Clockwork Orange “Sequel” Discovered in Burgess’ Papers

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess is considered to be one of the most controversial books (and adaptations) of the 20th century. The dystopian novel, which is a dark look at the human condition has remained popular since it’s publication and today is considered to be a work of classic literature.

And now, Andrew Biswell, professor of modern literature at Manchester Metropolitan University and author of Burgess’ biography has discovered a new manuscript in the Burgess archives! The Clockwork Condition is an unfinished 200 page manuscript written by Burgess as a response to the moral panic and controversy surrounding Kubrick’s 1971 cinema adaptation, but has never been published or seen before.

The nonfiction manuscript was found among papers abandoned at Burgess’ house in Bracciano, near Rome where the author moved in the 1970s. The archive is now being catalogued and it was during this process that the manuscript was discovered.

Professor Biswell told the Bookseller : “This remarkable unpublished sequel to A Clockwork Orange sheds new light on Burgess, Kubrick and the controversy surrounding the notorious novel. This is a very exciting discovery. Burgess’s only public reference to The Clockwork Condition was in a 1975 interview where he suggested that it had not developed beyond the idea stage. Part philosophical reflection and part autobiography, The Clockwork Condition provides a context for Burgess’s most famous work, and amplifies his views on crime, punishment and the possible corrupting effects of visual culture. It also casts fresh light on Burgess’s complicated relationship with his own Clockwork Orange novel, a work that he went on revisiting until the end of his life. As the film is re-released in UK cinemas and the Design Museum launches a major Stanley Kubrick exhibition in April, now is the right moment to re-examine Burgess’s complex and celebrated book.”

Burgess described The Clockwork Condition as a “major philosophical statement on the contemporary human condition”. The manuscript is a series of typewritten drafts, notes and outlines in which Burgess develops ideas from his original novel, addresses the controversy surrounding the movie adaptation and puts forward new arguments regarding the dangers of technology and visual culture.

While there is no firm confirmation of this draft going to press, Professor Biswell states that in theory it would be possible to create a publishable version of The Clockwork Condition as there is enough material present in the drafts and outlines to give a clear impression of what this lost book might have been.

A Clockwork Orange