Anthony Burgess

Anthony Burgess

Anthony Burgess (John Burgess Wilson) was born on February 25th, 1917. Anthony passed away November 22nd, 1993 at 76 years old. Anthony Burgess was born in Harpurhey, Manchester, England.

Anthony Burgess had written 29 standalone novels, starting with The Wanting Seed in 1956. The most recently released novel was Byrne, which was released in 1995.

Anthony Burgess also wrote 19 Non-Fiction Books, including Language Made Plain and Here Comes Everybody.

Anthony Burgess: Awards & Accolades

Burgess' book, Earthly Powers was nominated for the Booker Prize, Best Fiction Book, in 1980.

Anthony Burgess: Lists & Other Mentions

• A Clockwork Orange has made several lists including:
  1. AbeBooks: 100 (Fiction) Books to Read in a Lifetime Selection in 2018.
  2. Modern Library: 100 Best Novels of the 20th Century: Board's List Selection in 1998.
  3. Modern Library: 100 Best Novels of the 20th Century: Radcliffe's List Selection in 1998.
  4. Modern Library: 100 Best Novels of the 20th Century: Readers' List Selection in 1998.
  5. The Guardian: 100 Best Novels Written in English Selection in 2015.
  6. BBC: 100 Greatest British Novels Selection in 2015.
  7. The Guardian: 100 Greatest Novels of All Time Selection in 2015.
  8. The Independent: 40 Best Books To Read Before You Die Selection in 2023.
  9. Complex: 50 Books to Read Before You Die Selection in 2012.
  10. The Daily Mail: A Hundred Novels to Change Your Life Selection in 2019.
  11. Time Magazine: All-Time 100 Novels Selection in 2005.
  12. BBC: Big Jubilee Read Selection in 2022.
  13. Waterstones: Books of the Century Selection in 1997 and 2020.
  14. NPR: Top 100 Science-Fiction, Fantasy Books Selection in 2011.
• Nothing like the Sun was a Counterpunch: 100 Best Novels in English Since 1900 Selection in 2014.
• Earthly Powers was a Waterstones: Books of the Century Selection in 1997 and a The Independent: Books of the Decade (1980s) Selection in 1989.

Anthony Burgess: TV/Movies Based on Books

The most famous adaptation of Anthony Burgess' work is A Clockwork Orange, but what many people don't know is that it was actually adapted by Andy Warhol before it made its way to Stanley Kubrick. The film was 1965's Vinyl and is well known as the first film appearance of Edie Sedgwick. That adaptation had an incredible soundtrack, featuring The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, The Isley Brothers, and Martha and the Candellas.

Of course, the more famous adaptation is Stanley Kubrick's 1971 film. The movie remains famous to this day for the disturbing and violent imagery. It was controversial at the time of release, but still managed four Academy Awards nominations, including Best Picture. It has since been selected by the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for film preservation. It has made numerous lists of the best films of all-time.

Burgess himself found the film to be brilliant, but felt that it went too far. He eventually distanced himself from the film and Stanley Kubrick after Burgess had to defend the film from critics who thought it glorified violence. Burgess had put in Christian moral points into the story, but it still outraged Christian organizations. Burgess had no involvement in the film with the film's production, but he was still left to answer for it. In fact, the author only made $500 from the rights to the adaptation.

A Clockwork Orange was the only work of Burgess' to be made into a film. However, he wrote numerous screenplays during his career that were made into film. He also was a co-writer on the TV series Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson.

Related Authors

Fans of Anthony Burgess also enjoy these authors:

1. Kurt Vonnegut Jr., author of: Slaughterhouse-Five.
2. Abraham Verghese, author of: Cutting for Stone.
3. Daniel Defoe, author of the Robinson Crusoe Series.
4. Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid's Tale Series.
5. Emma Donoghue, author of: Room.
6. Ian McEwan, author of: Atonement.
7. Amy Tan, author of: The Joy Luck Club.
8. Paula McLain, author of: The Paris Wife.
9. Iain M. Banks, author of the Culture Series.
10. Peng Shepherd, author of: The Cartographers.

Anthony Burgess: F.A.Q