The Wycliffe Companion

Letters from the Nineties

December 1996

WJB to Mrs Collinson

Friday 13th December 1996.

Dear Mrs Collinson,

Thank you for your letter and your very kind wishes.

About the name, Wycliffe: It derives, as far as I am concerned, from John Wycliffe (born 1330) who promoted the first translation of the bible into English, la 1360 he was made Master of Balliol College, Oxford (which happened to be my college). His activities got him into trouble with Rome and he was only saved from persecution by influential friends.

Before I chose the name for my detective I went into the question of pronunciation. As far as I could discover the probability is that he called himself Wickliffe, although there is no certainty about this. Livia Gollancz, who owned the publishing firm at the time my books began to be published always insisted on Wy-cliffe so that our telephone conversations must have sounded strange with each of us 'correcting' the other at every opportunity.

The etymology seems to be obscure but one suggestion is mat it comes from the OE: whit-clif, meaning 'cliff on a bend'.

I chose the name because I wanted one that was uncommon, that people would be likely to remember, and that they might argue about!

Very unworthy motives, no doubt.

With very best wishes for Christmas and the New Year and I hope you will continue to like Wy-cliffe or Wickliffe.

Yours sincerely,

John Burley