Anthony Burgess (1917–1993), born John Burgess Wilson in Manchester, was a novelist, composer, linguist, and literary critic. His early life was marked by tragedy, losing his mother and sister in the 1918 influenza pandemic, an experience that shaped much of his later writing. He studied English Literature at the University of Manchester and served in the Royal Army Medical Corps and Army Educational Corps during World War II. Burgess began writing while teaching, producing early novels such as A Vision of Battlements and The Worm and the Ring, and later publishing his first novel under the pen name Anthony Burgess, Time for a Tiger, during his years in Malaya.

Burgess’s literary output was prodigious and diverse, spanning over thirty novels, including his most famous work, A Clockwork Orange, and the acclaimed Earthly Powers. He also wrote essays, biographies, literary criticism, translations, and two volumes of autobiography. His work is celebrated for its inventive use of language, dark humor, social satire, and philosophical explorations of morality, free will, and human nature. Burgess often blended literary ambition with popular appeal, creating novels that are both intellectually challenging and entertaining.

In addition to his writing, Burgess was a prolific composer, creating over 200 musical works, including symphonies, song cycles, and stage adaptations. He contributed to radio, television, and theatre, providing libretti and adaptations for productions such as Cyrano, Oberon, and Carmen. Despite a peripatetic life in England, Malta, France, and Monaco, Burgess continued producing work until his death in 1993. Today, his writing remains widely read and studied, with ongoing reprints, translations, and scholarly editions preserving his enduring literary and musical legacy.

This is an abridged version of the bio found on the International Anthony Burgess Foundation website.