- Born
- Died
- Birth nameJohn Anthony Burgess Wilson
- Anthony Burgess was born on February 25, 1917 in Manchester, England, UK. He was a writer, known for A Clockwork Orange (1971), Cyrano de Bergerac (1990) and Vinyl (1965). He was married to Liana Burgess and Llewela Isherwood Jones. He died on November 22, 1993 in London, England, UK.
- SpousesLiana Burgess(September 1968 - November 22, 1993) (his death, 1 child)Llewela Isherwood Jones(January 22, 1942 - March 20, 1968) (her death)
- After doctors found a cancerous tumor in his brain, he wrote "A Clockwork Orange" in a hurry, hoping that the money made from the book would support his wife after he died. He later found out that he did not have cancer.
- Burgess' original screenplay for A Clockwork Orange (1971) was rejected by director Stanley Kubrick, who chose to write his own screenplay instead. Burgess' version is considered to be even more violent than his novel.
- He wrote 33 novels, 25 works of non-fiction, two volumes of autobiography, three symphonies, and more than 250 other musical works, including a violin concerto for Yehudi Menuhin.
- In his novel "A Clockwork Orange", he coined the term "ultra-violence". The term now appears in some dictionaries.
- The attack of the writer's wife, in "Clockwork Orange", was based on an attack on his own wife by American GIs in London, whilst Burgess was stationed on Gibraltar.
- Laugh and the world laughs with you. Snore and you sleep alone.
- [on writing five novels in the space of a year after he was told he had an inoperable brain tumor] It can be done. If you write 2000 words before breakfast, you have the rest of the day to yourself.
- A Clockwork Orange (1972) - $500
- Vinyl (1965) - $3,000
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