Burgess, Anthony. Nothing Like The Sun. First Edition. London, Heinemann, 1964. 20.4cm x 13.4cm. 234 pages. Original Hardcover with original, unclipped dustjacket. In protective Mylar. Excellent condition with only minor signs of external wear. Burgess's new novel- an act of homage to William Shakespeare in the year of his quatercentenary- attemps to answer certain questions about the enigmatic poet's love-life, as well as the relationship of this love-life to his work. Was, for instance, his love for the Earl of Southampton really platonic? Did he love Anne, his wife? Who was the Dark Lady, whose eyes (as described, negatively, by Shakespeare himself) give the novel its title? Why- in the middle of the road of his life- did he suddenly cease to be 'sweet Master Shakespeare' and become instead the purveyor of a dark and nasty vision of the world? What is all this buisiness about a second-best bed? Answers are given in a swift but not elliptical narrative which takes us from the 1570s to the end of the '90s. This is an entertainment, but it is not a mere fantasy. No tricks are played with time; public events are unclassified. Everything here could have happened and quite probably did. The novel is full of richness, plague, traitors' heads, plays, bawdiness, real people, drink, and it is written in an English which approaches explosive Elizabethan but is perfectly intelligible. Dialogue and description alike avoid both Wardour Street tinsel and the drab lanes of modern 'naturalism'.
Description:
Burgess, Anthony. Nothing Like The Sun. First Edition. London, Heinemann, 1964. 20.4cm x 13.4cm. 234 pages. Original Hardcover with original, unclipped dustjacket. In protective Mylar. Excellent condition with only minor signs of external wear. Burgess's new novel- an act of homage to William Shakespeare in the year of his quatercentenary- attemps to answer certain questions about the enigmatic poet's love-life, as well as the relationship of this love-life to his work. Was, for instance, his love for the Earl of Southampton really platonic? Did he love Anne, his wife? Who was the Dark Lady, whose eyes (as described, negatively, by Shakespeare himself) give the novel its title? Why- in the middle of the road of his life- did he suddenly cease to be 'sweet Master Shakespeare' and become instead the purveyor of a dark and nasty vision of the world? What is all this buisiness about a second-best bed? Answers are given in a swift but not elliptical narrative which takes us from the 1570s to the end of the '90s. This is an entertainment, but it is not a mere fantasy. No tricks are played with time; public events are unclassified. Everything here could have happened and quite probably did. The novel is full of richness, plague, traitors' heads, plays, bawdiness, real people, drink, and it is written in an English which approaches explosive Elizabethan but is perfectly intelligible. Dialogue and description alike avoid both Wardour Street tinsel and the drab lanes of modern 'naturalism'.
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