The Frood: The Authorised and Very Official History of Douglas Adams & The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

(Paperback)

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Description

"Hey, you sass that hoopy Ford Prefect There's a frood who really knows where his towel is." (Sass- know, be aware of, meet, have sex with; hoopy- really together guy; frood- really amazingly together guy.) Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. As a wise ape once observed, space is big - vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly so. However, if you look too closely at space, it becomes nothing but lumps of rock and sundry gases. Sometimes it's necessary to take a step back, and let a few billion years go by, before any of the true wonder and scope of the cosmos becomes apparent. Similarly, the late 20th century author, humorist and thinker Douglas Adams was big - vastly, hugely and thoroughly mind-bogglingly so, both in physical terms, and as a writer who has touched millions of readers, firing up millions of cerebellums all over planet Earth, for over 35 years - and for nearly half of that time, he hasn't even been alive. It would be ridiculous to pretend that Douglas Adams's life and work has gone unexamined since his dismayingly early death at 49 but throughout the decade since the last book to tackle the subject, the universes Adams created have continued to develop, to beguile and expand minds, and will undoubtedly do so for generations to come. An all-new approach to the most celebrated creation of Douglas Adams is therefore most welcome, and The Frood tells the story of Adams's explosive but agonizingly constructed fictional universe, from his initial inspirations to the posthumous sequel(s) and adaptations, bringing together a thousand tales of life as part of the British Comedy movements of the late 70s and 80s along the way. With the benefit of hindsight and much time passed, friends and colleagues have been interviewed for a fresh take on the man and his works.

Reviews

Jem manages to write about popular cultural institutions with knowledge and affection * Stephen Fry *
Jem, you're very charming, it's a pleasure to go on about it * Barry Cryer *
Robertss lively conversational prose never tries to ape Adamss own style, but tells the story of his life in an accessible, compelling flow this is a thoroughly absorbing read. * SFX magazine *
Hitchhikers is one of the most amazing pieces of literature created in modern times His biographer Jem Roberts puts it all into context * The Sun *
Roberts has done some meticulous work here and clearly cares for his subject5* * Daily Sport *

Author Bio

Jem Roberts is the author of The Clue Bible (2009), The True History of the Black Adder (2013) and The Frood- The Authorised and Very Official History of Douglas Adams and the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2015). He has also written for the Independent, the Telegraph and Total Film, among others, and is a trustee of the Bath Comedy Festival. jemroberts.com/@jemroberts