Dear all,
We thought you would like to be made aware of an argument related to the book that is currently raging* in the UK press. A page from the archive that we sent out when announcing the launch of the book included Douglas complaining about being fed up with writing and referring to Arthur Dent as a burk. His peevishness doesn’t last long as you can read on the image below, but it is the spelling of the word burk that has caused the controversy.
From the letters page of The Guardian…
While he may have been a great writer, Douglas Adams had obviously not done his homework on the derogatory term “berk”, which he spells “burk” (Douglas Adams’ note to self reveals author found writing torture, 22 March). The insult is derived from the cockney rhyming slang term “Berkshire hunt”, which readers may care to look up after the 9pm watershed.
Colin Burke
Cartmel, Cumbria
Colin Burke (Letters, 22 March) perpetuates the myth that the etymology of “berk” is derived from the Berkshire Hunt. My dad, a docker from Bermondsey, told me it was the Berkeley Hunt, the oldest pack in the country, that provided the root of the rhyming slang so casually bandied about these days.
Michael Horsham
Ham, London
If none of this makes sense Wikipedia has a most excellent entry explaining cockney rhyming slang here.
You can hear Douglas’s sister explaining why Douglas referred to Arthur as a burk in the lovely radio interview on CBC from yesterday here.
Finally, if anyone has stories about how they first discovered Douglas’s writing we would love to share them. Please add a comment below.
Thanks once again for all your support.
*Okay, it’s probably more accurately described as lightly simmering rather than raging.