- 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), Quest for Fire (1981) and Cyrano de Bergerac (1990). 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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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