Adams'.
Published
London: James Brodie, unknown date.
Published
London: Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons, 1953.
Published
London: Cambridge University Press, 1959.
Ex-Brentwood School library book.
Published
Slough: W. Foulsham & Co., 1962.
Published
Collins: London and Glasgow, 1969.
Published
London: Cambridge University Press, 1966.
Published
Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1969.
Published
London: William Kimber & Co., 1963.
Published
Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1967.
Published
London: New English Library, 1969.
Published
London: New English Library, 1970
Published
1. 'Douglas Adams / March 11th 1962'.
2. '28 Sept. 1963 / D.N. Adams'
3. 'Douglas Adams / Lent to F1 Library'.
Published
Programmes for theatrical, musical and cinematic events attended (presumably) by Adams. Sequencing is approximately chronological.
Published
Published
Published
Published
London Coliseum.
Published
Published
Royal Festival Hall, London. 6 December 1969.
Published
Phoenix Theatre, London.
Published
Published
London Coliseum. 29 January--21 February 1970.
Published
Royal Festival Hall, London. 22 March 1970.
Published
Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon.
Published
Oberammergau, Germany. 18 May–30 September 1970.
Published
Royal Albert Hall, London. 20 September 1970.
Published
Published
Piccadilly Theatre, London.
Published
Wyndhams Theatre, London.
Published
Criterion Theatre, London.
Published
Cambridge Theatre.
Published
Royal Festival Hall, London. 10 November 1971.
Published
Mermaid Theatre, London. First performance 2 March 1972.
Published
Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge. 8-10 June 1972; this programme is for the 10 June performance.
Published
ADC at Clare College, Cambridge. May Week 1972.
Published
1. Arts Theatre, Cambridge. 25-30 September 1972.
2. Tour version.
Published
Published
Published
1. Flyer promoting the 'In Repertoire' performance of George Feydeau's *Ruling the Roost* and John Ford's *'Tis Pity She's a Whore*. 'No press notices for [Iris Murdoch's] *The Three Arrows* can be quoted as this leaflet was printed before the production opened.' Arts Theatre, Cambridge. 2 October–11 November 1972.
2. John Ford, *'Tis Pity She's a Whore*. Arts Theatre, Cambridge. 5 October–7 November 1972.
3. Iris Murdoch, *The Three Arrows*. Arts Theatre, Cambridge. 17 October–11 November 1972.
Published
ADC Theatre, Cambridge. 24-28 October 1972.
Published
Arts Theatre, Cambridge.13-18 November 1972.
Published
ADC Theatre, Cambridge, 21-25 November [1972].
Published
European tour concluding in Cambridge. 30 November 1972--27 January 1973.
Published
Queens' College, Cambridge. Date-stamped 24 February 1973.
Published
Little St Mary's, Cambridge.21-24 November 1973; this programme is for the 21 November performance.
Published
Published
ADC Theatre, Cambridge. 4-9 February 1974.
Published
ADC Theatre, Cambridge.
Published
Possibly Christ's College, Cambridge.
Published
Published
ADC Theatre, Cambridge. Two copies.
Published
[Cambridge].
Published
ADC Theatre, Cambridge: ADC Festival 1974.
Published
Bush Theatre, London. 9-28 September 1974.
Published
Published
The Casino, Old Compton Street; ABC Bloomsbury; ABC 1 Fulham Road. All London. 3 April 1975.
Published
Watford Palace Theatre, Watford. 17 April--10 May 1975.
Published
Richmond Theatre, London. 21 April 1975 'for two weeks'.
Published
Published
Wyndham's Theatre, London.
Published
Amnesty Internation Fundraiser (later *The Secret Policeman's Ball*). Her Majesty's Theatre, London. 1-3 April 1976.
Published
National Theatre, London.
Published
Manuscript note on the back: 'Complaints about slot machine'.
Published
Albery Theatre, London. First performance 23 June 1977.
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Published
Photographs of Adams, friends, family, animals et cetera.
Please note that most photographs here are unlabelled and Adams was not necessarily the photographer in any instance: copyright remains with the photographers. Dating is approximate, and the grouping of photographs is in some cases merely heuristic.
Published
Eight images on two photo-booth strips. Black and white.
Published
Colour. Labelled 'to Doug'.
Published
Colour.
Published
Colour.
Published
Eleven photographs and ten strips of negatives in a Boots Photo Processing packet. Colour.
Published
Fifteen photographs and ten strips of negatives (three of them blank) in a Kodak packet. Colour.
Published
Twenty photographs, including one capturing the gravestone of the James family, which mentions four James Jameses and two Jane Jameses. Colour.
Published
Possibly for the promotion of a theatrical production. Named subjects are Lindsay Bridgewater, Andy Greenhalgh and Jeremy Thomas. Black and white.
Published
Twenty-seven negatives.
Published
Published
Seventy-five photographs, probably taken by Adams during his days at Brentwood School. Black and white.
One labelled 'Coyness. / Douglas Noël Adams / Brownie Cresta 3 / P & D prof.'
One labelled; 'Guard at Fredensburg. / Douglas Noël Adams. / Brownie Cresta 3. / P & D proffesionally [sic]'.
One labelled: 'D.N. Adams / Ottway U3'.
Published
Twelve photographs, probably taken by Adams during his days at Brentwood School. Black and white.
Published
Twelve photographs, probably taken by Adams during his days at Brentwood School. Black and white.
Published
Seventeen photographs, probably taken by Adams during his days at Brentwood School. Black and white.
Published
Fourteen photographs, some probably taken by Adams during his days at Brentwood School, and six Mercedes Benz postcards. Black and white.
One labelled 'D.N. Adams / Aston Martin DB5 BLU 119B.'
See AdamsDN/1/9/5-12 for further material pertaining to his Aston Martin enthusiasm.
Published
Published
The bear is, in the parlance, 'well loved' and absent one eye.
Published
Awarded to Adams.
Published
Perspex block.
Published
Metal plaque.
The award was presented at Swancon 5, the fifth convention of the Western Australian Science Fiction Foundation, at the Park Towers Hotel in Perth, 15-18 August 1980; this was the first year of the Tin Duck Awards
Published
Metal tankard.
The award was presented at Noreascon 2, Sheraton-Boston Hotel and the Hynes Civic Auditorium in Boston, Massachussetts, 29 August–1 September 1980; Christopher Priest accepted the award on Adams's behalf.
Published
Glass bubble on a ceramic base.
Published
1. *Doctor Who*.
2. 'Don't Panic! / Read *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* from Pocket Books'.
3. 'Don't Panic!'
4. 'Don't Panic! / The Special Edition / *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* / by Douglas Adams / Presented by the Theatre Clwyd Company'.
5. *The Restaurant at the End of the Universe*.
Published
1. The Bender 2nd (B) string.
2. The Bender 3rd (G) string.
3. Epiphone 2nd (B) string.
4. Fender 2nd (B) string.
Rusted strings have been removed by the cataloguer from 1, 2 and 4 and discarded.
Published
Published
Snapped in two.
Published
Published
Published
1. Two 1 pfennig coins (1950 and 1971).
2. One 2 pfennig coin (1968).
3. Two 5 pfennig coins (1950, 1970).
4. One 10 dinar coin (1963).
Published
Published
Published
Vinyl record from 'National Geographic', December 1969 ('Page 750A'.)
Published
Published
Two workslates.
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Published
Published
Five penguins in total.
Published
Published
Published
Published
Published
Published
Published
Published
Published
Published
Published
The detached label has been placed in a Melinex sleeve.
Published
Published
Published
Paintings and engravings, some signed by, and all presumably the work of, Adams, and in all likelihood dating from his schooldays.
Published
Published
1. Black
2. Red.
Compare AdamsDN/1/3/1/75.
Published
Signed 'D. Adams'.
Published
Signed 'D. Adams'.
Published
Published
Published
Currently undergoing conservation work.
Published
One is patterned with elephants, one with penguins.
Published
Published
One is inscribed '42' in manuscript.
Published
Published
Currently undergoing conservation work.
Published
Currently undergoing conservation work.
Published
Published
Currently undergoign conservation work.
Published
Currently undergoing conservation work.
Published
Published
Published
Includes an address card and bears manuscript doodles and initials.
Previously contained AdamsDN/1/3/1/64.
Published
Published
Published
Previously contained the four vinyl records at AdamsDN/1/10/25.
Published
Published
Larger items belonging to various subcategories in AdamsDN/1, boxed and catalogued together for the sake of practicality. Includes periodicals, a tourist leaflet, and musical ephemera.
Published
With the signatures of Adams and 'J[ane or James] Thrift'.
Published
Published
Published
Published
Published
Published
Published
1. Vol. 16 No. 4. Includes a letter from Adams on page 4. 23 January 1965.
2. Vol. 16 No. 9. Includes a short story by Adams on page 12. 27 February 1965.
Published
Published
1. Vol. LXIV, No. 3112. 12 February 1975.
2. Vol. LXIV, No. 3115. 7 March 1975.
3. Vol. LXIV, No. 3116. 14 March 1975.
Published
Published
Published
1. Issue No. 182. 13 March 1975.
2. Issue No. 216. 1 July 1976.
Published
Incomplete.
Published
Published
Published
Includes especially large, unboxable items pertaining to various categories in AdamsDN/1 (a Brentwood school photograph, and concert, exhibition and theatrical posters) as well as a promotional poster for 'So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish' and a map of Madagascar.
Published
Published
'The Beatles / The Rolling Stones / with / Donovan / Fleetwood Mac / Elvis Presley / Bob Dylan / and starring the one and only / the incredible / dynamic / Douglas Adams.' Typescript.
Published
Two copies.
Published
ADC Theatre, Cambridge, 31 October to 4 November 1972. Adams played Sir Lucius O'Trigger.
Compare AdamsDN/1/4/3/11.
Published
ADC Theatre, Cambridge, 22-26 February 1973.
Compare AdamsDN/1/4/3/12.
Published
Bush Theatre, London, 13 January 1974.
Compare AdamsDN/1/4/3/19.
Published
ADC Theatre, Cambridge, 6--9 November 1974. Two copies.
Compare AdamsDN/1/4/3/22.
Published
Cambridge Arts Theatre, 7--19 June 1976.
Compare AdamsDN/1/4/3/24.
Published
Victoria and Albert Museum, 14 September--24 November 1983.
Published
Published
Published
Labels and labelled files/folders that accompanied or enclosed various items from throughout the Adams collection. Manuscript and typescript.
Some similar items have been placed elsewhere in the collection, sequenced with materials that they contained, where appropriate and practical.
Published
Notebooks and notepads with very mixed content, including drafts, personal notes, memoranda. Some word-processed material included where originally closely associated with notebooks or pads. From AdamsDN/2/43 onward, items are legal pads and loose paper from same.
Published
1. Ruled notebook containing sketch ideas, notes, drafts; 'Doctor Who' note on first page. Memos. 'John Cleese'; tinkering with arrangements of Adams-Smith-Adams names and sketch timings (show sequence), note of ADC Squash time; 'The Wonderful Stereo World of Strutting and Fretting' pencilled inside back cover.
2-7. Four colour photographs taken on travels of friends and two unused postcards from the Ducal Palace, Urbino. Interleaved loose in the notebook.
Published
Contains jointly written account of travels on the Continent (France, Italy, Greece), by Nicholas Burton, Douglas Adams, Caroline Hirsch, Arthur R. Bullard, Sarah Linklater and Neville Walton. Some material added following their return.
Published
Undergraduate material. Includes travel in van in Italy & Greece ('Is it possible to write properly whilst we are driving? It seems to be.'); draft sketch material (including pieces later used in Cambridge Footlights Revue 1974); notes and memoranda; list of Beatles songs; draft summer job-seeking advert for insertion in national newspapers and the *New York Times*; page of notes on Harold Pinter; reference for Christopher Smart's 'Jubilate Agno'; note of 'Aisle Altar Hymn' punchline.
Published
Front and back only used. Includes list headed 'Scripts for Simon Brett'.
Published
Ring-bound. Includes names and addresses (personal and business); work memoranda; creative jottings – words, phrases, scenarios, song drafts; lists (e.g., of albums – *Procol's Ninth* [released 1975], packing list).
Published
'Douglas Adams' in fat lettering on red cover. Most sheets absent. Content includes sketch, limerick and song jottings; notes relating to Nigel and Simpson (characters); memos; song list headed 'Tape compilation'. One loose sheet in middle ('Morse Code').
Published
'Alberta, Canada' sticker on front cover, coloured in with blue marker. Several of Adams's addresses on front pastedown, including St John's College. Autograph draft sketches, lyrics, sit-com ideas, notes, doodles.
Scantly used: from front , first quire only. Loose in second quire: 1 page of draft script and a completed *Guardian* cryptic crossword (No. 14,046); from the back (inverted), four further sheets used.
Published
Working notebook with script drafts (fragmentary), notes, memoranda, phone messages and numbers; rear portion used chiefly as message and memo pad. Back cover missing.
Published
Orange Baberton spiral-bound notebook, decorated in black ink with Adams's signature and title as noted. Chiefly *Hitchhiker's* material, with other memos and notes interspersed.
Published
Contains variety of brief jottings (in pen, coloured pen, and pencil), including lists (to-do, packing, dinner party guests, household needs, etc.), house-hunting/property notes, travel planning, contacts, memoranda, *Hitchhiker's* plot note. Highbury New Park address on front pastedown. Front c. one-quarter used only.
'Flying Eagle' brand (made in China); black with red spine and corners; ruled.
Published
Contents include draft lyrics for songs by Marvin (first pages); reading notes and extracts from John Gribbin's *Genesis*; 'The Watchless Wrist incident'; a few house-hunting notes (mention of 'apartments in New York' rent ranges).
Published
Mixture of personal, creative and theoretical musings. Draft portions, jottings, etc., for (earlier version) *Life, the Universe and Everything*; Newtonian physics and quantum mechanics notes; also personal journal. Front c. one-quarter used, and one sheet at back (inverted), plus notes on pastedowns and on flyleaves.
Some pages are closed to access under the Data Protection Act. A copy of creative material has been extracted to permit viewing otherwise.
Published
Scantly used: front three leaves, and first leaf at the back (inverted); a few authors' names and 'Alric' jotted on front pastedown. At front, 'The Dream Prize. by D. Adams (age 29).' Story ideas on back leaf include reference to it as possible *Hitchhiker's* device 'or further expansion of Dream Prize theme'.
Published
Contains notes apparently from reading and/or a lecture. First gathering only used.
Published
'Douglas Adams' inscribed in capitals on cover.
1. '*HHGG* Film'.
2. 'General': a mixture, including list of American place-names and a few 'Liff'-style definitions, computer game notes and plans, memos, and doodles.
3. *So Long. and Thanks for all the Fish* material; 'Concorde'.
4. Computer game notes, chiefly flow diagrams relating to the '*Hitchhiker's* Adventure Game' (mentions Steve Meretzky of Infocom); a note on tinkering with 'comms' between his computers; and (last four leaves of section, written from reverse) a diary entry and 'Novel Beginning' (at least in part Dirk Gently ideas).
5. Chiefly computer game notes (apparently *Hitchhiker's*), and list of guests for dinner.
Content advisory: Section 3 contains some sexually explicit writing.
Published
Softcover, with perforated pages; nine leaves only used. Mixed notes, ideas, some not relating to Dirk Gently ('short story, I think', 'Graceland'); Dirk Gently material apparently early (variations on Dirk's real name; Wowbagger mentioned); last three leaves include notes relating to *Last Chance to See* work.
Published
Yellow cover; narrow ruled. Scantly used: front cover, back board, first seven sheets; one sheet in middle with one sum. Notes chiefly about Zaphod Beeblebrox, his mission and his background story. Includes a small memo pad sheet (loose between sixth and seventh sheets) with telephone number.
Published
At most one-quarter used. Contains mainly notes relating to *Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency*.
Published
Fairly small portions of the surviving sections used only. Manuscript notes (plot, dialogue, etc.) apparently for *Mostly Harmless*. A few pages bear January 1992 dates. Material also apparently for *The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul*.
Published
Roughly one-third used in all. Notes relating to *Last Chance to See*; 'Data Integrity', hypertext, Ted Nelson's Xanadu Project; *The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul*; *Mostly Harmless*.
Published
Unruled. Largely unused: four leaves at front used for film idea ('The Too Slow Starship'), '*Hitch Hiker* Movie'; ten leaves at back (inverted) for *Mostly Harmless* and other story-line notes; also 'An idea' and Dirk Gently notes (3 pages loose inside back first page, stapled).
Published
*Mostly Harmless* and other material.
Published
Yellow paper, ruled. Two leaves used only: lyrics/poetry.
Published
Roughly half used (chiefly at front; three sheets at back, some inverted). Contents include *Hitchhiker's* film structure notes on sixteenth leaf. Computers, technology, evolution -- future of man; Hyperland, multimedia, books. 'Beginning of Dirk 3'; playing with anagrams of his name at penultimate page.
Published
Format is as AdamsDN/2/25. Mostly unused. Includes *Last Chance to See* notes, '*HHGG* V' plot notes (apparently early jottings for *Mostly Harmless*), computer and technology notes, memos, contacts. Some telephone numbers on later pages suggests renewed use post introduction of the '01' code (April 1995).
Published
Scantly used (eight leaves at front, three at back). Used chiefly as a household memoranda and message pad (others' handwriting included), contact details of various people and organisations. One piece of loose writing paper inside the front cover begins 'Deaths in Somalia'.
Data Protection considerations apply.
Published
Physical evidence suggests concurrent purchase and use with AdamsDN/2/27. Seventeen leaves used. Mixture of notes relating to *Hitchhiker's* plot ('We need to see parallel scenes back on Earth but not yet!'), *Mostly Harmless* ('What does Random want?'), *Last Chance to See*, a few Liff-style definitions, memoranda, and contacts.
Data Protection considerations apply.
Published
First four sheets only used. First sheet: pencilled list of books by various authors, chiefly on astrophysics, evolutionary biology (Hawking, Dawkins, Gould, etc.); second sheet headed 'National Theatre', includes notes of some of the species he visited in the *Last Chance to See* project; final two sheets contain brief jottings apparently relating to *Mostly Harmless* plot.
Published
Board covers, ruled and paginated. First six leaves used only; torn fragment of last extant page at back with portion of mathematical calculation or possibly a spreadsheet command. Chiefly technological jottings and some business meeting notes. Starts with notes on game theory strategies, computer/evolution, Darwinism, etc.; draft notes for talk or letter regarding Macintosh (mentions 'way back in 1984').
Published
Cardstock cover with brush painting-type illustration (man playing bowed instrument), unruled. Largely unused: front four leaves; first sheet at back (inverted) and telephone number jotted on inner cover. Content includes *The Secret Empire* plot notes (Robert Darwin, dinner in Cambridge, plan for project on different planet); promotional blurb drafts; computer/ ISP notes.
Published
First six sheets used only, mostly in strong black ink; graph paper. Fragmentary notes, drafts: 'Song Titles', with beginnings of song drafts on reverse and next page; a few jottings including 'The Salmon of Doubt'; other sheets have few words, seemingly mostly word-, phrase- and rhyme-play; penultimate sheet 'Stab in the Light' (song lyric draft). Apparently purchased in France or a Francophone country (price 14 francs).
Published
Partly used (all at front, save one word on last sheet). Includes memoranda (including packing and to-do lists, contacts, messages); *Hitchhiker's* film notes (plot, script, etc.; mention of 'Jay'); list of (apparently) potential web addresses to register (e.g., DirkGently.com); three-sheet draft addressed to Richard [Dawkins?] on the phrase 'the exception proves the rule'.
Published
Scantly used.
1. Notes relating to Adams's computers; computers and evolution; *Starship Titanic* planning material (with a reference to *Myst 2* [Riven]).
2. Divider and two leaves used. Brief jottings on computers, talk notes.
3 and 4. Unused.
5. Final two leaves used. Phone numbers and memo.
Published
Feint; shiny grey board covers. Scantly used.
1. First two leaves used. '*Hitch Hiker*' notes (Arthur, Vogons, etc.; presumably film-related) and digital/web notes (Digital Earth concept mentioned).
2. First four leaves used. *Hitchhiker's* notes (as Section 1).
3. Unused.
4. First two leaves used. Musings on belief in God.
5. Unused.
Published
Chequered softcover; graph paper. Lightly used: first six leaves at front; first two leaves at back (inverted) and memos jotted inside back cover. Project list on first page, including promoting '*Starship* CD-Rom; *Starship* Book; *Starship* Movie' with side grouping of these three named 'Promotion'; '*Secret Empire*; *HHGG* book; Salmon of Doubt; *HHGG* Imax; Internet; Virtual World. MUD.' Talk notes on technological themes, including 'HHGG' interface, Microsoft, talks about 'Does your hand hurt yet?', etc., at book signings. Mention also of 'The Jobber' and other ideas. Various contacts, telephone numbers. Apparently purchased in France or a Francophone country (price 6.50 francs).
Data Protection considerations apply.
Published
Scantly used: first three and (inverted) last two leaves. Includes notes on 'A Personal Universe' and comments on a *Scientific American* article; memos, contacts. Name on flyleaf.
Published
Cover page and first ten leaves used only, with note of telephone number on first sheet in back (inverted). Contact details on cover page. Extended note on design and evolution (Darwin, Newton, 'watchmaker', technology); a few contact numbers.
All sheets checked and all unused discarded, excepting a few retained as sample. Sheets removed from rings but retained in melinex pouch with organiser.
Data Protection considerations apply.
Published
Unruled. Approximately one-quarter used at front; two leaves at back (inverted). Various scribbled brief jottings (pen and pencil), including *Hitchhiker's* notes, presumably for film (Questular, Trillian, etc.); contacts, memoranda.
Published
Ruled. Roughly half used. Chiefly speech notes for computer and technology talks (biscuits, babies rebooting, etc.; 'If you don't understand we're now living in a virtual world you're condemned to spend your time sitting wondering why someone else is eating your biscuits.'); a few *Hitchhiker's* film notes, memos, contacts. Indication of speech at Price Waterhouse Coopers on 1 November (no year).
Published
1. First two sheets (loose) include line of dialogue for Zaphod Beeblebrox and *Starship Titanic* planning notes.
2. Second batch contains Dirk Gently 'Spoon Too Short' planning notes; *MacUser* notes; '*HHGG* VHS'; scattered throughout, mixed memoranda, names and contacts; word-play; lists; draft song lyrics; 'Mindfinger', evolution of language; house (possibly France) maintenance and alterations memos. 20 sheets (previously stapled).
3. Batch includes 'Spoon Too Short' notes and draft portions; notes on word processing ('WP'), including mention of Nisus; 'Future of Apple'; future of computers; Bill Gates; various memoranda (names and numbers). 12 sheets (previously stapled).
4. Six sheets (loose), including attempts to describe Stanley, the weather (in the third Dirk Gently novel), memoranda (including note of a 1950s Gibson L7 for sale), draft portion of article mentioning Microsoft Word 5. The final sheet (biro, not in Adams's hand) lists Dirk Gently characters, story opening ideas, Desmond the rhino, etc.
Data Protection considerations apply.
Published
Content apparently for speech(es) and/or *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Future*; plot development and other jottings primarily for the *Hitchhiker's* film ('Eldrid's offer to help find the ship – why? Eldred cares more about the ship than anything else.'); 'Salmon', 'The Reassuring Room'; more speech/'Hitchhiker's Guide to the Future'[?] (biscuits, time travel, first time I saw a computer, the web, it's a pidgin, et al.); more 'Hitchhiker' film[?] jottings. Also various memoranda: chiefly names, numbers and codes. American-sized paper.
Data Protection considerations apply.
Published
First four leaves used (and six removed). Story ideas and dialogue (civilian scientists exceeded brief, research must all be moved up to Los Alamos); one sheet headed 'Gusty Winds'; telephone numbers.
Data Protection considerations apply.
Published
First five sheets used only; none removed. Appears to be chiefly notes relating to the *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Future* BBC Radio series.
Published
About one-third of sheets missing; five extant sheets used only. First page headed 'MEC 1/27/01' (American dating); apparently notes from a Molecular Electronics Corporation meeting, including innovation and financial and investment notes; speakers' names include Tour and Reed.
Published
Sketches and other scripts for stage, radio, television and film: includes Adams Smith Adams work, and collaborations with Graham Chapman and John Lloyd. Manuscript, typescript and reprographic material, including draft and completed work, with related papers.
Published
Sketches, songs and poems, mainly dating from Adams's time at Cambridge and shortly after. Composition dates are uncertain for many items, and the ordering in this box is not at all chronological and is based on very approximate groupings of material. Further, not all of the material is necessarily written by Adams; presumably it all relates, however, to Adams Smith Adams and to other projects in which he was involved.
Published
Prose reflection. Discusses Adams's decision to give up on the prospect of a comedy career and move into commerce. Manuscript.
Published
Mentions 'Doctor Who' and 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' among other projects. Typescript.
Published
Setlists for various sketch shows and revues. Manuscript.
Published
Assorted fictional endorsements of the Adams Smith Adams show. Manuscript.
Published
Manuscript.
Published
Typescript and manuscript.
Published
Typescript and manuscript.
Published
Manuscript.
Published
Contains notes on Martin Luther, and two poems: 'Wholly woman, night lover' and 'Easter 73'. Manuscript.
Published
Manuscript.
Published
Prose poem. Manuscript.
Published
Prose poem. Manuscript.
Published
Prose piece. Manuscript.
Published
Two drafts of a prose piece.
1. 'Summer had come to a fitting end.' Manuscript.
2. 'A Tale'. Typescript.
Published
Prose piece. Manuscript.
Published
Prose piece. With notes apparently towards a talk or essay on humanity and technology. Manuscript.
Published
Typescript with manuscript corrections.
Published
Poem. Manuscript.
Published
Poem. Manuscript.
Published
With South Bank Television Centre telephone number on the reverse. Manuscript.
Published
Poem. Typescript.
Published
Poem. Manuscript.
Published
Poem. Manuscript.
Published
Poem. Manuscript.
Published
Possibly related to 'Cinderella: A Stunnerama', in which Adams performed in November and December 1973. Manuscript.
Published
Poem. Manuscript.
Published
Manuscript.
Published
Song. Manuscript.
Published
Song. A 'to do' list and an Istanbul address are on the reverse. Manuscript.
Published
Song, or poem. Manuscript.
Published
Song. Manuscript.
Published
Manuscript.
1. 'I'm in love with a multi storey car park'.
2. 'Well, 1973 is a very good year'.
3.'Look here comes another election'.
4. Running order for a Cambridge Union debate: 'This House is Sated, Saturated, but not Satisfied'. See AdamsDN/1/4/3/40 and AdamsDN1/4/3/50.
Published
Song. Manuscript.
Published
Song. With doodles and a note on Robert Henryson. Manuscript.
Published
Copied corrected typescript.
Published
Song. Two versions: one manuscript (with a setlist on the reverse), one typescript.
Published
Sheet music. Manuscript.
Published
Song. Two versions: one manuscript, one typescript.
Published
Song. Manuscript.
Published
Song. Manuscript.
Published
Song. Two versions, the second with music. Manuscript.
Published
Song. Manuscript.
Published
Song. Manuscript.
Published
Song. Two versions, plus a note of the Russian placards to be displayed during the chorus. Manuscript.
Published
Song. Manuscript.
Published
Song. With a setlist. Manuscript.
Published
Manuscript.
Published
Song. With a list of rhymes. Manuscript.
Published
Song. Typescript and manuscript.
Published
Song. Manuscript.
Published
Song. Typescript.
Published
Songs. 'Which Way' is in two versions, one manuscript and one typescript; 'Song of Disaster' is in typescript on the reverse of the 'Which Way' manuscript.
Published
Song, or poem. Typescript.
Published
Song. With notes on 'Religious Symbols' and other ideas. Manuscript.
Published
Song. With a prose piece about 'Tirolius Smilebucket' on the reverse. Manuscript.
Published
Manuscript, typescript and copied typescript.
Published
Manuscript and copied typescript.
Published
Manuscript and copied typescript.
Published
Manuscript, typescript and copied typescript.
Published
Copied typescript.
Published
Typescript and copied typescript.
Taken from a bundle of Graham Chapman collaborations (see AdamsDN/3/30); authorship is unclear, although one piece is credited to John Parry of Footlights.
Published
Camera script for a filmed portion of the 1972 Cambridge Footlights Revue. Typescript with manuscript corrections.
Published
Manuscript.
Published
Typescript.
Published
'First draft' of sketch, with a crossed-out page of material from a different piece. Typescript.
Published
Sketch. Typescript.
Published
Sketch.
1. 'Girl' version, with copy. Typescript with a manuscript correction.
2. 'Man' version. Typescript with manuscript corrections.
Published
Three carbon copies of a sketch. Typescript.
One copy bears a manuscript note: 'An award for architectural design falls off a building and cracks open the head of a passerby.'
Published
Notes. Typescript and manuscript.
Published
'Not recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, and therefore, for obvious reasons, not featuring Muscle Shaosl Rhythm Section' et cetera. Manuscript.
Published
Three versions of a monologue. Typescript.
Published
Two versions of a sketch. With notes on the 'Cricketmen' (see AdamsDN/5/1). Manuscript, typescript with manual corrections, and copied typescript.
Published
Monologue. Copied typescript.
Published
Copied typescript.
Published
Notes towards a comedy piece on easy listening music. Manuscript.
Published
Sketch.
1. Sketch about King Arthur, with 'Gargling Club' material on the reverse of the first page. Manuscript.
2. Typescript with manuscript corrections.
3. A different version of 'The Gentlemen's Gargling Club'. Typescript with manuscript corrections. A song about the Sistine Chapel and a sketch called 'Court in Heaven' are in manuscript on the reverse of the pages.
4. Conclusion of 'Court in Heaven'. Manuscript.
Published
Three versions of a sketch. Manuscript and typescript.
Published
Notes and drafts. Manuscript.
Published
Sketch. Manuscript.
Published
Monologue. Manuscript.
Published
Two versions of an introductory monologue, one with notes and a setlist on the reverse and the other continuing into two deleted versions of the introduced sketch. Manuscript.
Published
Three versions of a sketch. Manuscript and copied typescript.
Published
Sketch. Manuscript.
Published
Incomplete sketch. Typescript.
Published
Sketch. Typescript.
Published
Typescript with manuscript corrections.
Published
Sketch fragment. With notes. Manuscript.
Published
Two versions (one 'epic') of a sketch. Typescript with manuscript corrections.
Published
Two versions of a sketch. Manuscript and typescript with manuscript corrections.
Published
Sketch fragment. Typescript with manuscript corrections.
Published
Sketch. With telephone number for 'Angus' on the reverse of one of the pages. Typescript with manuscript corrections.
Published
Sketch. Manuscript.
Published
Three versions of a sketch.
1. 'The Play's the Thing'. Manuscript.
2. 'The Play's the Thing'. Copied typescript. Two copies.
3. 'The Play's the Thing II'. Incomplete. Copied typescript.
Published
Sketch material in various hands. Manuscript.
Published
Two versions of a sketch. Manuscript and typescript.
Published
Three versions of a sketch. Manuscript and copied typescript.
Published
Sketch. Manuscript.
Published
Monologue. Manuscript.
Published
Two drafts of a sketch. With a telephone number noted at the end. Manuscript.
Published
Sketch material. With a note regarding 'Sat[urday] evening', 'Phil' and telephoning home. Manuscript and copied typescript.
Published
Sketch. Copied manuscript.
Published
Sketch. Copied typescript.
Published
Sketch. Manuscript.
Published
Four sketches. Manuscript.
Published
Two versions of a sketch. Manuscript.
Published
With a fragment, doodles and notes. Manuscript.
Published
Notes towards, and two versions of, a sketch. Manuscript and typescript.
Published
Four versions of a sketch. With setlists. Manuscript and copied typescript.
Published
Two versions of a sketch. With hand-drawn maps. Manuscript and copied typescript.
Published
Incomplete. Typescript with manuscript corrections.
Published
Two versions of a sketch. Incomplete manuscript, and typescript with manuscript corrections (plus three copies of the typescript, two of them incomplete).
Published
Sketch. Copied manuscript and typescript.
Published
Sketch. Manuscript fragment and typescript.
Published
Sketch. Manuscript (one version incomplete) and incomplete typescript.
Published
Sketch material. Manuscript, typescript and copied typescript, all with manuscript corrections.
Published
Sketch. Manuscript.
Published
Sketch material. Manuscript.
Published
Manuscript and typescript.
Published
Sketch material. Manuscript.
Published
Notes. Manuscript.
Published
Sketch material. Manuscript.
The two bundles do not appear to have any overlapping material, but as both are works in progress and might be related they have been combined as one item.
Published
Sketch. Manuscript.
Published
Monologue. Manuscript.
Published
Monologue. Manuscript.
Published
Incomplete. Typescript.
Published
Manuscript.
Published
Sketch material. Manuscript and copied typescript.
Published
Sketch material. Manuscript.
Published
Manuscript.
Published
Sketch. With notes. Manuscript.
Published
Sketch. With notes. Manuscript.
Published
Manuscript and typescript.
One piece concerns 'Arthur Whang', the other 'Hunter Lundquist'; both are incomplete ansd they are not necessarily connected projects.
Published
Typescript.
Published
Sketch. Manuscript and typescript.
Published
Sketch. With notes. Manuscript.
Published
Two versions of a sketch. Manuscript.
Published
Sketch. Typescript.
Published
Sketch. Typescript.
A manuscript note explains that the sketch is 'too sick'.
Published
Sketch. Manuscript.
Published
Two versions -- the earlier incomplete, and the later in duplicate -- of a sketch. Typescript with manuscript corrections.
A manuscript note on the reverse of the incomplete version reads: 'Unfinished penultimate draft of an eventually fairly succesful [sic] sketch. Here I was stuck for a way of finishing and thought of a number of contrived Pythonesque ending [sic]. Much neater solution -- re-arrange it to put a good line ("Right man for the job") at the end.'
Published
Sketch, possibly unfinished. Manuscript.
Published
Typescript.
Published
Sketch fragment. With setlist. Manuscript.
Published
Sketch about lorry driving. Manuscript.
Published
Copied typescript.
Published
Sketch. Manuscript.
Published
Apparently unfinished. Typescript.
Published
Incomplete. Typescript and manuscript.
Published
Manuscript.
Published
1. 'Fifth Amendment'.
2. '19 Russian Peasants'.
3. 'Dr Peregrine Collinwood. . .'
Published
Includes material on the Romans and the RSPCA, and thoughts on sequencing.
Published
Manuscript.
Published
Sketch. Manuscript.
Published
Sketch. Manuscript.
Published
With notes. Manuscript.
Published
Sketch. With a schedule on the reverse. Typescript and manuscript.
Published
Published
Also bears a list of anagrams/pseudonyms.
Published
Published
Television, theatre and radio scripts.
Published
Copied typescript.
Published
Copied typescript.
Published
Copied typescript.
Published
Typescript with manuscript corrections.
Published
Copied typescript.
Published
Manuscript, typescript and copied typescript.
Published
Copied typescript.
Published
Copied typesccript.
Published
Copied typescript.
Published
Copied typescript.
Published
Includes mention of 'The News Huddlines'.
'The Iron Sun / Adrian Berry' written in manuscript on the final page.
Published
Copied typescript with manuscript corrections.
This incomplete script includes draft portions and out-of-sequence pages: the order has been retained.
Published
Copied typescript.
Published
Copied typescript.
Douglas Noël Adams was born in Cambridge on 11 March 1952, first child of another Johnian, Christopher Douglas Adams (BA 1951), and Janet Dora Sydney (née Donovan).
He was awarded an exhibition to read English at St John's College, Cambridge, obtaining his BA in 1974. While at Cambridge, Adams occupied himself chiefly in writing, performing in, and producing comedy sketches and revues, establishing connections that were to be integral to his future work.
His career took off with 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', a six-part comic science-fiction radio series commissioned by the BBC in 1977 and broadcast in 1978. Novelisation and a second series were followed by further books in what became billed as 'the increasingly inaccurately named Hitchhiker's Trilogy'. The 'Hitchhiker's Guide' series has taken many forms, including audio recordings; stage adaptations; a television series; a computer game; publication of the original radio scripts; radio adaptations of the remaining novels, and a film.
Adams's other creative work included writing and script-editing for BBC Television's 'Doctor Who', novels featuring the private detective Dirk Gently, and collaboration with John Lloyd on a humorous dictionary, 'The Meaning of Liff'. A collaboration of a very different sort saw him embark upon a series of expeditions with zoologist Mark Carwardine in search of endangered species. The resulting radio documentary series, 'Last Chance to See', was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1989.
An enthusiastic technophile, Adams became a popular speaker on the subject. He was a co-founder in 1994 of the digital media and communications company The Digital Village (TDV), which produced the CD-ROM adventure game 'Starship Titanic' and created the website h2g2.
Adams married Jane Elizabeth Belson, a barrister, in November 1991; their daughter, Polly Jane Rocket Adams, was born in June 1994. Douglas Adams died suddenly on 11 May 2001 in Santa Barbara, California.
Further reading:
'Don't Panic: Douglas Adams and the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', by Neil Gaiman (3rd rev. edn., London: Titan, 2002); 'Hitchhiker: A Biography of Douglas Adams', by MJ Simpson (1st edn., London: Hodder and Stoughton, 2003); 'Wish You Were Here: The Official Biography of Douglas Adams', by Nick Webb (1st edn., London: Headline, 2003), who also wrote the entry for Adams in the 'Oxford Dictionary of National Bibliography'; and 'The Frood: The Authorised and Very Official History of Douglas Adams & The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', by Jem Roberts (London: Preface, 2014).
Published
1. 'Doctor Snuggles and the Peanut Solving Machine' synopsis. Typescript with manuscript annotations.
2. 'Professor Emerald and the Flying Carpet' synopsis. Typescript with manuscript corrections.
3. 'Rocket Adventures . . . Continued'.
4. 'Dr Snuggles and the Worm-Mobile' scripts. Typescript.
5. Synopsis and script for 'Doctor Snuggles and the Nervous River' episode 1. Typescript with manuscript corrections.
6. Synopsis and script for 'Doctor Snuggles and the Nervous River' episode 2. Typescript with manuscript corrections.
7. Synopsis and script for 'Doctor Snuggles and the Nervous River' episode 3. Typescript with manuscript corrections.
8. Synopsis and script for 'Doctor Snuggles and the Nervous River' episode 4. Typescript with manuscript corrections.
9. Synopsis and script for 'Doctor Snuggles and the Nervous River' episode 5. Typescript with manuscript corrections.
10. 'Doctor Snuggles Holiday Special' comic.
Douglas Noël Adams was born in Cambridge on 11 March 1952, first child of another Johnian, Christopher Douglas Adams (BA 1951), and Janet Dora Sydney (née Donovan).
He was awarded an exhibition to read English at St John's College, Cambridge, obtaining his BA in 1974. While at Cambridge, Adams occupied himself chiefly in writing, performing in, and producing comedy sketches and revues, establishing connections that were to be integral to his future work.
His career took off with 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', a six-part comic science-fiction radio series commissioned by the BBC in 1977 and broadcast in 1978. Novelisation and a second series were followed by further books in what became billed as 'the increasingly inaccurately named Hitchhiker's Trilogy'. The 'Hitchhiker's Guide' series has taken many forms, including audio recordings; stage adaptations; a television series; a computer game; publication of the original radio scripts; radio adaptations of the remaining novels, and a film.
Adams's other creative work included writing and script-editing for BBC Television's 'Doctor Who', novels featuring the private detective Dirk Gently, and collaboration with John Lloyd on a humorous dictionary, 'The Meaning of Liff'. A collaboration of a very different sort saw him embark upon a series of expeditions with zoologist Mark Carwardine in search of endangered species. The resulting radio documentary series, 'Last Chance to See', was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1989.
An enthusiastic technophile, Adams became a popular speaker on the subject. He was a co-founder in 1994 of the digital media and communications company The Digital Village (TDV), which produced the CD-ROM adventure game 'Starship Titanic' and created the website h2g2.
Adams married Jane Elizabeth Belson, a barrister, in November 1991; their daughter, Polly Jane Rocket Adams, was born in June 1994. Douglas Adams died suddenly on 11 May 2001 in Santa Barbara, California.
Further reading:
'Don't Panic: Douglas Adams and the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', by Neil Gaiman (3rd rev. edn., London: Titan, 2002); 'Hitchhiker: A Biography of Douglas Adams', by MJ Simpson (1st edn., London: Hodder and Stoughton, 2003); 'Wish You Were Here: The Official Biography of Douglas Adams', by Nick Webb (1st edn., London: Headline, 2003), who also wrote the entry for Adams in the 'Oxford Dictionary of National Bibliography'; and 'The Frood: The Authorised and Very Official History of Douglas Adams & The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', by Jem Roberts (London: Preface, 2014).
Published
1. Synopsis. Copied corrected typescript.
2. Script. Typescript with manuscript corrections.
In *Hitchhiker*, M.J. Simpson discusses Adams, Lloyd and Jones being approached by Paul and Linda McCartney to write what would become, written by the McCartneys and Geoff Dunbar, *Rupert and the Frog Song*.
BA (Gonville and Caius)
Published
Copied typescript with manuscript corrections and annotations.
Douglas Noël Adams was born in Cambridge on 11 March 1952, first child of another Johnian, Christopher Douglas Adams (BA 1951), and Janet Dora Sydney (née Donovan).
He was awarded an exhibition to read English at St John's College, Cambridge, obtaining his BA in 1974. While at Cambridge, Adams occupied himself chiefly in writing, performing in, and producing comedy sketches and revues, establishing connections that were to be integral to his future work.
His career took off with 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', a six-part comic science-fiction radio series commissioned by the BBC in 1977 and broadcast in 1978. Novelisation and a second series were followed by further books in what became billed as 'the increasingly inaccurately named Hitchhiker's Trilogy'. The 'Hitchhiker's Guide' series has taken many forms, including audio recordings; stage adaptations; a television series; a computer game; publication of the original radio scripts; radio adaptations of the remaining novels, and a film.
Adams's other creative work included writing and script-editing for BBC Television's 'Doctor Who', novels featuring the private detective Dirk Gently, and collaboration with John Lloyd on a humorous dictionary, 'The Meaning of Liff'. A collaboration of a very different sort saw him embark upon a series of expeditions with zoologist Mark Carwardine in search of endangered species. The resulting radio documentary series, 'Last Chance to See', was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1989.
An enthusiastic technophile, Adams became a popular speaker on the subject. He was a co-founder in 1994 of the digital media and communications company The Digital Village (TDV), which produced the CD-ROM adventure game 'Starship Titanic' and created the website h2g2.
Adams married Jane Elizabeth Belson, a barrister, in November 1991; their daughter, Polly Jane Rocket Adams, was born in June 1994. Douglas Adams died suddenly on 11 May 2001 in Santa Barbara, California.
Further reading:
'Don't Panic: Douglas Adams and the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', by Neil Gaiman (3rd rev. edn., London: Titan, 2002); 'Hitchhiker: A Biography of Douglas Adams', by MJ Simpson (1st edn., London: Hodder and Stoughton, 2003); 'Wish You Were Here: The Official Biography of Douglas Adams', by Nick Webb (1st edn., London: Headline, 2003), who also wrote the entry for Adams in the 'Oxford Dictionary of National Bibliography'; and 'The Frood: The Authorised and Very Official History of Douglas Adams & The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', by Jem Roberts (London: Preface, 2014).
Published
Notes, treatments and scripts.
Published
Manuscript and copied typescript.
Published
Includes rehearsal room travel information. Manuscript and copied typescript.
Published
Published
Copied typescript, plus the originals (with manuscript corrections) of pages 29-31.
Published
1. Crossed-out dialogue between Kemp and Michael Edwards from *Out of the Trees*.
2. 'Voice is so low pitch he can only talk to dead dogs.'
3. List of sketches (see AdamsDN/3/1): 'Oedipus / Stylites / Bogoffia / Travel Agent / Beagling / Stars on Sunday / Arthur / Stalin'.
Manuscript.
Published
Manuscript and copied typescript.
Published
1. Synopsis. Pages 12 and 14 are absent. Typescript.
2. Envelope with manuscript calculations.
3. Copy of piece 1, with pages 12 and 14 present and 'Douglas Adams + Graham Chapman' added in manuscript.
Published
Typescript and manuscript.
Published
Copied typescript.
Published
Published
Notes, drafts and folder. Manuscript.
Published
Drafts. Typescript with manuscript corrections.
Douglas Noël Adams was born in Cambridge on 11 March 1952, first child of another Johnian, Christopher Douglas Adams (BA 1951), and Janet Dora Sydney (née Donovan).
He was awarded an exhibition to read English at St John's College, Cambridge, obtaining his BA in 1974. While at Cambridge, Adams occupied himself chiefly in writing, performing in, and producing comedy sketches and revues, establishing connections that were to be integral to his future work.
His career took off with 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', a six-part comic science-fiction radio series commissioned by the BBC in 1977 and broadcast in 1978. Novelisation and a second series were followed by further books in what became billed as 'the increasingly inaccurately named Hitchhiker's Trilogy'. The 'Hitchhiker's Guide' series has taken many forms, including audio recordings; stage adaptations; a television series; a computer game; publication of the original radio scripts; radio adaptations of the remaining novels, and a film.
Adams's other creative work included writing and script-editing for BBC Television's 'Doctor Who', novels featuring the private detective Dirk Gently, and collaboration with John Lloyd on a humorous dictionary, 'The Meaning of Liff'. A collaboration of a very different sort saw him embark upon a series of expeditions with zoologist Mark Carwardine in search of endangered species. The resulting radio documentary series, 'Last Chance to See', was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1989.
An enthusiastic technophile, Adams became a popular speaker on the subject. He was a co-founder in 1994 of the digital media and communications company The Digital Village (TDV), which produced the CD-ROM adventure game 'Starship Titanic' and created the website h2g2.
Adams married Jane Elizabeth Belson, a barrister, in November 1991; their daughter, Polly Jane Rocket Adams, was born in June 1994. Douglas Adams died suddenly on 11 May 2001 in Santa Barbara, California.
Further reading:
'Don't Panic: Douglas Adams and the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', by Neil Gaiman (3rd rev. edn., London: Titan, 2002); 'Hitchhiker: A Biography of Douglas Adams', by MJ Simpson (1st edn., London: Hodder and Stoughton, 2003); 'Wish You Were Here: The Official Biography of Douglas Adams', by Nick Webb (1st edn., London: Headline, 2003), who also wrote the entry for Adams in the 'Oxford Dictionary of National Bibliography'; and 'The Frood: The Authorised and Very Official History of Douglas Adams & The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', by Jem Roberts (London: Preface, 2014).
Published
Notes, drafts, and script/synopsis hybrids.
Published
Possible titles, casting ideas, character and plot notes. Manuscript and typescript.
Published
Manuscript.
Published
Incomplete. Typescript with manuscript corrections.
Published
Manuscript.
Published
Manuscript.
Published
Manuscript.
Published
One original (missing pages 14-22) and two copies (complete). Typescript with manuscript corrections.
Published
One original and one copy. Typescript with manuscript connections.
Published
Manuscript and typescript.
Published
Manuscript.
Published
Material from earliest notes and drafts to production scripts and page proofs for *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*, many of its numerous adaptations, and subsequent novels in the series: *The Restaurant at the End of the Universe*; *Life, the Universe and Everything*; *So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish*; and *Mostly Harmless*. Includes manuscript, typescript, word-processed and reprographic material, printed matter.
Published
Includes notes on story and characters, and radio script material.
Published
Mentions *The Cosmic Connection* by Carl Sagan, *The Act of Creation* by Arthur Koestler, *Whispers from Space* by John W. Macvey, *A-Z of Astronomy* by Patrick Moore, *The Parable of the Beast* by John Bleibtreu and *The Future of Man* by Teilhard de Chardin. Manuscript.
Published
Material relating to *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*: story ideas, portions of script, and material on the book of radio scripts. Manuscript and typescript.
Published
Notes pertaining to the second half of the story of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*, mainly Zaphod Beeblebrox and Magrathea. Manuscript.
Originally filed with AdamsDN/4/6/10.
Published
Two drafts of a paragraph. Manuscript.
Published
Typescript and manuscript, with copy.
Published
Typescript (some photocopied), with some manuscript corrections.
Originally filed with AdamsDN/4/2/12, AdamsDN/4/4/4, AdamsDN/4/4/13 and AdamsDN/4/9/5 in a plastic sleeve labelled 'Incomplete bits'.
Published
Typescript with manuscript corrections.
The draft letter and notes have been treated as a single item because they were presented to the Library stapled together.
Published
Typescript with manuscript annotations.
Published
Typescript with manuscript annotations (perhaps pertaining to performance timing).
Published
Typescript.
Published
Typescript and manuscript fragments of drafts and notes.
Published
Manuscript and typescript.
Published
Two pages (one original and one carbon copy) of notes towards a presumably *Hitchhiker's*-related book.
Published
Covers *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* (which 'is a burk') and dragons (which 'are all burks' and 'do not interest me'). Copied typescript.
Published
Incomplete. Copied typescript.
Published
Typescript. Apparently compiled from multiple drafts, given varying paper stock.
Published
Scripts in varying states of completion.
Published
Typescript with manuscript corrections and accompanying 'Douglas Adams' notecard.
Originally filed with AdamsDN/4/2/4, AdamsDN/4/2/5 and AdamsDN/4/4/1.
Published
Typescript with manuscript and typescript corrections.
Published
Copied corrected typescript.
Published
Typescript with manuscript corrections and accompanying 'Douglas Adams' notecard.
Originally filed with AdamsDN/4/2/1, AdamsDN/4/2/4 and AdamsDN/4/4/1.
Published
Typescript with manuscript corrections.
Published
Copied typescript with manuscript corrections.
Published
Typescript (incomplete) with manuscript corrections and accompanying 'Douglas Adams' notecard.
Originally filed with AdamsDN/4/2/1, AdamsDN/4/2/5 and AdamsDN/4/4/1.
Published
Copied typescript with manuscript corrections.
Published
Copied typescript, with manuscript corrections and some pencil drawings.
Published
Copied corrected typescript.
Originally filed with AdamsDN/4/2/17.
Published
Typescript with manuscript corrections. 'PHARTIPHUKBORLZ' (early version of 'Slartibartfast') written on the reverse of the final page.
Published
Incomplete. Typescript with manuscript corrections.
Pages 37-41 were originally filed with AdamsDN/4/1/6, AdamsDN/4/4/4, AdamsDN/4/4/13 and AdamsDN/4/9/5 in a plastic sleeve labelled 'Incomplete bits'. The other page here, headed 'Correction to Page 23', was separate.
Published
Manuscript and typescript.
Published
Copied typescript with manuscript corrections.
Published
Typescript with manuscript corrections.
Published
Typescript with manuscript corrections. 'Geoffrey' is handwritten on the top right corner of the cover page. Page 2 is not present.
Published
Copied typescript.
Originally filed with AdamsDN/4/2/10.
Published
Incomplete. Copied typescript.
Published
Copied typescript.
Published
Copied typescript.
Originally filed with AdamsDN/4/3/3, AdamsDN/4/3/6, AdamsDN/4/3/9, AdamsDN/4/3/11 and AdamsDN/4/3/14.
Published
Copied typescript with manuscript corrections.
Published
Copied typescript with manuscript corrections.
Published
Copied typescript.
Published
Scripts in varying states of completion, plus material relating to the script book. Note that while the 'Secondary Phase' of the radio series is considered to include the Christmas Eve Special (see Adams DN/4/2) and as such consists of six episodes, 'Series 2' proper is five episodes in length as it does not include the Special.
Published
Incomplete. Copied typescript.
Originally filed with AdamsDN/4/3/4, AdamsDN/4/3/5, AdamsDN/4/3/8, AdamsDN/4/3/10, AdamsDN/4/3/12 and AdamsDN/4/3/13.
Published
Copied typescript. Pages numbered 1-31 and 2-12 but continuous.
Published
Copied corrected typescript.
Originally filed with AdamsDN/4/2/20, AdamsDN/4/3/6, AdamsDN/4/3/9, AdamsDN/4/3/11 and AdamsDN/4/3/14.
Published
Copied typescript. Pages numbered 1-37 and 1-7 but approximately continuous although compiled from different versions.
Originally filed with AdamsDN/4/3/1, AdamsDN/4/3/5, AdamsDN/4/3/8, AdamsDN/4/3/10, AdamsDN/4/3/12 and AdamsDN/4/3/13.
Published
Incomplete.Copied typescript. Pages numbered 15-37 and 1-7 but approximately continuous although compiled from different versions.
Originally filed with AdamsDN/4/3/1, AdamsDN/4/3/4, AdamsDN/4/3/8, AdamsDN/4/3/10, AdamsDN/4/3/12 and AdamsDN/4/3/13.
Published
Copy of corrected version of AdamsDN/4/3/4.
Originally filed with AdamsDN/4/2/20, AdamsDN/4/3/3, AdamsDN/4/3/9, AdamsDN/4/3/11 and AdamsDN/4/3/14.
Published
Copy, minus first and final pages, of AdamsDN/4/3/6.
Published
Copied typescript.
Originally filed with AdamsDN/4/3/1, AdamsDN/4/3/4, AdamsDN/4/3/5, AdamsDN/4/3/10, AdamsDN/4/3/12 and AdamsDN/4/3/13.
Published
Copied corrected typescript.
Originally filed with AdamsDN/4/2/20, AdamsDN/4/3/3, AdamsDN/4/3/6, AdamsDN/4/3/11 and AdamsDN/4/3/14.
Published
Copied corrected typescript.
Originally filed with AdamsDN/4/3/1, AdamsDN/4/3/4, AdamsDN/4/3/5, AdamsDN/4/3/8, AdamsDN/4/3/12 and AdamsDN/4/3/13.
Published
Copied corrected typescript.
Originally filed with AdamsDN/4/2/20, AdamsDN/4/3/3, AdamsDN/4/3/6, AdamsDN/4/3/9 and AdamsDN/4/3/14.
Published
Copied corrected typescript.
Originally filed with AdamsDN/4/3/1, AdamsDN/4/3/4, AdamsDN/4/3/5, AdamsDN/4/3/8, AdamsDN/4/3/10 and AdamsDN/4/3/13.
Published
Incomplete. Copied typescript.
Originally filed with AdamsDN/4/3/1, AdamsDN/4/3/4, AdamsDN/4/3/5, AdamsDN/4/3/8, AdamsDN/4/3/10 and AdamsDN/4/3/12.
Published
Copied corrected typescript.
Originally filed with AdamsDN/4/2/20, AdamsDN/4/3/3, AdamsDN/4/3/6, AdamsDN/4/3/9 and AdamsDN/4/3/11.
Published
Copied and original typescript and manuscript.
Originally filed with Adams DN/4/4/16 and AdamsDN/4/8/5.
Pan Books.
Published
Typescript.
Pan Books.
Published
Typescript.
Published
Published
Typescript introduction to *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Complete Radio Scripts*.
Published
Published
Accompanied by a 'Douglas Adams' notecard ('Carbon of part of original MS of book') and a Jill Foster Ltd compliments slip. Typescript with manuscript corrections.
Originally filed with AdamsDN/4/2/1, AdamsDN/4/2/4 and AdamsDN/4/2/5.
Published
Copied typescript.
Published
Copied typescript with manuscript corrections. Pagination runs: cover page, i.1-28, ii.1-27 (although ii.27 does not have its number visible owing to skewed copying), iii.1-24 and 7 unnumbered pages.
Published
Incomplete. Copied typescript.
Pagination runs: i.1-28, ii.1-9.
Originally filed with AdamsDN/4/1/6, AdamsDN/4/2/12, AdamsDN/4/4/13 and AdamsDN/4/9/5 in a plastic sleeve labelled 'Incomplete bits'.
Published
Labelled 'Peth'. 'This is my only copy. It is nearly up to date.' Typescript with manuscript corrections and annotations. Bound.
Published
Copied corrected typescript. The first page bears a label from the Ed Victor Ltd Literary Agency.
Published
Typescript.
Published
Copied corrected typescript. In folder.
Published
Copied typescript with manuscript corrections. Incomplete. In folder.
Published
Copied typescript. With Jill Foster Ltd compliments slip.
Published
Documentation pertaining to the Rainbow Theatre production of 1980, accompanied by a Jill Foster compliments slip. Typescript.
Published
Copied typescript with manuscript corrections.
Some material refers to 'Aleric' and conceptual material, so is clearly early, but the references to 'the show' may (although do not necessarily) suggest that television was being borne in mind. All of these pages appear to have been part of the same copying job.
Published
Copied typescript.
Published
Incomplete. Copied typescript.
Originally filed with AdamsDN/4/1/6, AdamsDN/4/2/12, AdamsDN/4/4/4 and AdamsDN/4/9/5 in a plastic sleeve labelled 'Incomplete bits'.
Published
Copied typescript.
Published
Copied corrected typescript.
Published
Manuscript and typescript with manuscript corrections.
Originally filed with Adams DN/4/3/15 and AdamsDN/4/8/5.
Published
Typescript. One of the two documents is dated 10 April 1980.
Published
Copied typescript.
Published
Transcript of portions of an Alan Bell interview referring to the production of the *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* television series. Copied typescript with manuscript corrections.
Published
Film-related material, including draft scripts from the 1980s. (Some conceptual material may relate to the television series, given the overlap of ideas.)
Published
Typescript.
Second part (corrected version) originally filed with AdamsDN/4/5/17, AdamsDN/4/5/18, AdamsDN/4/6/1, AdamsDN/4/6/2.
Published
Typescript.
The references to 'POV' and the non-episodic nature of the description suggest that this is film-related material.
Published
Typescript.
With manuscript notes of telephone numbers.
Published
Typescript.
Describes a version of the 'NONE AT ALL' computer graphics sequence different from the one at AdamsDN4/5/5.
Published
Typescript with manuscript corrections.
Describes a version of the 'NONE AT ALL' computer graphics sequence different from the one at AdamsDN4/5/4.
Published
Typescript.
Describes a continuation a version of the 'NONE AT ALL' sequence (see AdamsDN4/5/4 and 5), with pen-and-pencil 'Access perimeter' diagram.
Published
Manuscript.
Published
Typescript with manuscript correction. Incomplete. In folder.
Published
Incomplete. Typescript. In folder.
Columbia Pictures.
Published
Typescript.
Published
Typescript with manuscript corrections. In folder.
Published
Typescript.
Published
Typescript. Similar to AdamsDN/4/5/14.
Published
Typescript.
Compare AdamsDN/4/5/13.
Published
Photocopy of AdamsDN/4/5/14.
Published
Copied typescript.
Published
Typescript.
Originally filed with the second part of AdamsDN/4/5/1, AdamsDN/4/5/18, AdamsDN/4/6/1 and AdamsDN/4/6/2.
Published
Copied typescript with copied and original manuscript corrections. Names of various directors are written on the cover page, as is 'Notes -- May 22, 84'.
Originally filed with the second part of AdamsDN/4/5/1, AdamsDN/4/5/17, AdamsDN/4/6/1 and AdamsDN/4/6/2.
Published
Film scripts from 1985 to 2000, and game-related material.
Published
Copied typescript. Cover page bears a sticker from the Ed Victor Ltd Literary Agency. Originally filed with the second part of AdamsDN/4/5/1, AdamsDN/4/5/17, AdamsDN/4/5/18 and AdamsDN/4/6/2.
Published
Copied typescript. Originally filed with the second part of AdamsDN/4/5/1, AdamsDN/4/5/17, AdamsDN/4/5/18 and AdamsDN/4/6/1.
Published
Copied typescript. In binder.
Published
Copied typescript.
Assistant to Rosalie Swedlin, Creative Artists Agency, Inc.
Published
Copied typescript. In folder. See AdamsDN/4/6/4. Accompanied by a typescript note to Douglas Adams.
Published
Typescript. Includes a complete '3rd draft' of a script dated 17 April 1999, studio feedback, and 'Douglas's Notes' (20 May 1999).
Published
Typescript. Compare AdamsDN/4/6/8.
Published
Typescript. In folder.
Published
Typescript. Incomplete. Originally filed with AdamsDN/4/10/14.
Published
Typescript and manuscript.
Originally filed with AdamsDN/4/1/3.
Published
Typescript and manuscript.
Published
Typescript with manuscript corrections.
Published
A single draft of the novel.
Published
Typescript, with typescript and manuscript corrections.
Published
Published
Typescript and manuscript with corrections.
Published
Typescript and manuscript with corrections.
Published
Typescript with manuscript corrections.
Published
Typescript with manuscript corrections.
Published
Typescript with manuscript corrections.
Originally filed with Adams DN/4/3/15 and AdamsDN/4/4/16.
Published
Incomplete. Typescript with manuscript corrections. The pages are numbered, but the sequence is occasionally interrupted.
Published
Published
Typescript. Ends p.122; pp. 1-17 of main text missing.
Compare AdamsDN/4/9/2 and 3.
Published
Copied typescript with manuscript corrections. Ends p.122.
Compare AdamsDN/4/9/1 and 3.
Published
Copied typescript with manuscript corrections. Ends p.122; p.3 (dedication page) missing.
Compare AdamsDN/4/9/1 and 2.
Published
Copied corrected typescript.
Published
Copied manuscript and typescript.
Originally filed with AdamsDN/4/1/6, AdamsDN/4/2/12, AdamsDN/4/4/4 and AdamsDN/4/4/13 in a plastic sleeve labelled 'Incomplete bits'. Compare AdamsDN/4/9/4.
Published
Incomplete. Copied corrected typescript.
Compare AdamsDN/4/9/4.
Published
With manuscript corrections.
Published
With manuscript corrections.
Published
Typescript.
The story portion here approximately maps to the third episode of the later Dirk Maggs adaptation of the book.
Published
Notes and drafts.
Published
Manuscript.
Published
Published
Typescript and manuscript. Includes some blank pages.
Insofar as these pages can be said to be sequenced, items AdamsDN/4/10/2, AdamsDN/4/10/3 and AdamsDN/4/10/4 are sequential to reflect the order in which the pages were received. The division is entirely due to filing considerations.
Published
Typescript and manuscript. Includes some blank pages.
Insofar as these pages can be said to be sequenced, items AdamsDN/4/10/2, AdamsDN/4/10/3 and AdamsDN/4/10/4 are sequential to reflect the order in which the pages were received. The division is entirely due to filing considerations.
Published
Typescript.
Published
Typescript with manuscript corrections.
Published
Typescript with manuscript corrections.
Published
Typescript with manuscript corrections.
Published
Typescript.
BA (Gonville and Caius)
BA (Selwyn) 1975
Matric (Emmanuel) 1974
Matric (Emmanuel) 1974
Published
Taken from 'The Lavishly Tooled Smith & Jones Instant Coffee Table Book' (1986) by Mel Smith, Griff Rhys Jones, Clive Anderson, Rory McGrath, Jon Canter and John Lloyd.
Published
Published
Typescript.
Published
Copied.
Published
Published
Originally filed with AdamsDN/4/6/9.
Published
Published
Published
Notes, drafts and scripts for 'The Pirate Planet' (originally 'The Perfect Planet'), 'Shada', and 'Doctor Who and the Krikkitmen'. Manuscript, typescript and reprographic materials.
Published
Notes and script material pertaining to 'Doctor Who and the Krikkitmen'.
Published
Copied typescript with manuscript corrections. [i]+ 32 [paginated 1-20, 20a, 21-31]; on reverse (inverted) of p. 11 is an incomplete sentence with side marked '11a'.
The main document is followed by incomplete typescript draft versions of four pages of the text, each of which has two carbon copies.
Published
Photocopy apparently of AdamsDN/5/1/1; lacks copy of page '11a'.
Published
Two photocopies apparently of AdamsDN/5/1/1 (note matching pagination, marks, staple and hole-punch perforations; '11a' copied and paginated in red ink) slide-bound in green cardstock covers with typescript labels including title and agent's address (Jill Foster Ltd).
Plastic binder slides have been discarded.
Published
Four carbon copy and photocopy typescripts with differing manuscript markings:
1. As AdamsDN/5/1/1 (carbon typescript with manuscript emendations); lacks cover page and page 1; paginated (in biro) 2-32.
2. Photocopy of AdamsDN/5/1/1 (made before its second staple was inserted).
3. As (ii), but with additional manuscript emendations in red ink (and tea stains).
4. Photocopy typescript from an originating copy not present in archive. Sarah Jane character called 'Jane', rather than 'Sarah' as in other copies; a few copy annotations appear from original. 40p.
The items have been retained in their order as found on transfer to the repository.
Manuscript label on containing plastic document wallet was cut out and retained; the remainder discarded. Removed treasury tag from (i), staples from (ii) and (iii), and split pin fastener from (iv).
Published
Typescript. Appears to be a draft pitch for a film of the 'Krikkitmen' story. Includes sections 'Title' and 'Arguments' (particularly on the case for science fiction in films, requirement of inner logic).
Published
Typescript.
Published
Published
Title from manila folder (not retained). Manuscript and typescript notes and treatment drafts. A few sheets contain on reverse a draft for a different piece (sketch?) about actors (see, e.g., sheets lxii-lxiv), and dialogue between 'SW' and 'JH'. A few pages are 'Tiny Minds' letterhead.
File in disarray; numbered up in Special Collections on reverse (in roman numerals) exactly in order as received.
Published
Two sheets not originally found together. The first has manuscript 'Pirate Planet' (aka 'Perfect Planet') notes on one side, and some typescript 'Krikkitmen' draft material on the other. The second has one side of manuscript 'Pirate Planet' notes.
Published
Typescript with manuscript corrections. Two attempts at plot (planet Jetral, student Time Lord Kommor or Komnor) and a few pages in between headed 'Doctor Who' with 'blanket theme', 'The Six Keys'.
Published
Typescript with manuscript corrections and annotations.
Published
Copied typescript. The script fragments bear manuscript corrections. The outline is a copy of the typed version (minus the manuscript notes) of AdamsDN/5/2/4.
Published
Copy of AdamsDN/5/2/5.
Published
Typescript with manuscript and typescript corrections.
Treasury tag removed.
Published
Typescript with manuscript and typescript corrections.
Published
Typescript with manuscript and typescript corrections.
Published
Typescript with manuscript and typescript corrections.
Published
Copied corrected typescript. Consists of copies of AdamsDN/5/2/4, AdamsDN/5/2/7, AdamsDN/5/2/8, AdamsDN/5/2/9 and AdamsDN/5/2/10, including corrections. Page 8 of episode 3 is missing.
Retained as received: in some disarray, some upside down.
Published
Published
Typescript with manuscript corrections.
Published
Typescript with manuscript corrections.
Published
Copies of AdamsDN/5/3/1 and AdamsDN/5/3/2.
Published
Typescript with manuscript corrections.
Published
Typescript with manuscript corrections. Cover page is missing.
Published
Copies of AdamsDN/5/3/4 and AdamsDN/5/3/5.
Published
Typescript with manuscript corrections. Incomplete.
Published
Copied corrected typescript. Note that this is NOT a copy of AdamsDN/5/3/7.
Published
Copies of AdamsDN/5/3/7 and AdamsDN/5/3/8.
Published
Typescript with manuscript corrections.
Published
Typescript with manuscript corrections.
Published
Copies of AdamsDN/5/3/10 and AdamsDN/5/3/11.
Published
Published
Typescript.
Published
Typescript.
Published
Typescript.
Published
Typescript.
Published
Typescript.
Published
Typescript.
Published
Copied typescript.
Published
Copied typescript.
Published
Copied typescript. Cover page (blue, judging by fragment [not retained]) missing.
Published
Copied corrected typescript. Cover page text has been corrected from 'Part Four' to 'Part Three'.
Douglas Noël Adams was born in Cambridge on 11 March 1952, first child of another Johnian, Christopher Douglas Adams (BA 1951), and Janet Dora Sydney (née Donovan).
He was awarded an exhibition to read English at St John's College, Cambridge, obtaining his BA in 1974. While at Cambridge, Adams occupied himself chiefly in writing, performing in, and producing comedy sketches and revues, establishing connections that were to be integral to his future work.
His career took off with 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', a six-part comic science-fiction radio series commissioned by the BBC in 1977 and broadcast in 1978. Novelisation and a second series were followed by further books in what became billed as 'the increasingly inaccurately named Hitchhiker's Trilogy'. The 'Hitchhiker's Guide' series has taken many forms, including audio recordings; stage adaptations; a television series; a computer game; publication of the original radio scripts; radio adaptations of the remaining novels, and a film.
Adams's other creative work included writing and script-editing for BBC Television's 'Doctor Who', novels featuring the private detective Dirk Gently, and collaboration with John Lloyd on a humorous dictionary, 'The Meaning of Liff'. A collaboration of a very different sort saw him embark upon a series of expeditions with zoologist Mark Carwardine in search of endangered species. The resulting radio documentary series, 'Last Chance to See', was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1989.
An enthusiastic technophile, Adams became a popular speaker on the subject. He was a co-founder in 1994 of the digital media and communications company The Digital Village (TDV), which produced the CD-ROM adventure game 'Starship Titanic' and created the website h2g2.
Adams married Jane Elizabeth Belson, a barrister, in November 1991; their daughter, Polly Jane Rocket Adams, was born in June 1994. Douglas Adams died suddenly on 11 May 2001 in Santa Barbara, California.
Further reading:
'Don't Panic: Douglas Adams and the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', by Neil Gaiman (3rd rev. edn., London: Titan, 2002); 'Hitchhiker: A Biography of Douglas Adams', by MJ Simpson (1st edn., London: Hodder and Stoughton, 2003); 'Wish You Were Here: The Official Biography of Douglas Adams', by Nick Webb (1st edn., London: Headline, 2003), who also wrote the entry for Adams in the 'Oxford Dictionary of National Bibliography'; and 'The Frood: The Authorised and Very Official History of Douglas Adams & The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', by Jem Roberts (London: Preface, 2014).
Published
Notes, draft definitions, and correspondence relating to *The Meaning of Liff* and *The Deeper Meaning of Liff*, co-authored with John Lloyd. Manuscript, typescript and word-processed material.
Adams DN/6/1-5 were received at St John's together in a box file.
Access to some material is restricted under terms of the Data Protection Act.
Published
Place names and definitions. Also includes: a draft script for a conversation between Arthur Dent and Marvin to mark the BBC's 60th anniversary; a receipt for a bicycle from Beta Bikes, 6 December 1982; printed file directories for discs holding the texts; and two word-processed, signed letters and related papers from Mavis Kenney, the book's typist: one to Adams, October 1982, noting hours spent typing *Life, the Universe and Everything*, *The Restaurant at the End of the Universe*, and *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*; and one to John (Lloyd?), 15 November 1982, enclosing example of layout. Manuscript and typescript with manuscript corrections.
The binder and a quantity of unused looseleaf paper were discarded.
Published
Green spiral-bound notebook containing definitions and words.
Published
Typescript with manuscript corrections.
One stray foolscap sheet ('Middlesborough') amongst item's sheets; moved to its matching material in AdamsDN/6/1.
Published
Letters from members of the public suggesting additional definitions. Includes a copied camera script for post-competition advertisement; typescript, a signed cover letter from Peter Carlton, Features Organiser, to Eugen Beer at Beer Davies, and a compliments slip from Beer Davies.
Original folder marked 'Liff' discarded (acidic).
Consult the Special Collections Librarian for terms of access; restricted under the Data Protection Act.
Published
Consult the Special Collections Librarian for terms of access; restricted under the Data Protection Act.
Published
Sample script ('original spec script') by Adams and John Lloyd. Actor given as 'Rowan'; 'Lesley [sic] Nielsen' pencilled lightly on p.1. On fading thermal-fax paper (foolscap-sized), with manuscript annotations. The transmission header indicates it was sent to Limelight from Adams.
Published
Notes, drafts, and a small quantity of page proofs relating to 'Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency', 'The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul' and 'The Salmon of Doubt' (originally 'A Spoon Too Short'). Manuscript, typescript and word-processed material.
See also particularly AdamsDN/2 (Notebooks) for additional material.
Published
Preparatory material, with corrections and annotations. Includes a manuscript note reading 'High on a promontory | overlooking a green valley | sat an electric monk | on a bored horse', and a typed version of the introduction headed 'The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy Short Story'. Some with print dates. Typescript and manuscript.
Some sets of pages are paperclipped together where they were originally stapled; they are not necessarily sequential.
Two pages of notes from elsewhere in the deposit, on Keith Thomas's 'Religion and the Decline of Magic', have been inserted by the cataloguer and attached to a page that bears this note: 'I'm not sure how useful it is at the moment reading Religion and the Decline of Magic. I'd like to include an incident not unlike the one in which Sir Arthur Eddington fooled some part of his audience into thinking that a supernatural event had taken place, and fooled another part of the audience into thinking that they hadn't seen anything odd happen at all.'
Box file discarded; printed spine label retained.
Retain the papers in the order found.
Published
Preparatory material. Some with print dates. Typescript with manuscript corrections and annotations.
Some sets of pages are paperclipped together where they were originally stapled; they are not necessarily sequential.
Published
Document titles include 'Book Plan', 'Plot', 'New Plot Plans', 'Plot Timetable', 'Old Story Structure', 'Story Structure' and 'Plot Notes'. Typescript with manuscript corrections and annotations.
Retained in order as transferred to Special Collections; it is not known whether there has been any posthumous use or rearrangement of the material.
One apparently stray cover letter relating to 'Bureaucracy' has been moved to join related material.
Box file discarded; printed spine label retained with file.
Retain the papers in the order found.
Published
Includes material on Regius Professor Urban Chronotis, Dirk Gently, Richard MacDuff, the abandoned character Nameless Horror, Gordon Way, and 'Other Characters'. Some with print dates. Typescript with manuscript corrections and annotations.
Published
Titles include 'Electric Monk', 'Hospital Notes', 'Newton's Balls', 'Reg Scene 2', 'Richard/Dirk', 'Time Machine Notes', 'Born Again Notes' and 'Universe Notes'. Some with print dates. Typescript with manuscript corrections and annotations.
Published
Most with print dates. Typescript with manuscript corrections and annotations.
Includes a computer drawing of a road and a sunrise/sunset, retained in this overall sequence in case it can be considered relevant.
Published
One version of the Beatles list and three of the ologisms (words ending with '-ology') list. Some with print dates. Typescript.
Published
Gatherings of material, some of it versioned or reproduced elsewhere in this sequence, in documents titled 'The Big Resource'. With print dates. Typescript.
Published
Coleridge's poem with six additional stanzas appended; 'Samuel Taylor Coleridge-ish, 1797-1987' noted at end. Typescript and manuscript.
Published
Text for telephone advertisement, and a flier addressed to booksellers. Typescript.
Published
1. 'ASTS Salvage. Rev: 3'. ['A Spoon Too Short'].
2. 'Bits of Salmon. Rev: 3'.
3. 'A Spoon Too Short. Rev: 5'. Page 11 full of jotted dates, e-mail addresses, locations, contacts: possibly author tour notes.
4. 'Spoon Sketchpad. Rev: 6'. Sticky note marked 'Toodlepip' [meteorite name] at edge of p. 9 (now removed but retained with file).
5. 'Salmon giblets. Rev: 11'.
6. 'What I told Sue. Rev: 13'.
7. 'Salmon Notes. Rev: 15'.
Typescript with manuscript corrections and annotations.
The unmarked plastic wallet which held the items has been discarded.
Published
Two printouts of the same word-processing document, the first (clean) printed 12 April 1994 and the second (with manuscript corrections) printed 26 April 1995.
Data Protection considerations may apply to p. 11 of (i); check with Special Collections Librarian.
Published
Copied typescript with manuscript annotations.
Previously affixed with metal slide binder, now removed.
Published
The novel. Typescript.
Previously held in overstuffed clear blue plastic document wallet (now discarded).
Published
Material created and accumulated in the course of the expeditions for, and recording, production and promotion of the *Last Chance to See* BBC radio series and the subsequent book. Includes notes, drafts, correspondence, cuttings and related papers. Manuscript, typescript, word-processed and printed material.
For slides, negatives and audio recordings pertaining to this project, see AdamsDN/11/6-7.
Published
Contains (pages 24-31) Douglas Adams's article ('Follow the Lemur') about his pre-*Last Chance to See* trip to Madagascar, with particular focus on the aye-aye. The article is previewed as 'In Lemur Land' on the cover.
Published
Published
Manuscript and typescript.
Published
Published
Manuscript and typescript.
Published
Published
Begins 'Rodrigues'.
Published
Begins '7 Aug 88'.
Published
Begins 'Komodo'.
Published
Begins 'Zaire'.
Published
Manuscript and typescript.
Published
Typescript.
Published
Typescript and copied manuscript.
Published
Manuscript. Plus one page of draft typescript (also regarding venomous animals) and a letter about a computer delivery with 'Cayman gator box' handwritten at the top.
Published
Manuscript and typescript.
Published
Typescript.
Published
Manuscript and typescript.
Published
Original fax dated 29 October 1990; re-fax dated 31 October 1990.
Published
Copied corrected typescript.
Published
Includes a full, heavily corrected, typescript draft of the book.
Published
The cover page is not present. Typescript.
Published
Published
Published
Accompanied by a manuscript note from Ed Victor Ltd Literary Agency ('Please see page 5!').
Published
This series comprises material regarding Adams's minor works following his rise to fame: television and radio programmes; lectures; computer games ('Bureaucracy', 'Starship Titanic'); and technological projects including The Digital Village and the internet site H2G2. Textual material includes notes, drafts, scripts, correspondence, publicity and ephemera; there is also a small quantity of graphic and photographic material, and audio and VHS tapes. Some work, primarily scripts, by other writers is included.
Published
Various projects.
Published
Dark ride project for Chessington World of Adventures, in collaboration with Ian Hanson. Includes typescript and manuscript notes, design sketches and photographs
Published
Versions of a monologue. Typescript with manuscript corrections and annotations.
Published
Prose fragment. Manuscript.
Published
Notes, drafts and flyers. Typescript and manuscript.
Includes a note (27 November 1985) about sending a copy of 'the Paranoid Society script' to Jane Howell. See AdamsDN/3/1/96.
Published
Draft script for the computer game, accompanied by a letter from Jon Palace of Infocom. Typescript.
Published
Notes and scripts. Typescript with manuscript annotations.
Published
Articles and notes. Typescript and manuscript.
Published
1. Greater Talent Network brochure. Adams's lecture series is mentioned on page 2.
2. Binding of promotional material.
Published
Publicity pack for Adams's charity climb.
Published
'Reference Script' for the computer game. Typescript.
1. 'Draft 1 v. 1'.
2. 'Draft 2 v. 1'.
Published
Bound typescript. Includes illustrations.
Published
Research material and draft proposals. Original and copied typescript.
Published
Project synopsis. Typescript.
Published
Transcript of an extemporised lecture for the Digital Biota 2 conference at Magdalene College, Cambridge, 11 September 1998. Typescript with manuscript annotations.
Published
Talk/essay. Typescript.
Published
Notes and drafts pertaining to the radio series and to associated lectures on technology. Manuscript and typescript.
Published
Essay reflecting on Adams's time at Brentwood School, accompanied by a letter from John C. Wolters regarding proofing. Typescript.
Published
Draft pages. Typescript.
Published
Oxford: Oxbow Books, 2002.
Published
Script and essay material by individuals other than Adams. Some pieces are acknowledged as tangential elements of his career, with some small involvement from him; the relevance, beyond ownership, of others is unknown.
Published
Screenplay for the 1936 film directed by Lothar Mendes and adapted from H.G. Wells's short story. Copied typescript.
Published
Copied typescript.
Published
Television script. Copied typescript.
Published
Copied typescript.
1. Shooting script for 'In Two Minds'.
2. Shooting script for 'The Meeting of Minds'.
3. Shooting schedule.
Published
Dialogue/dubbing script for the 1974 film directed by Freddie Francis and starring Harry Nilsson and Ringo Starr. Copied typescript with manuscript annotations.
Adams and Graham Chapman were involved in scripting a redub of the film in 1975; it is unclear if the redubbing suggestions on this script are theirs or are earlier notes, although the note on the reverse of the final page does seem to be Adams's.
BA (New Hall). Occasionally 'Mary Adams' and a contributor to Adams-Smith-Adams projects.
Matric (Emmanuel) 1974
BA (Gonville and Caius)
Published
Copied typescript with manuscript corrections and annotations. 'John [Lloyd?]''s copy.
Published
'Final Draft' of screenplay. Copied typescript.
Matric (Emmanuel) 1974
BA (Selwyn) 1975
BA (Cambridge)
Published
Copied typescript with manuscript corrections and annotations.
Published
Offprint from *The Cambridge Review*, 27 February 1981.
Accompanied by a typescript note to Adams from Jones: 'Here's this. Isn't it wonderful?'
Published
Screenplay. Copied typescript.
Published
Copied typescript. Accompanied by a manuscript unsigned note from Video Arts Television.
Published
Publicity material, including author photographs and tour schedules, and press cuttings.
Access to material is restricted under terms of the Data Protection Act.
Published
Author photographs and tour schedules.
Published
Published
With forty-two brightened versions and the Snappy Snaps case in which they were contained.
Published
Photograph by Jill Furmanovsky.
Published
Itineraries for publicity tours, some with cover letters. Original and copied typescript and manuscript.
Bastion.
Published
Typescript.
Published
1. 'h2g2 World Tour Evaluation'. Typescript. Circa early 2000.
2. 'h2g2 Media Interest / Opportunities for Douglas Adams'. Typescript with manuscript annotations. Circa April 2000.
3. 'h2g2 World Tour Coverage'. Typescript. Circa May 2000.
4. 'h2g2 On the Road Tour April 2000'. Typescript. Circa May 2000.
5. 'Press Information' for the WAP version of h2g2. Typescript. Five copies. Circa December 2000.
6. Bulletin Internation press information for the WAP version of h2g2. Typescript. Two copies. Circa December 2000.
Published
Correspondence, schedules and press cuttings regarding Adams's talk for Kulturbrauerei on Monday 8 May.
1. Interview schedule. Typescript and manuscript.
2. Kulturbrauerei flyer. Two copies.
3. Correspondence from Christoph Reisner to Sophie Astin, making arrangements and enclosing promotional material and copies of press coverage. Typescript.
Published
Originals and copies.
Duplicates, including those cuttings whose the full source publication also appears, are not included in the cuttings count, but are included in the page count. Accompanying slips from Durrants and other cuttings services are not included in the page count; cover letters and suchlike are.
Published
One cutting.
Published
One cutting.
Published
One cutting.
Published
One cutting.
Published
One cutting.
Published
One cutting.
Published
One cutting.
Published
Four cuttings.
Published
One cutting.
Published
One cutting.
Published
Two cuttings.
Published
Six cuttings.
Published
One cutting.
Published
One cutting.
Published
Three cuttings copied onto one sheet.
Published
Nineteen cuttings.
Published
Fifteen cuttings.
Published
Six cuttings.
William Heinemann Australia.
Published
Eleven cuttings.
Published
Seven cuttings.
Published
Sixteen cuttings.
Published
Twenty-seven cuttings.
Published
Eleven cuttings, and scripts for two radio discussions.
Published
Five cuttings.
Published
Eight cuttings.
Published
Five cuttings.
Published
Four cuttings.
Published
Two cuttings.
Published
Eleven cuttings.
Published
Four cuttings.
Published
Five cuttings.
Published
Three cuttings.
Published
Two cuttings.
Published
Twelve cuttings.
Published
Five cuttings.
Published
Fourteen cuttings.
Published
Seventeen cuttings.
Published
Eight cuttings.
Published
Six cuttings.
Published
Four cuttings.
Published
Two cuttings.
Published
Two cuttings.
Published
Two cuttings.
Published
Eleven cuttings.
Published
Twenty-eight cuttings.
Published
Thirty cuttings.
Published
Sixteen cuttings.
Published
Fifteen cuttings.
Published
Ten cuttings.
Published
Six cuttings.
Published
Twelve cuttings.
Published
Twelve cuttings.
Published
Twenty-six cuttings.
Published
Thirteen cuttings.
Published
Six cuttings.
Published
Ten cuttings.
Published
One cutting.
Published
Two cuttings.
Published
Two cuttings.
Published
One cutting.
Published
One cutting.
Published
Three cuttings.
Published
Originals and copies.
Duplicates, including those cuttings whose the full source publication also appears, are not included in the cuttings count, but are included in the page count. Accompanying slips from Durrants and other cuttings services are not included in the page count.
Published
Two cuttings.
Published
One cutting.
Published
Two cuttings.
Published
Five cuttings.
Published
Four cuttings.
Published
Three cuttings.
Published
Seven cuttings.
Published
One cutting.
Published
One cutting.
Published
Three cuttings.
Published
Two cuttings.
Published
One cutting.
Published
Ten cuttings.
Published
Four cuttings.
Published
Six cuttings.
Published
One cutting, mostly absent: a fragment remains.
Published
Four cuttings.
Published
Two cuttings.
Published
Six cuttings.
Published
Eight cuttings.
Published
Five cuttings.
Published
Twenty-three cuttings.
Published
Seven cuttings.
Published
Twelve cuttings.
Published
Three cuttings.
Published
Three cuttings.
Published
Seventeen cuttings.
Published
Five cuttings.
Published
Eight cuttings.
Published
Eight cuttings.
Published
Six cuttings.
Published
Fifteen cuttings and one complete magazine.
Published
Seventeen cuttings and one complete newspaper.
Published
Twelve cuttings and two complete newspapers.
Published
Twenty-one cuttings.
Published
Fifteen cuttings.
Published
Thirty-five cuttings, and two bundle of copied 'Starship Titanic' coverage sent from Bastion.
Published
Thirty-seven cuttings.
Published
Thirty-three cuttings.
Published
1. 'April 8, 1998'.
2. 'April 21, 1998.'
3. 'May 21, 1998.'
Published
Twenty-seven cuttings.
Published
Eleven cuttings.
The cutting from 'Woman's Journal' (1 June) is not present.
Published
Twelve cuttings.
Published
Sixteen cuttings.
Published
Nineteen cuttings.
Published
Seven cuttings and one complete newspaper supplement.
Published
Ten cuttings.
Published
Six cuttings.
Published
Two cuttings.
Published
Originals and copies.
Duplicates, including those cuttings whose the full source publication also appears, are not included in the cuttings count, but are included in the page count. Accompanying slips from Durrants and other cuttings services are not included in the page count.
Published
Nine cuttings.
Published
Twelve cuttings.
Published
Nine cuttings.
Published
Sixteen cuttings.
Published
Twenty-eight cuttings.
Published
Eight cuttings.
Published
Twenty-three cuttings.
Published
Nineteen cuttings.
Published
Forty-one cuttings.
Published
Thirty-eight cuttings.
Published
Twenty-five cuttings.
Published
Forty-two cuttings.
Published
Fifteen cuttings.
Published
Thirty-two cuttings and one complete magazine.
Published
Twenty-five cuttings.
Published
Thirty-three cuttings.
Published
Forty-six pages.
Published
Eight cuttings, one complete newspaper supplement and two complete magazines (one with two duplicates).
Published
Fifteen cuttings.
Published
Twenty-one cuttings.
Published
Fourteen cuttings.
Published
Nine cuttings.
Published
Six cuttings.
Published
Two cuttings.
Published
Ten cuttings.
Published
Three cuttings.
Published
Ten cuttings.
Published
One cutting.
Published
Originals and copies.
Duplicates, including those cuttings whose the full source publication also appears, are not included in the cuttings count, but are included in the page count. Accompanying slips from Durrants and other cuttings services are not included in the page count; cover letters and suchlike are.
Published
Labelled fragment of plastic folder.
Published
Eleven cuttings.
Published
Seventeen cuttings and three complete newspapers (one with a duplicate).
Published
Seventeen cuttings and one complete newspaper.
Published
Eight cuttings.
Published
Three cuttings.
Published
Nine cuttings.
Published
Thirteen cuttings and one complete newspaper supplement.
Published
Eleven cuttings.
Published
Five cuttings.
Published
Four cuttings.
Published
Three cuttings.
Published
Three cuttings.
Published
One cutting.
Published
Three cuttings.
Published
Two complete magazines, with photocopies of the Adams-relevant pages.
Published
One cutting.
Published
One cutting.
Published
Six cuttings.
Published
Two cuttings.
Published
Two cuttings.
Published
Two cuttings.
Published
Published
Published
Volumes with press cuttings, and some correspondence, pasted in or otherwise inserted.
Published
Published
Published
Published
Published
Published
Published
Published
Published
Published
Published
Published
Published
Published
Mixed professional and personal audio-, video- and data-bearing media, including reel-to-reel tapes, audio cassettes and DATs (some mini), VHS tapes, mini DV cassettes, CDs, DVDs, floppy disks and DDS tapes.
Published
Forty-five DAT/DDS cartridges.
1. 'Network June 98' 6-7.
2. 'Network July 98' 1-7.
3. '6 July 98'.
4. 'Network Nov 98' 1-5.
5. 'DT April 99' 1-3.
6. 'DT June 99' 1, 3-8.
7. 'DT Aug 99' 1-5.
8. 'Comic Relief' / 'Comic Relief Love Me Tender' / 'Comic Relief Love Me Tender Harmony' / '"Love Me Tender" Boyzone'.
9. 'Doodles'.
10. 'P.F.'
11. '2-8100 backup'.
12. Five unlabelled cartridges
13. Three unopened catridges.
14. Three cleaning cartridges (one of them unopened).
Eleven floppy disks.
1. Windows /DOS Version 3.0.
2. MTP II Console Version 1.1.
3. Digital Performer Version 1.5 (x 2).
4. Digital Performer Version 1.6 Disks 1-7.
Roland M-16C memory cartridge.
Roland M-64C memory cartridge.
Yamaha RAM4 data cartridge.
Sony MiniDisc.
Published
Sixty-four audio cassettes in two groups.
Twenty-one audio cassettes in a blue filing box:
1. '(Midi) Guitar Sync'.
2. 'Guitar Sync, Lullaby / Big Blues / Keyboard + Elec Guitar / Impro'.
3. 'Brodie's Close, Guitar Synco, Lullaby / Cars'.
4. 'Dire Straits'.
5. 'Slow Dull Guitar Synth'.
6. 'Doodles'.
7. 'Songs'.
8. Unlabelled.
9. 'La Masure June 93'.
10. 'Synth Work'.
11. 'Blank'.
12. 'A Useful Impro / Good Stuff'.
13. 'Damn Right . . . Live in L.A.' / 'Damn Right . . . Live in London'.
14. 'Yellow Dog Sampler'.
15. 'Useful Guitar 170'.
16. 'Blank'.
17. 'No Dobly [sic] Please'.
18. Unlabelled
19. '23rd Nov 86 / Guitar Impro'.
20. 'Guitar Tune'.
21. 'Guitar Sync'.
Note that two tapes ('Kakapo' and 'China 3') have been removed from this box and placed with the *Last Chance to See* tapes (AdamsDN/11/6).
Forty-three loose audio cassettes.
1. 'Douglas Adams'.
2. 'The Today Programme 13/11/99'.
3. 'Bookclub -- Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy / BBC R4 TX 2.1.00 1530-1630'.
4. 'The Guide to Twenty Years' Hitch-Hiking'.
5. 'Douglas Adams "Desert Island Discs" w/ Juliette Weinstein'.
6. 'Starship Titanic' audiobook sampler (read by Terry Jones).
7. '[Starship] Titanic [music]'.
8. 'Hitchhiker's -- Sig -- Mark Russell'.
9. '"Hitch-hiker" by Ric Harris'.
10. 'Interview'.
11. 'Douglas Adams Göttingen Festival 14.3.94'.
12. 'D.I.D. Douglas Adams'.
13. 'D.I.D. Douglas Adams'.
14. 'Douglas Adams / Shine (Glaxo) Conference / 7/3/00'.
15. 'The Candidate 3 -- Douglas Adams'.
16. 'Lullaby'.
17. 'Short Guitar Imp'.
18. 'Guitar Sync'.
19. 'Guitar impro, including 12 string'.
20. '12 st electric'.
21. Answerphone Music'.
22. 'Guitar, Piano / Rob Buckman'.
23. 'Margo Buchanan'.
24. 'YLH 3 / YLH 4'.
25. 'Nothing on This Side / P.T.O'.
26. 'Beatles Out-takes'.
27. 'Brian Kennedy' / 'Sharon Shannon'.
28. 'Brandenburg III'.
29. 'Songs from The Horse's Mouth / Words by Jeremy Browne / Prokoviev's music arranged by Nic Rowley / Sung by Roy Hudd and Anna Sharkey'.
30. 'The Hardcovers -- Live at Miami Beach / 31/5/93'.
31. 'The Magic Beans'.
32. Redback Audiobooks: 'Invitation'.
33. Eleven unlabelled.
Note that one loose tape ('Last Chance. Brazil') has been removed from this sequence and placed with the *Last Chance to See* tapes (AdamsDN/11/6).
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Published
Audio CD recording Adams's first reading in Germany on 14 March 1994.
Published
Set of three audio CDs. Signed by Adams: 'To Princess Märtha Louise with best wishes'.
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Set of three audio CDs. Signed by Adams: 'To Princess Märtha Louise with best wishes'.
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CD-R.
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CD-R.
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CD-R, accompanied by a manuscript note from 'Mark' at BBC Scotland dated 20 November 1999: 'Monty Python programme and "Today" clip enclosed, (After listening to Tom Baker on the Today prog I have decided he is *not* my favourite Dr Who!)'
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CD-R.
Published
CD-R.
Published
CD-R.
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CD-R.
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CD-R.
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Published
VHS cassette.
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VHS cassette.
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VHS cassette.
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VHS cassette.
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VHS cassette.
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VHS cassette.
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Two VHS cassettes.
1. 'Tape 1 of 2'.
2. 'Tape 2 of 2'.
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VHS cassette.
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Seven VHS cassettes.
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Five VHS cassettes.
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VHS cassette. Accompanied by a copied letter to 'Lizzy' from Mark Dezzani of Europa Productions, dated 4 February 2002, expressing condolences over Adams's death and requesting permission to use interview footage.
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Published
Published
Published
Published
Published
Published
Published
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Published
'1. Reg Nullify -- 1:27
2. Peter Jones Narration -- 1:30
3. Disaster Area -- 2:50'
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Published
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Published
Eighty-one cassettes in two groupings.
Thirty cassettes in a black case.
1. 'New Zealand' 1-5.
2. 'NZ 1'.
3. 'NZ 2'.
4. 'Kakapo K3'.
5. 'NZ 6'.
6. 'NZ 3'.
7. 'Fiordland'.
8. 'NZ 5'.
9. 'Helicopter & Little Barrier / Day One'.
10. 'Kakapo Found (2)'.
11. 'Last Chance -- Kakapo -- Rushes / 7.9.89' / 'Chile Inserts'.
12. 'China' 1-12.
13. 'Press Conference -- Wellington'.
14. 'Last Chance: Dolphin'.
15. 'China -- Rough Cuts'.
Fifty-one loose cassettes.
1. 'A) A kind of refuge: Kakapo expedition into Fiordland / B) Assorted kakapo calls rec. by Don Morton'
2. 'Fruit Bat'.
3. 'Mark -- Thoughts on Leaving Komodo' / 'Interview with Putra Sastrawan'.
4. 'Mauritius' 1-12.
5. 'Komodo'.
6. 'Zaire' 1-10.
7. 'Garnets trip + Craig introducing us to Little Barrier Island / + Visitors' / 'Tape of Kakapo calls + various + visitors to L. Barrier'.
8. 'Cod Fish End + Start of Fiordland' / 'Fiordland -- Don -- kakapo sounds -- interview with Bill Black'.
9. 'Brazil' 1-14.
10. 'Chile'.
11. 'Brazil'.
12. 'Last Chance to See inserts. Brazil'.
13. 'Chile inserts'.
14. 'Komodo inserts'.
15. 'Rodrigues Inserts'.
16. 'China 3'.
17. 'Boat / Dragon eats chicken' / 'Komodo'.
18. 'Kakapo'.
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Largely but not exclusively pertaining to 'Last Chance to See', this sequence also includes some negatives and developed photographs.
Published
Compare the slides elsewhere in this sequence, and photographs elsewhere in the collection (especially AdamsDN/1/2/1/81-82 and AdamsDN/1/13).
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Fifty-two cases (some without lids), one cardboard box, and two loose groupings of slides. The assortment includes images pertaining to 'Last Chance to See' (most cases) and 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' (one case), as well as some personal images.
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Forty-one cases.
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Thirty-two cases.
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Forty-one cases.
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This material has come to the Library from sources other than Douglas Adams's estate.
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Print (16" x 12") of Adams holding a self-portrait drawing, accompanied by a typescript interview with him conducted by the photographer. 'My major feature is my nose. Get that in the drawing and everything else just sticks at the back of it.'
Purchased from Iain Stewart, 2013.
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Released by Original Records. 'Based on the BBC Radio 4 series.'
Donation.
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Published
Published
Editions by TSV Books, an imprint of the New Zealand *Doctor Who* Fan Club, of adaptations of Douglas Adams's *Doctor Who* serials.
Donated by Mervyn Capel, November 2019.
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TSV Books, 2001. First published in 1989 by JPS Books.
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TSV Books, 2001. First published in 1990 by JPS Books.
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TSV Books, 2002. First published in 1992 by TSV Books.
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Camera scripts for episodes 1-6, and two photographic stickers. Typescript.
Donated by Robin Bunce, July 2022, from the papers of his father, the camera operator Roger Bunce.
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Typescript.
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Typescript.
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Typescript.
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Typescript.
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Typescript.
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Typescript.
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