Included in this collection are eight short stories and a 110-page novella, "Hun", about the life and loves of Attila and his fight against the patricians of Rome. The author has written over 50 books including "Any Old Iron", "Earthly Powers" and "A Clockwork Orange".
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
The prolific author's first collection of short stories is a bonbon assortment, a mix of imaginary historical tales and fictional travel pieces. In the most daring story, William Shakespeare, visiting Spain with his troupe, meets an aged, raging Cervantes. In another, French poet Stephane Mallarme, bumming around Dublin with his pal, young Claude Debussy, trades views on art with 77-year-old Robert Browning. "Hun," a long, bloody romp through the crumbling Roman Empire, involves betrayal, murder and intrigue as Roman general Aetius attempts to use fearsome prince Attila as a "great whip" against Goths and Visigoths. Two stories deal with Englishmen's fascination with dark female flesh in the tropics. In "Murder to Music," a detective story a la Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes solves a case using a clue the reader may spot early on without being able to decode it. Laced with wit and irony, these sometimes convoluted tales are, at their frequent best, marvels of experiment and imagination.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From School Library Journal
YA-- Characters from history such as Attila the Hun, Shakespeare, Debussy, and Browning are among those who people these richly allusive short stories. Of varied lengths from 10 to 120 pages, the 9 offerings are in an ornate traditional style and will appeal most to period specialists and/or students challenged by creative and intellectual play. Discourse about music, the mind, power, as well as art, religion, and class are among themes examined; foreign settings abound (Spain, Austria, France, Malaya, Egypt). As a contrast to minimalism in the contemporary short story, and individually as concomitants to historical studies, these highly textured pieces reflect creative scholarshipfor sophisticated readers. --Carolyn Trachta, formerly at Clear Creek High School, League City, TX
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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More About the Author
Anthony Burgess (25th February 1917-22nd November 1993) was one of the UK's leading academics and most respected literary figures. A prolific author, during his writing career Burgess found success as a novelist, critic, composer, playwright, screenwriter, travel writer, essayist, poet and librettist, as well as working as a translator, broadcaster, linguist and educationalist. His fiction also includes NOTHING LIKE THE SUN, a recreation of Shakespeare's love-life, but he is perhaps most famous for the complex and controversial novel A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, exploring the nature of evil. Born in Manchester, he spent time living in Southeast Asia, the USA and Mediterranean Europe as well as in England, until his death in 1993.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of Burgess' best,
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This review is from: Devil's Mode (Hardcover)
As with most people, I only knew Anthony Burgess through A Clockwork Orange and I knew that he didn't particularly like Clockework Orange. When I read Earthly Powers I understood why. Burgess is one of the deepest most profound writers of the 20th century. Read his books and you feel like you're getting the education that your history and humanities teachers couldn't possibly give you.This collection of short stories will rip your mind to shreds and put it back together in a fresher, newer format. His story of Debussy will make you buy all of Debussy's records. His story about Attila will send you scrambling for all works on the late Roman Empire (of course, start with The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Modern Library Classics)) as Attila plays one paper tiger against the other and carves out his own niche, only to fall to his ambitions, alcoholism and relatives. The Cavalier of the Rose somehow manages to convey the joy of watching comic operattas in text format. I don't know how he does it. If I did, I'd be much further along in my writing career than I am. Either way, buy this book. Find a used copy. Seek it in used bookstores - brick and online. It's well worth the trouble.
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