Language and customs have changed immensely since Burton's day - although his style of writing, and perhaps also speaking, were ponderous even by 19th century standards (compared to, say, Jane Austen or W.M. Thackeray); we often have a lot of trouble understanding what he means because word-usage and vernacular have altered so much. On top of this are his frequent references to persons and events which have long-since been forgotten - and thereby, the point that he was trying to communicate is often lost (do we know of the Tipton Slasher today? At least in HIS case Google provides 126 hits!).

Attempts to recreate him, either in fiction as in "Mountains of the Moon" (where he unaccountably speaks with an Irish accent), or even in the BBC series "Search for the Nile", are probably very imperfect; the latter being far superior, in my own view.

There have been those who have immersed themselves in "period study" and have produced works which, at least by today's standards of critique, are hard to fault for authenticity. One such who immediately springs to mind is the late Patrick O'Brien - himself a multi-talented linguist - who wrote the enchanting fictional series, starting with "Master and Commander". Another is A.E. Byatt, who conjured to life the fictional romantic poet Randolf Henry Ash, in her book "Possession". O'Brien, in particular, is so deft in his wonderful characterizations and his apparent fidelity to his period (early 19th century). Peter Weir (the director of the film "Master and Commander") seems to have embraced O'Brien's genre very whole-heartedly and has produced a work that's very close, in feeling, to those books. I'd like to see what Peter Weir could do with a life of Richard Burton.

I came across a letter of Burton's recently which he wrote to, I think, a press critic, where he effectively asked him to do a review of Stone Talk. Burton says:

My dear Dixon
A friend of mine has just been perpetrating a neat article in a small volume called Stone Talk. Can you not give him as he deserves the cut-up proper?
How are you off for Nile Basins?
Yours truly,
Richd F. Burton
(see above link)

We get the drift of the letter; the use of "neat" resonates today but has been 'out' - and is now 'in' again - however "cut-up proper" is not part of today's language and the lack of parentheses around "as he deserves" was probably intentional and peculiar to Burton; making the reading uncomfortable. His humorous ending, in which he treats his 1864 work is if it were a household utility, still tickles our funny bones.