96-417: John Anthony Burgess Wilson , FRSL ( / ˈ b ɜːr dʒ ə s / ; 25 February 1917 – 22 November 1993) who published under the name Anthony Burgess , was an English writer and composer. Although Burgess was primarily a comic writer, his dystopian satire A Clockwork Orange remains his best-known novel. In 1971, it was adapted into a controversial film by Stanley Kubrick , which Burgess said
192-528: A Bachelor of Arts . His thesis concerned Marlowe 's Doctor Faustus , and he graduated with an upper second-class honours , which he found disappointing. When grading one of Burgess's term papers, the historian A. J. P. Taylor wrote: "Bright ideas insufficient to conceal lack of knowledge." Burgess met Llewela "Lynne" Isherwood Jones at the university where she was studying economics, politics and modern history, graduating in 1942 with an upper second-class. Burgess and Jones were married on 22 January 1942. She
288-415: A Stone Age language for La Guerre du Feu ( Quest for Fire ; Jean-Jacques Annaud , 1981). Burgess wrote many unpublished scripts, including Will! or The Bawdy Bard about Shakespeare , based on the novel Nothing Like The Sun . Encouraged by the success of Tremor of Intent (a parody of James Bond adventures), Burgess wrote a screenplay for The Spy Who Loved Me featuring characters from and
384-512: A mafia plot to kidnap Paolo Andrea while the family was staying in Rome, Burgess decided to move to Monaco in 1975. Burgess was also motivated to move to the tax haven of Monaco, as the country did not levy income tax , and widows were exempt from death duties , a form of taxation on their husband's estates. The couple also had a villa in France, at Callian, Var , Provence . Burgess lived for
480-674: A " psychedelic moment ... a recognition of verbally inexpressible spiritual realities". When Burgess announced to his family that he wanted to be a composer, they objected as "there was no money in it". Music was not taught at his school, but at the age of about 14 he taught himself to play the piano. Burgess had originally hoped to study music at university, but the music department at the Victoria University of Manchester turned down his application because of poor grades in physics . Instead, he studied English language and literature there between 1937 and 1940, graduating with
576-473: A Brunei classroom while teaching history and was diagnosed as having an inoperable brain tumour. Burgess was given just a year to live, prompting him to write several novels to get money to provide for his widow. He gave a different account, however, to Jeremy Isaacs in a Face to Face interview on the BBC The Late Show (21 March 1989). He said "Looking back now I see that I was driven out of
672-760: A London hospital (see The Doctor is Sick ) where he underwent cerebral tests that found no illness. On discharge, benefiting from a sum of money which Lynne Burgess had inherited from her father, together with their savings built up over six years in the East, he decided to become a full-time writer. The couple lived first in an apartment in Hove , near Brighton. They later moved to a semi-detached house called "Applegarth" in Etchingham , about four miles from Bateman's where Rudyard Kipling had lived in Burwash , and one mile from
768-653: A Roman Catholic religious order founded by Theodore James Ryken in Bruges, Belgium, in 1839 and named after St. Francis Xavier . The order is dedicated to Roman Catholic education in the United Kingdom, the United States and many other countries. The college was founded by the Xaverian Brothers in 1862 and until 1903 was housed in a four-storey building on Oxford Road, Manchester. On the move to
864-492: A Tiger . His mother Elizabeth ( née Burgess) died at the age of 30 at home on 19 November 1918, during the 1918 flu pandemic . The causes listed on her death certificate were influenza , acute pneumonia , and cardiac failure . His sister Muriel had died four days earlier on 15 November from influenza, broncho-pneumonia , and cardiac failure, aged eight. Burgess believed he was resented by his father, Joseph Wilson, for having survived, when his mother and sister did not. After
960-465: A Welsh one. [...] Of Christopher Isherwood [...] neither the Jones father or daughter had heard. She was unliterary ..." Biswell identifies Burgess as the origin of the alleged relationship with Christopher Isherwood—"if the rumour of an Isherwood affiliation signifies anything, it is that Burgess wanted people to believe that he was connected by marriage to another famous writer"—and notes that "Llewela
1056-665: A brief period of leave in Britain during 1958, Burgess took up a further Eastern post, this time at the Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien College in Bandar Seri Begawan , Brunei. Brunei had been a British protectorate since 1888, and was not to achieve independence until 1984. In the sultanate, Burgess sketched the novel that, when it was published in 1961, was to be entitled Devil of a State and, although it dealt with Brunei, for libel reasons
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#17327726888371152-651: A classic Russian play in the spirit of Oscar Wilde . Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature ( RSL ) is a learned society founded in 1820 by King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 600 Fellows, elected from among the best writers in any genre currently at work. Additionally, Honorary Fellows are chosen from those who have made
1248-469: A college truly committed to a special Mission. This was recognised in the latest Ofsted Inspection when the college was graded outstanding in all areas of the report. The college was subsequently awarded Beacon status. The college consists of nine buildings on two sides of Lower Park Road: Ward Hall, Birtles, Marylands, Firwood, Xavier, Sunbury, Ryken, Mayfield, and Teresa Quinn built from 1840 onwards. Additions and renovations have been an ongoing feature of
1344-683: A facsimile of the handwritten score, appeared in 1999; A Clockwork Orange 2004 , adapted from Burgess's novel by the director Ron Daniels and published by Arrow Books , was produced at the Barbican Theatre in London in 1990, with music by The Edge from U2 . His other famous translations include the English version of Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand . Recently two of his until now unpublished translations were published by Salamander Street , and imprint of Wordville , which
1440-413: A fictional recreation of Shakespeare 's love-life and an examination of the supposedly partly syphilitic sources of the bard's imaginative vision. The novel, which drew on Edgar I. Fripp 's 1938 biography Shakespeare, Man and Artist , won critical acclaim and placed Burgess among the first rank novelists of his generation. M/F (1971) was listed by the writer himself as one of the works of which he
1536-577: A glossary be provided." Liana Macellari , an Italian translator twelve years younger than Burgess, came across his novels Inside Mr. Enderby and A Clockwork Orange , while writing about English fiction. The two first met in 1963 over lunch in Chiswick and began an affair. In 1964, Liana gave birth to Burgess's son, Paolo Andrea. The affair was hidden from Burgess's alcoholic wife, whom he refused to leave for fear of offending his cousin (by Burgess's stepmother, Margaret Dwyer Wilson), George Dwyer ,
1632-635: A key role in " The British Way and Purpose " programme, designed to introduce members of the forces to the peacetime socialism of the post-war years in Britain. He was an instructor for the Central Advisory Council for Forces Education of the Ministry of Education . Burgess's flair for languages was noticed by army intelligence , and he took part in debriefings of Dutch expatriates and Free French who found refuge in Gibraltar during
1728-507: A motion picture production company, used the exterior of the college in several of their films, including It's A Grand Life , starring Frank Randle and Diana Dors . The film company sold their Dickenson Road Studios to the BBC in 1954, making Dickenson Road Studios the first regional BBC TV studio. When the BBC left in 1974 to move to Oxford Road , Xaverian inherited their lighting rigs, now used in
1824-450: A name-list before beginning a project. Seymour-Smith wrote: Burgess believes overplanning is fatal to creativity and regards his unconscious mind and the act of writing itself as indispensable guides. He does not produce a draft of a whole novel but prefers to get one page finished before he goes on to the next, which involves a good deal of revision and correction. Nothing Like the Sun is
1920-469: A novelist and as a speaker, including Malay . Burgess's repatriate years ( c. 1960 –1969) produced Enderby and The Right to an Answer , which touches on the theme of death and dying, and One Hand Clapping , a satire on the vacuity of popular culture. The Worm and the Ring (1961) had to be withdrawn from circulation under the threat of libel action from one of Burgess's former colleagues,
2016-566: A number of years in the United States, working as writer-in-residence at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1969, as a visiting professor at Princeton University with the creative writing program in 1970, and as a distinguished professor at the City College of New York in 1972. At City College he was a close colleague and friend of Joseph Heller . He went on to teach creative writing at Columbia University , lectured on
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#17327726888372112-554: A result, she lost the child. Burgess, stationed at the time in Gibraltar , was denied leave to see her. At his stationing in Gibraltar, which he later wrote about in A Vision of Battlements , he worked as a training college lecturer in speech and drama, teaching alongside Ann McGlinn in German , French and Spanish . McGlinn's communist ideology would have a major influence on his later novel A Clockwork Orange . Burgess played
2208-576: A school secretary. His dystopian novel, A Clockwork Orange , was published in 1962. It was inspired initially by an incident during the London Blitz of World War II in which his wife Lynne was robbed, assaulted, and violated by deserters from the US Army in London during the blackout . The event may have contributed to her subsequent miscarriage. The book was an examination of free will and morality. The young anti-hero , Alex , captured after
2304-457: A short career of violence and mayhem, undergoes a course of aversion therapy treatment to curb his violent tendencies. This results in making him defenceless against other people and unable to enjoy some of his favourite music that, besides violence, had been an intense pleasure for him. In the non-fiction book Flame into Being (1985), Burgess described A Clockwork Orange as "a jeu d'esprit knocked off for money in three weeks. It became known as
2400-417: A significant contribution to the advancement of literature, including publishers, agents, librarians, booksellers or producers. The society is a cultural tenant at London's Somerset House . The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) was founded in 1820, with the patronage of George IV , to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent", and its first president was Thomas Burgess , Bishop of St David's (who
2496-469: A similar tone to the novel. It had Bond fighting the criminal organisation CHAOS in Singapore to try to stop an assassination of Queen Elizabeth II using surgically implanted bombs at Sydney Opera House . It was described as "an outrageous medley of sadism, hypnosis , acupuncture , and international terrorism". His screenplay was rejected, although the huge submarine silo seen in the finished film
2592-462: A willingness to appear on television as something that ought to be beneath a writer's dignity. "He talks about his books," Vidal quotes an exasperated Greene as saying. During this time, Burgess spent much time at his chalet 2 km (1.2 mi) outside Lugano , Switzerland. Although Burgess wrote that he expected to "die somewhere in the Mediterranean lands, with an inaccurate obituary in
2688-592: Is a Roman Catholic college located in Rusholme , Manchester , approximately two miles south of the city centre . Established in 1862, it is recognised as being one of the most oversubscribed sixth form colleges in Greater Manchester , along with Ashton Sixth Form College and Loreto College . As a member of the Association of Colleges , the college has an offer rate of 30% (2019). The college
2784-515: Is a priority in any civilised country today". To avoid the 90% tax the family would have incurred because of their high income, they left Britain and toured Europe in a Bedford Dormobile motor-home. During their travels through France and across the Alps , Burgess wrote in the back of the van as Liana drove. In this period, he wrote novels and produced film scripts for Lew Grade and Franco Zeffirelli . His first place of residence after leaving England
2880-537: Is like destroying a whole civilisation. Although Burgess lived not far from Graham Greene , whose house was in Antibes , Greene became aggrieved shortly before his death by comments in newspaper articles by Burgess and broke off all contact. Gore Vidal revealed in his 2006 memoir Point to Point Navigation that Greene disapproved of Burgess's appearance on various European television stations to discuss his (Burgess's) books. Vidal recounts that Greene apparently regarded
2976-559: Is near the University of Manchester and the Royal Northern College of Music . Through its partnership with the University of Manchester, Xaverian College hosts foundational science courses on behalf of the university. Additionally, Xaverian College students benefit from access to the resources available at the University of Manchester Library . The Xaverian Brothers , or Congregation of St Francis Xavier (CFX), are
Anthony Burgess - Misplaced Pages Continue
3072-489: Is pronounced by Christ during his agony in Gethsemane ( Mark 14:36 ) as he prays God to spare him. It is also the title of Burgess's 22nd novel , concerning the death of John Keats . Eulogies at his memorial service at St Paul's, Covent Garden , London, in 1994 were delivered by the journalist Auberon Waugh and the novelist William Boyd . The Times obituary heralded the author as "a great moralist". His estate
3168-758: The Nice-Matin , unmourned, soon forgotten", he returned to die in Twickenham , an outer suburb of London, where he owned a house. Burgess died on 22 November 1993 from lung cancer , at the Hospital of St John & St Elizabeth in London. His ashes were inurned at the Monaco Cemetery . The epitaph on Burgess's marble memorial stone, reads: "Abba Abba", which means "Father, father" in Aramaic, Arabic, Hebrew, and other Semitic languages and
3264-463: The Benson Medal for lifetime service in the field of literature . The RSL runs a membership programme offering a variety of events to members and the general public. Membership of the RSL is open to all. The RSL also runs an outreach programme, currently for young people and those in prison. The RSL administers two annual prizes, two awards, and two honours. Through its prize programmes,
3360-540: The Colonial Service . I think possibly for political reasons that were disguised as clinical reasons". He alluded to this in an interview with Don Swaim, explaining that his wife Lynne had said something "obscene" to the Duke of Edinburgh during an official visit, and the colonial authorities turned against him. He had already earned their displeasure, he told Swaim, by writing articles in the newspaper in support of
3456-469: The Great Depression , his parents, who were shopkeepers, were fairly well off, as the demand for their tobacco and alcohol wares remained constant. He was known in childhood as Jack, Little Jack, and Johnny Eagle. At his confirmation , the name Anthony was added and he became John Anthony Burgess Wilson. He began using the pen name Anthony Burgess upon the publication of his 1956 novel Time for
3552-523: The Malay College (now Malay College Kuala Kangsar – MCKK), modelled on English public school lines. In addition to his teaching duties, he was a housemaster in charge of students of the preparatory school , who were housed at a Victorian mansion known as "King's Pavilion". A variety of the music he wrote there was influenced by the country, notably Sinfoni Melayu for orchestra and brass band, which included cries of Merdeka (independence) from
3648-581: The Robertsbridge home of Malcolm Muggeridge . Upon the death of Burgess's father-in-law, the couple used their inheritance to decamp to a terraced town house in Chiswick . This provided convenient access to the BBC Television Centre where he later became a frequent guest. During these years Burgess became a regular drinking partner of the novelist William S. Burroughs . Their meetings took place in London and Tangiers . A sea voyage
3744-549: The Roman Catholic Bishop of Leeds . Lynne Burgess died from cirrhosis of the liver , on 20 March 1968. Six months later, in September 1968, Burgess married Liana, acknowledging her four-year-old boy as his own, although the birth certificate listed Roy Halliday, Liana's former partner, as the father. Paolo Andrea (also known as Andrew Burgess Wilson) died in London in 2002, aged 37. Liana died in 2007. Burgess
3840-513: The age of majority . "21 is the symbol of human maturity, or used to be, since at 21 you got to vote and assumed adult responsibility", Burgess wrote in a foreword for a 1986 edition. Needing money and thinking that the publisher was "being charitable in accepting the work at all," Burgess accepted the deal and allowed A Clockwork Orange to be published in the US with the twenty-first chapter omitted. Stanley Kubrick's film adaptation of A Clockwork Orange
3936-662: The early years of the State of Israel , and the rediscovery of Excalibur . A Dead Man in Deptford , about Christopher Marlowe , is a companion novel to Nothing Like the Sun . The verse novel Byrne was published posthumously. Burgess announced in a 1972 interview that he was writing a novel about the Black Prince which incorporated John Dos Passos 's narrative techniques, although he never finished writing it. After Burgess's death, English writer Adam Roberts completed
Anthony Burgess - Misplaced Pages Continue
4032-519: The 1980s, religious themes began to feature heavily ( The Kingdom of the Wicked , Man of Nazareth , Earthly Powers ). Though Burgess lapsed from Catholicism early in his youth, the influence of the Catholic "training" and worldview remained strong in his work all his life. This is notable in the discussion of free will in A Clockwork Orange , and in the apocalyptic vision of devastating changes in
4128-763: The Catholic Church ;– due to what can be understood as Satanic influence – in Earthly Powers (1980). Burgess kept working through his final illness and was writing on his deathbed. The late novel Any Old Iron is a generational saga of two families, one Russian-Welsh, the other Jewish, encompassing the sinking of the Titanic , World War I , the Russian Revolution , the Spanish Civil War , World War II ,
4224-515: The FEFC had become the Learning and Skills Council and recognised the college's progress by part funding a state-of-the-art new building, which was named Mayfield. In 2007, Mrs Mary Hunter was made Principal. Her appointment can be seen as another watershed in the life of Xaverian. Hunter, whose previous experience was in the general FE sector, brought both an objective eye and a heart-felt empathy to
4320-515: The Foundation called a 'significant literary discovery'. One is Miser! Miser! A translation of Molière 's The Miser . Although the original French play is written in prose, Burgess remakes it in a mixture of verse and prose, in the style of his famous adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac . The other Chatsky subtitled ' The Importance of Being Stupid ' based on Woe from Wit by Alexander Griboyedov . In Chatsky , Burgess remakes
4416-569: The RSL published a volume that provides a description and history of the society, written by one of its fellows, Isabel Quigly . In 2020, the RSL celebrated its 200th anniversary with the announcement of RSL 200, "a five-year festival launched with a series of major new initiatives and 60 new appointments championing the great diversity of writing and writers in the UK". Initiatives included RSL Open (electing new Fellows from communities, backgrounds and experiences currently under-represented in UK literary culture), RSL International Writers (recognising
4512-473: The RSL roll book. The RSL's 2022–23 Open initiative aimed to recognise writers from backgrounds currently underrepresented in UK literary culture by electing 60 fellows over a two-year period from communities, backgrounds and experiences currently under-represented in UK literary culture, through drawing on a broad range of writers from "different parts of the UK, from different communities, different demographics", as Bernardine Evaristo noted. The * before
4608-422: The RSL supports new and established contemporary writers. The Council of the Royal Society of Literature is central to the election of new fellows, and directs the RSL's activities through its monthly meetings. Council members serve for a fixed term of four years, with new members being elected by Council when members retire. The Royal Society of Literature comprises more than 600 Fellows, who are entitled to use
4704-647: The RSL. Paid membership is open to all and offers a variety of benefits. The society publishes an annual magazine, The Royal Society of Literature Review , and administers a number of literary prizes and awards, including the RSL Ondaatje Prize , the RSL Giles St Aubyn Awards for Non-Fiction, the RSL Encore Award for best second novel of the year and the V. S. Pritchett Memorial Prize for short stories. In 2000,
4800-413: The action had to be transposed to an imaginary East African territory similar to Zanzibar , named Dunia . In his autobiography Little Wilson and Big God (1987), Burgess wrote: This novel was, is, about Brunei, which was renamed Naraka , Malay-Sanskrit for "hell". Little invention was needed to contrive a large cast of unbelievable characters and a number of interwoven plots. Though completed in 1958,
4896-587: The audience. No score, however, is extant. Burgess and his wife had occupied a noisy apartment where privacy was minimal, and this caused resentment. Following a dispute with the Malay College's principal about this, Burgess was reposted to the Malay Teachers' Training College at Kota Bharu , Kelantan. Burgess attained fluency in Malay , spoken and written, achieving distinction in the examinations in
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#17327726888374992-423: The buildings and updated the curriculum with vocationally based courses and the introduction of information technology across many subjects. Her greatest success, however, was to maintain the distinctive Xaverian mission and ethos in a period of much change and uncertainty. Capital from the Xaverian Brothers and grants from the FEFC allowed a new multi-resource building, The Ryken, to be constructed in 2002. By 2005,
5088-495: The children could not read, so I was ... a little apart, rather different from the rest." Good grades resulted in a place at Xaverian College (1928–37). Burgess was indifferent to music until he heard on his home-built radio "a quite incredible flute solo", which he characterised as "sinuous, exotic, erotic", and became spellbound. Eight minutes later the announcer told him he had been listening to Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune by Claude Debussy . He referred to this as
5184-484: The contribution of writers across the globe to literature in English) and Sky Arts RSL Writers Awards. In 2021, the RSL launched "Literature Matters: Reading Together", a project aiming to make recreational reading accessible to young people across the UK. The society maintains its current level of about 600 Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature : generally 14 new fellows are elected annually, who are accorded
5280-430: The couple had established a tobacconist and off-licence business with four properties. Burgess was briefly employed at the tobacconist shop as a child. On 18 April 1938, Joseph Wilson died from cardiac failure, pleurisy , and influenza at the age of 55, leaving no inheritance despite his apparent business success. Burgess's stepmother died of a heart attack in 1940. Burgess has said of his largely solitary childhood "I
5376-635: The couple took with the Baltic Line from Tilbury to Leningrad in June 1961 resulted in the novel Honey for the Bears . He wrote in his autobiographical You've Had Your Time (1990), that in re-learning Russian at this time, he found inspiration for the Russian-based slang Nadsat that he created for A Clockwork Orange , going on to note, "I would resist to the limit any publisher's demand that
5472-782: The couple was able to put a down payment on a cottage in the village of Adderbury , close to Banbury . He named the cottage "Little Gidding" after one of Eliot's Four Quartets . Burgess cut his journalistic teeth in Adderbury, writing several articles for the local newspaper, the Banbury Guardian . In 1954, Burgess joined the British Colonial Service as a teacher and education officer in Malaya , initially stationed at Kuala Kangsar in Perak. Here he taught at
5568-524: The death of his mother, Burgess was raised by his maternal aunt, Ann Bromley, in Crumpsall with her two daughters. During this time, Burgess's father worked as a bookkeeper for a beef market by day, and in the evening played piano at a public house in Miles Platting . After his father married the landlady of this pub, Margaret Dwyer, in 1922, Burgess was raised by his father and stepmother. By 1924
5664-403: The discussion programme After Dark . He spoke at one point about divorce: Liking involves no discipline; love does ... A marriage, say that lasts twenty years or more, is a kind of civilisation, a kind of microcosm – it develops its own language, its own semiotics, its own slang, its own shorthand ... sex is part of it, part of the semiotics. To destroy, wantonly, such a relationship,
5760-666: The drama studio. From 1946 to 1977, the school was a direct grant grammar school . The college was a Roman Catholic grammar school for boys until 1977, when it became a mixed sixth-form college. Direct Grant Grammar School status ended and Xaverian became a Sixth Form College for young men and women aged sixteen to nineteen within the Manchester Local Education Authority. In 1993, the College Principal Mrs Quinn led an expansion in student numbers, refurbished and modernised many of
5856-627: The extramural department of Birmingham University (1946–50). In late 1950, he began working as a secondary school teacher at Banbury Grammar School (now Banbury School ) teaching English literature. In addition to his teaching duties, he supervised sports and ran the school's drama society. He organised a number of amateur theatrical events in his spare time. These involved local people and students and included productions of T. S. Eliot 's Sweeney Agonistes . Reports from his former students and colleagues indicate that he cared deeply about teaching. With financial assistance provided by Lynne's father,
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#17327726888375952-663: The language set by the Colonial Office . He was rewarded with a salary increase for his proficiency in the language. He devoted some of his free time in Malaya to creative writing "as a sort of gentlemanly hobby, because I knew there wasn't any money in it," and published his first novels: Time for a Tiger , The Enemy in the Blanket and Beds in the East . These became known as The Malayan Trilogy and were later published in one volume as The Long Day Wanes . After
6048-421: The name denotes an Honorary Fellow. The list is online at the RSL website. The RSL International Writers programme is a new life-long honour and award recognizing the contribution of writers across the globe to literature in English, and the power of literature to transcend borders in bringing people together, the inaugural list of recipients being announced in 2021. Xaverian College Xaverian College
6144-554: The novel at the University of Iowa in 1975, and was and at the University at Buffalo in 1976. Eventually he settled in Monaco in 1976, where he was active in the local community, becoming a co-founder of the Princess Grace Irish Library , a centre for Irish cultural studies, in 1984. In May 1988, Burgess made an extended appearance with, among others, Andrea Dworkin on the episode What Is Sex For? of
6240-403: The novel, and it was published in 2018 under the title The Black Prince . In 2019, a previously unpublished analysis of A Clockwork Orange was discovered titled, "The Clockwork Condition". It is structured as Burgess's philosophical musings on the novel that won him so much acclaim. Burgess started his career as a critic. His English Literature, A Survey for Students was aimed at newcomers to
6336-680: The opera Carmen , among others. Burgess was nominated and shortlisted for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1973. Burgess also composed over 250 musical works; he considered himself as much a composer as an author, although he achieved considerably more success in writing. In 1917, Burgess was born at 91 Carisbrook Street in Harpurhey , a suburb of Manchester , England , to Catholic parents, Joseph and Elizabeth Wilson. He described his background as lower middle class ; growing up during
6432-415: The play being performed, and in 1964 he turned the text into a novella. Throughout his life he wrote multiple adaptations and translations for theatre. His most famous work A Clockwork Orange , he adapted for the stage under the title A Clockwork Orange: A Play With Music . According to The International Anthony Burgess Foundation it had the following performances; an expanded edition of this play, with
6528-498: The post-nominal letters FRSL . New fellows of the Royal Society of Literature are elected by its current fellows. To be nominated for fellowship, a writer must have published two works of literary merit, and nominations must be seconded by an RSL fellow. All nominations are presented to members of the Council of the Royal Society of Literature, who vote biannually to elect new fellows. Nominated candidates who have not been successful are reconsidered at every election for three years from
6624-662: The privilege of using the post-nominal letters FRSL. Past and present fellows include Samuel Taylor Coleridge , J. R. R. Tolkien , W. B. Yeats , Rudyard Kipling , Thomas Hardy , George Bernard Shaw , Arthur Koestler , Chinua Achebe , Ruth Prawer Jhabvala , Robert Ardrey , Sybille Bedford , Muriel Spark , P. J. Kavanagh , Hilary Mantel , and Sir Roger Scruton . Present Fellows include Margaret Atwood , Bernardine Evaristo , David Hare , Kazuo Ishiguro , Andrew Motion , Paul Muldoon , Zadie Smith , Nadeem Aslam , Sarah Waters , Geoffrey Ashe , J. K. Rowling , and Nick Cave . A newly created fellow inscribes his or her name on
6720-482: The raw material for a film which seemed to glorify sex and violence". He added, "the film made it easy for readers of the book to misunderstand what it was about, and the misunderstanding will pursue me till I die". In a 1980 BBC interview, Burgess distanced himself from the novel and cinematic adaptations. Near the time of publication, the final chapter was cut from the American edition of the book. Burgess had written A Clockwork Orange with 21 chapters, meaning to match
6816-472: The revolutionary opposition party the Parti Rakyat Brunei , and for his friendship with its leader Dr. Azahari . Burgess's biographers attribute the incident to the author's notorious mythomania . Geoffrey Grigson writes: He was, however, suffering from the effects of prolonged heavy drinking (and associated poor nutrition), of the often oppressive south-east Asian climate, of chronic constipation, and of overwork and professional disappointment. As he put it,
6912-468: The scions of the sultans and of the élite in Brunei "did not wish to be taught", because the free-flowing abundance of oil guaranteed their income and privileged status. He may also have wished for a pretext to abandon teaching and get going full-time as a writer, having made a late start. Burgess was invalided home in 1959 and relieved of his position in Brunei. He spent some time in the neurological ward of
7008-428: The society's official roll using either Byron's pen, T. S. Eliot 's fountain pen , which replaced Dickens 's quill in 2013, or (as of 2018) George Eliot 's pen, with pens belonging to Jean Rhys and Andrea Levy being additional choices from 2020. From time to time, the RSL confers the honour and title of Companion of Literature to writers of particular note. Additionally, the RSL can bestow its award of
7104-573: The subject. He followed this with The Novel To-day (Longmans, 1963) and The Novel Now: A Student's Guide to Contemporary Fiction (New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 1967). He wrote the Joyce studies Here Comes Everybody: An Introduction to James Joyce for the Ordinary Reader (also published as Re Joyce ) and Joysprick: An Introduction to the Language of James Joyce . Also published
7200-413: The support of its Members, Patrons, Fellows and friends to continue its work. The RSL has about 600 Fellows, elected from among the best writers in any genre currently at work. Additionally, Honorary Fellows are chosen from those who have made a significant contribution to the advancement of literature, including publishers, agents, librarians, booksellers or producers, or who have rendered special service to
7296-526: The then gated Victoria Park, it was originally housed in a building known as Firwood, but over time, through new building projects and acquisition, the campus grew. Firwood was home to the Brothers until 1993 when the last of them left. Another former house which has now become part of the college, Ward Hall, was used as a camp for American servicemen in the Second World War . Mancunian Films ,
7392-630: The war. In the neighbouring Spanish town of La Línea de la Concepción , he was arrested for insulting General Franco but released from custody shortly after the incident. Burgess left the army in 1946 with the rank of sergeant-major . For the next four years he was a lecturer in speech and drama at the Mid-West School of Education near Wolverhampton and at the Bamber Bridge Emergency Teacher Training College near Preston . Burgess taught in
7488-412: The work was not published until 1961, for what it was worth it was made a choice of the book society. Heinemann , my publisher, was doubtful about publishing it: it might be libellous. I had to change the setting from Brunei to an East African one. Heinemann was right to be timorous. In early 1958, The Enemy in the Blanket appeared and at once provoked a libel suit. About this time, Burgess collapsed in
7584-532: The year in which they were proposed. Newly elected fellows are introduced at the Society's AGM and summer party. While the President reads a citation for each, they are invited to sign their names in the roll book which dates back to 1820, using either T. S. Eliot 's fountain pen or Byron 's pen. In 2013, Charles Dickens ' quill was retired and replaced with Eliot's fountain pen, and in 2018 George Eliot 's pen
7680-589: Was A Shorter " Finnegans Wake " , Burgess's abridgement. His 1970 Encyclopædia Britannica entry on the novel (under "Novel, the") is regarded as a classic of the genre. Burgess wrote full-length critical studies of William Shakespeare, Ernest Hemingway and D. H. Lawrence, as well as Ninety-nine Novels : The Best in English since 1939 . Burgess wrote the screenplays for Moses the Lawgiver (Gianfranco De Bosio 1974), Jesus of Nazareth ( Franco Zeffirelli 1977), and A.D. ( Stuart Cooper , 1985). Burgess
7776-727: Was Lija , Malta (1968–70). The negative reaction from a lecture that Burgess delivered to an audience of Catholic priests in Malta precipitated a move by the couple to Italy after the Maltese government confiscated the property. (He would go on to fictionalise these events in Earthly Powers a decade later.) The Burgesses maintained a flat in Rome, a country house in Bracciano , and a property in Montalbuccio. On hearing rumours of
7872-548: Was Jones, not (as Burgess liked to suggest) 'Isherwood Jones' or 'Isherwood-Jones'." Burgess spent six weeks in 1940 as a British Army recruit in Eskbank before becoming a Nursing Orderly Class 3 in the Royal Army Medical Corps . During his service, he was unpopular and was involved in incidents such as knocking off a corporal's cap and polishing the floor of a corridor to make people slip. In 1941, Burgess
7968-420: Was a Conservative (though, as he clarified in an interview with The Paris Review , his political views could be considered "a kind of anarchism " since his ideal of a " Catholic Jacobite imperial monarch " was not practicable) a (lapsed) Catholic and monarchist, harbouring a distaste for all republics . He believed socialism for the most part was "ridiculous" but did "concede that socialised medicine
8064-571: Was based on the American edition, and thus helped to perpetuate the loss of the last chapter. In 2021, The International Anthony Burgess Foundation premiered a webpage cataloguing various stage productions of "A Clockwork Orange" from around the world. In Martin Seymour-Smith 's Novels and Novelists: A Guide to the World of Fiction, Burgess related that he would often prepare a synopsis with
8160-589: Was chiefly responsible for the popularity of the book. Burgess produced numerous other novels, including the Enderby quartet, and Earthly Powers . He wrote librettos and screenplays, including the 1977 television mini-series Jesus of Nazareth . He worked as a literary critic for several publications, including The Observer and The Guardian , and wrote studies of classic writers, notably James Joyce . A versatile linguist, Burgess lectured in phonetics, and translated Cyrano de Bergerac , Oedipus Rex , and
8256-598: Was co-writer of the script for the TV series Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson (1980). The film treatments he produced include Amundsen , Attila , The Black Prince , Cyrus the Great , Dawn Chorus , The Dirty Tricks of Bertoldo , Eternal Life , Onassis , Puma , Samson and Delilah , Schreber , The Sexual Habits of the English Middle Class , Shah , That Man Freud and Uncle Ludwig . Burgess devised
8352-532: Was either distractedly persecuted or ignored. I was one despised. ... Ragged boys in gangs would pounce on the well-dressed like myself." Burgess attended St. Edmund's Elementary School, before moving on to Bishop Bilsborrow Memorial Elementary School, both Catholic schools , in Moss Side . He later reflected "When I went to school I was able to read. At the Manchester elementary school I attended, most of
8448-571: Was later translated as Bishop of Salisbury ). As of 2018, the RSL's patron is Queen Camilla , who took over in the role from Elizabeth II . At the heart of the RSL is its Fellowship, "which encompasses the most distinguished writers working today", with the RSL Council responsible for its direction and management, being drawn from the Fellowship. As an independent charity, the RSL receives no regular public or government funding, relying on
8544-461: Was most proud. Beard's Roman Women was revealing on a personal level, dealing with the death of his first wife, his bereavement, and the affair that led to his second marriage. In Napoleon Symphony , Burgess brought Bonaparte to life by shaping the novel's structure to Beethoven 's Eroica symphony. The novel contains a portrait of an Arab and Muslim society under occupation by a Christian western power ( Egypt by Catholic France ). In
8640-442: Was not, as Burgess claims in his autobiography, a 'cousin' of the writer Christopher Isherwood"; referring to a pedigree owned by the family, Biswell observes that "Llewela's father was descended from a female Isherwood" ... "which means going back four generations ... before encountering any Isherwoods", making any connection "at best" "tenuous and distant". He also establishes that per official records, "Llewela's family name
8736-404: Was offered as a choice, the first time in the RSL's history that a pen that belonged to a woman writer was an option. In 2018, the RSL honoured the achievements of Britain's younger writers through the initiative "40 Under 40", which saw the election of 40 new fellows aged under 40. In 2020, pens belonging to Andrea Levy and Jean Rhys were added to the choices offered to fellows for signing
8832-545: Was pursued by the Royal Military Police for desertion after overstaying his leave from Morpeth military base with his future bride Lynne. The following year he asked to be transferred to the Army Educational Corps and, despite his loathing of authority, he was promoted to sergeant. During the blackout , his pregnant wife Lynne was raped and assaulted by four American deserters; perhaps as
8928-694: Was reportedly Burgess's inspiration. Anthony Burgess's involvement with theatre started while attending university in Manchester, where directed plays and wrote theatre reviews. In Oxfordshire he was an active member of the Adderbury Drama Group, where he directed multiple plays, including Juno and the Paycock by Sean O'Casey , A Phoenix Too Frequent by Christopher Fry , The Giaconda Smile by Aldous Huxley and The Adding Machine by Elmer Rice . He wrote his first play in 1951, called The Eve of Saint Venus . There are no records of
9024-465: Was the daughter of secondary school headmaster Edward Jones (1886–1963) and Florence (née Jones; 1867–1956), and reportedly claimed to be a distant relative of Christopher Isherwood , although the Lewis and Biswell biographies dispute this. According to Burgess's own account, it was not from his wife that the alleged connection to Christopher Isherwood originated: "Her father was an English Jones, her mother
9120-518: Was working in the tradition established by Kipling for British India , and Conrad and Maugham for Southeast Asia . Burgess operated more in the mode of Orwell, who had a good command of Urdu and Burmese (necessary for Orwell's work as a police officer) and Kipling, who spoke Hindi (having learnt it as a child). Like many of his fellow English expatriates in Asia, Burgess had excellent spoken and written command of his operative language(s), both as
9216-478: Was worth US$ 3 million and included a large European property portfolio of houses and apartments. His Malayan trilogy The Long Day Wanes was Burgess's first published fiction. Its three books are Time for a Tiger , The Enemy in the Blanket and Beds in the East . Devil of a State is a follow-on to the trilogy, set in a fictionalised version of Brunei . It was Burgess's ambition to become "the true fictional expert on Malaya". In these works, Burgess
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