Who was Anthony Burgess?

In Roger Lewis’ complex biography, Anthony Burgess (Faber & Faber: London, 2002) Burgess is portrayed as a misanthropic and awkward man, who was also a pathological liar. Even the dust jacket of this biog isn’t much help in establishing the truth, as it reads: “On what occasions do you lie?” to which Burgess replies, “When I write. When I speak. When I sleep.”

Some facts, however, can’t be disputed; John Burgess Wilson was born in Harpurhey, Manchester on the 18^th February 1917, to Catholic parents, and Anthony Burgess was in fact the pen name he published under. Burgess studied English Language and Literature at Manchester University, where he was awarded a IIi. He didn’t seem to think too highly of Manchester (he would have been a student there during the late 1930s, so it was invariably a bit grim) but whilst there he met his first wife, Llewela (Lynne Jones). In 1943 she was allegedly attacked during the blackout by GI deserters. She was pregnant at the time and miscarried – it’s widely speculated that this trauma may have influenced parts of A Clockwork Orange. Lynne died in 1968 from cardiac and liver failure and Burgess went on to marry his second wife Liana Macellari, an Italian Contessa and translator, they had a son together in 1964 called Paolo Andrea. Burgess died in 1993 after suffering from lung cancer.

Burgess was a polymath, excelling in the fields of literature and music as both a novelist, critic, poet, playwright and composer. In his biography, Lewis paints a picture of an author who created a sort of mythic status surrounding himself., arising from Burgess’ life of self-enforced exile, which is likened to that of DH Lawrence’s. Burgess liked to visit countries such as Russia, where he picked up on words that he used to construct the Nadsat of A Clockwork Orange and he amassed a collection of houses in foreign lands. Burgess felt that the provincial life did not make for good writing and his literary heroes were Hemingway, Keats, Orwell, Shakespeare, Joyce and Lawrence – all of whom he wrote studies on.

Lewis’ biography was a disappointing read; it’s very disparate, relying heavily on anecdotes that suddenly appear in the middle of a sentence. Whenever this happened it was very confusing because it was unclear when reading it, whether it’s Burgess, Lewis or someone else speaking. The biography loosely follows a chronological order and Burgess’ childhood in Manchester doesn’t take up much room – which is a pity. Working nearby to where Burgess grew up, I would have liked to have heard more about the tales of drunken debauchery taking place at his step mother’s public house etc. Instead, Lewis opts to include these strands later on in the biography to discuss how they may have influenced his novels and work. In all honesty, it’s easier to go visit Wikipedia and glean more information about Burgess there.