In this essay, originally published in the Spectator in March 1968, Anthony Burgess discusses the pros and cons of living with cats. ‘Dare to Be a Catman’ by Anthony Burgess Cats only came properly into my life when, after six years of soldiering and two years of postwar mess (known officially as readjustment), I got […]
If you want to start a fight among British people, the quickest way is to ask them how to make a cup of tea. Should it be made with tea leaves in a pot, or with a tea bag in a mug? How long do you brew it before you drink it? Do you take […]
Margaret Hilda Thatcher was born (as Margaret Roberts) 100 years ago, on 13 October 1925. In the years since she left Downing Street in 1990, her achievements and legacies have been widely discussed by political commentators. The extent to which she shaped both modern conservatism and New Labour is still debated by her political successors. […]
In this guest blog, Will Franken, who was shortlisted for the 2025 Observer/Anthony Burgess Prize, reviews the Irwell Edition of The Clockwork Testament by Anthony Burgess, edited by Ákos Farkas and published by Manchester University Press. A question looms over the recent Irwell edition of Anthony Burgess’s The Clockwork Testament (1974), which is why have […]
Introduction to One Man’s Chorus by Ben Forkner This memoir of Anthony Burgess appeared as the introduction to One Man’s Chorus: The Uncollected Writings, a selection of Burgess’s journalism, edited by Ben Forkner and published in New York by Carroll & Graf in 1998. We are grateful to Ben Forkner for kindly giving permission to reproduce […]
Translating Burgess / Burgess Translating We are pleased to invite applications for a funded PhD studentship, which will focus on translations of Burgess’s novels, and the work of Anthony and Liana Burgess as literary translators. The successful candidate will be jointly supervised by University of Manchester and the International Anthony Burgess Foundation. The deadline for […]
In which our author hunts for the Moonstone and rewrites Sherlock Holmes. Although Anthony Burgess is often thought of as an upmarket literary writer, he was deeply engaged throughout his writing life with popular forms of writing. Beyond his involvement in writing historical fiction, science fiction, and Cold War spy novels, he had a serious […]
Daniel Felsenfeld will compose a new work for 2025, based on an unpublished Anthony Burgess poem. The American composer Daniel Felsenfeld (b. 1970) has been invited to create a new work for Soprano and Chamber Ensemble, based on a poem by Anthony Burgess (1917-1993). Commissioned by the International Anthony Burgess Foundation, the piece will be […]
In this birthday blog post, we consider some of the anniversaries celebrated by Anthony Burgess in his literature and music. 25 February is the 107th anniversary of Anthony Burgess’s birth in Harpurhey, north Manchester. His original name was John Anthony Burgess Wilson. As he writes in Little Wilson and Big God, the first volume of […]
A ‘lost’ string quartet by Anthony Burgess will be given its first performance on 1 December, as part of a special commemorative concert which showcases his writing for strings, male voice and chamber ensemble. To mark the 30th anniversary of Burgess’s death, the string quartet will receive its premiere at the Burgess Foundation in Manchester, […]