My senior year of high school, I made a blog entirely devoted to the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy book series. I’ve decided to share a couple of those posts with you. This one is about the author of the series, Douglas Adams. Douglas Adams is my hero for many reasons. If you haven’t read the book series, I encourage you to. Here’s a bit about my hero and favorite author of all time.
Douglas Noel Adams was born March 11th, 1952 in Cambridge. He was an English writer, humorist, and dramatist. His most famous work was, of course, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. The story started as a BBC radio comedy in 1978 before becoming a five-book “trilogy”, selling more than 15 million copies in his lifetime.
Adams also wrote numerous other works, including three stories for the TV show Doctor Who.
Douglas Adams was more than an author, though. He was an advocate for conservation and environmentalism. He was also known to have a love for cameras, fast cars, and the Apple Macintosh. He was quite openly and proudly atheist, using demonstrations to prove that the fine-tuned Universe approach for God was a fallacy.
After his parents divorced in 1957, Douglas, his mother, and his sister moved to an RSPCA animal shelter. He later went on to attend a string of prestigious primary schools and prep schools.
“Hundreds of boys have passed through the school but Douglas Adams really stood out from the crowd—literally. He was unnecessarily tall and in his short trousers he looked a trifle self-conscious.” – Frank Halford, Adams’ former master
Adams stopped growing at 6’3″. They used to joke that they wouldn’t meet under a clock tower or under the flag pole, but under Adams.
Adams played the guitar and the piano. He played the guitar left-handed and was known to have a collection of 24 left-handed guitars when he died.
After a rocky romantic journey, Douglas Adams was married to Jane Belson in November, 1991. They had one daughter, Polly Adams, shortly after Adams turned 42. The family of three moved from London to Santa Barbara, California in 1999, where they stayed until his death. After his death, Jane Belson and Polly Adams returned to London. Jane Belson died September 7th, 2011. Douglas Adams died on May 11th, 2001. He suffered a heart attack.
Now that you know a bit about the man, I hope you go find a copy of his books and start reading. I’ve read this book series at least four times all the way through and I recommend it to everyone that asks for a recommendation. Douglas Adams is my literary hero. Will he soon be yours?
