In 1984, Anthony Burgess published Ninety-Nine Novels, a selection of his favourite novels in English since 1939. The list is typically idiosyncratic, and shows the breadth of Burgess’s interest in fiction. This podcast, by the International Anthony Burgess Foundation, explores the novels on Burgess’s list with the help of writers, critics and other special guests.

In this episode, Will Carr of the Burgess Foundation talks to academic and writer Marius Hentea about Henry Green’s 1939 novel Party Going, a strange and mysterious novel which deals with the complex social interactions of socialites and workers alike. It is by turns comic, lyrical and expressive, but is not necessarily easy to interpret.

Marius Hentea is Professor of English Literature at the University of Gothenburg. He has previously studied and taught at universities in France, Belgium, America and the UK. His main areas of research are modernism and the avant garde and he has published two books: Henry Green at the Limits of Modernism and Tata Dada: The Real Life and Celestial Adventures of Tristan Tzara. He is currently researching authorship and treason at the beginning of the Cold War.

Books mentioned in this episode:

By Henry Green:

• Living (1929)
• Pack My Bag: A Self-Portrait (1940)
• Loving (1949)

By others:

• Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh (1930)
• Afternoon Men by Anthony Powell (1931)
• Correction by Thomas Bernhard (1975)
• The Genesis of Secrecy: On the Interpretation of Narrative by Frank Kermode (1979)

You can join the conversation and tell us which 100th book you would add to Burgess’s list by using the hashtag #99Novels on Twitter.

If you have enjoyed this episode, why not leave us a review and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Listen to this podcast below or on your audio platform of choice (Apple Podcasts / Soundcloud / Spotify / YouTube), or use the streaming links below.

The theme music for the Ninety-Nine Novels podcast is Anthony Burgess’s Concerto for Flute, Strings and Piano in D Minor, performed by No Dice Collective.

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