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Description edit
Anthony Burgess' epic masterpiece follows the lives of two men who each represent different kinds of earthly power. Kenneth Toomey is an eminent novelist, world-famous homosexual, and a man who has outlived his contemporaries to survive into honoured, bitter, luxurious old age as a celebrity... read more
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit
Characters/People edit
- Kenneth Marchal Toomey: Elderly British homosexual writer of popular plays and novels (loosely based on W. Somerset Maugham). The book's narrator, he reminisces about his life and experiences.
- Carlo Campanati, aka Pope Gregory XVII: Add a description of this character.
- Domenico Campanati
- Hortense
- Raffaele Campanati
- Val Wrigley
- Jakob Strehler
- Geoffrey
- Ralph
- John
- Tom
- Don Carlo
- Adam
- Mahalingam
- Wignall
- Philip
- Rodney
- Heinz
- Dick
- Dorothy
- Yusof
- Mussolini
- Hitler
- Nicholas
- Joyce
- Laura
- Goebbels
- Vern Clapp
- Reich
- Norman Douglas
- Robert
- Kenneth M. Toomey
- God Manning
- Arnold
- Ambrose
- Bevilacqua
- Dr Shawcross
- Horst Wessel
- Gertrude
- Ellis
- Concetta
Setting & Locations edit
- England
- United States
- Italy
- Uganda
- Malaysia
- Malta
- Morocco
- France
- London
- Hotel De Paris
- Rome
- Chicago
- New York
- Germany
- America
- Vatican
- Africa
- Hollywood
- Gibraltar
- Europe
- Tangier
- Vienna
- Singapore
- Milan
- Washington
- Berlin
- Albany
- Los Angeles
- Gerasdorf
- Austria
- Dublin
- Malacca
- Great Britain
- Manhattan
- Malaya
- Bombay
- California
- Moneta
- Gorgonzola
- Kuala Kangsar
- Cannes
- Toronto
- Indiana
- Sardinia
- Switzerland
- Michelangelo
- Rabat
- Ipoh
- Kuala Lumpur
- Pembroke
First Sentence edit
It was the afternoon of my eighty-first birthday, and I was in bed with my catamite when Ali announced that the archbishop had come to see me.
Series & Lists edit
This book is in Guardian 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read. (authoritative list)
This is book 98 of 96 in Waterstone's Top 100 Books of the 20th Century. (authoritative list)
Preceded by The BFG, and followed by I, Claudius.
Authors & Contributors edit
- Anthony Burgess (Author)
First Edition edit
Original Language: English
Publisher: Hutchinson
Country: England
Publication Date: 1980
ISBN: 0091439108
Page Count: 648
Publisher: Hutchinson
Country: England
Publication Date: 1980
ISBN: 0091439108
Page Count: 648
Awards edit
- Man Booker Prize (Finalist, 1980, Shortlisted)
Classification edit
- Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
- Dewey: 813
Subjects edit
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