Anthony Burgess
Anthony Burgess | |
|---|---|
Burgess in 1988 | |
| Born | John Burgess Wilson 25 February 1917 Harpurhey, Manchester, England |
| Died | 22 November 1993 (aged 76) St John's Wood, London, England |
| Resting place | Monaco Cemetery |
| Pen name | Joseph Kell |
| Occupation |
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| Alma mater | Victoria University of Manchester (BA English Literature) |
| Period | 1956–1993 |
| Notable works | The Malayan Trilogy (1956–59), A Clockwork Orange (1962) |
| Notable awards | Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres, distinction of France Monégasque, Commandeur de Merite Culturel (Monaco), Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, honorary degrees from St Andrews, Birmingham and Manchester universities |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Signature | |
John Anthony Burgess Wilson (/ˈbɜːrdʒəs/; 25 February 1917 – 22 November 1993) was an English writer and composer.
Although Burgess was primarily a comic writer, his dystopian satire A Clockwork Orange remains his best-known novel. Burgess produced a number of 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 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.