Arthur Dent is the last surviving Englishman in the universe, though he’d rather not be. He was lying in front of a bulldozer trying to save his house when Ford Prefect, his friend of fifteen years, told him the Earth was about to be demolished. Ford turned out to be an alien researcher for the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a kind of electronic encyclopedia for galactic travelers. They hitched a ride on a Vogon constructor ship moments before the planet was destroyed.
Arthur spends most of the series confused, underdressed, and desperate for a cup of tea. He never asked to be flung across the galaxy. He doesn’t understand hyperspace, doesn’t like Vogon poetry, and can’t figure out why the answer to life, the universe, and everything is 42. Douglas Adams used Arthur as the reader’s surrogate, someone ordinary enough to highlight how absurd everything around him is.
Over the course of five novels, Arthur learns to fly (the trick is throwing yourself at the ground and missing), discovers that Earth was actually a giant computer, and finds unexpected love on a distant planet. He remains, throughout it all, fundamentally English: polite, put-upon, and slightly baffled by the universe.
Reading Order
See the complete Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy reading order for all books featuring Arthur Dent.