Beard's Roman Women
Encyclopedia
Beard's Roman Women is a 1976 novel by British novelist Anthony Burgess
.
Dated "Montalbuccio-Monte Carlo-Eze-Callian, Summer 1975", according to Burgess it was written in the back of his Bedford Dormobile
and "partly in the bedroom of a small hotel run by Swiss homosexuals" (You've Had Your Time
).
The novel is set in Rome
and is apparently based on Burgess's experience of being widowed in the mid-1960s.
Photographs in the original edition were by David Robinson.
. Various comic adventures ensue as the narrative switches to the Eternal City.
The book is an interesting companion piece to Burgess's next novel, Abba Abba
(1977): the Roman setting (some 150 years apart), references to the poet Belli, and the focus on the Romantic poets. In Abba Abba
John Keats is the main character; here it's Byron and Shelley as the subject of a screenplay by the main character.
Anthony Burgess
John Burgess Wilson – who published under the pen name Anthony Burgess – was an English author, poet, playwright, composer, linguist, translator and critic. The dystopian satire A Clockwork Orange is Burgess's most famous novel, though he dismissed it as one of his lesser works...
.
Dated "Montalbuccio-Monte Carlo-Eze-Callian, Summer 1975", according to Burgess it was written in the back of his Bedford Dormobile
Bedford Dormobile
The Bedford Dormobile is a 1960s-era campervan conversion, based on the Bedford CA van, and subsequently on the Bedford CF. It was manufactured in Folkestone in Kent, southern England, by Martin Walter....
and "partly in the bedroom of a small hotel run by Swiss homosexuals" (You've Had Your Time
You've Had Your Time, Being the Second Part of the Confessions of Anthony Burgess
You've Had Your Time, volume II of Anthony Burgess's autobiography, was first published by Heinemann in 1990. It covers a period of 30 years, from Burgess's return to England from Malaya in 1959 through his time in Malta and Rome and culminating in his move to Monaco....
).
The novel is set in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
and is apparently based on Burgess's experience of being widowed in the mid-1960s.
Photographs in the original edition were by David Robinson.
Plot introduction
Ronald Beard jets off to Hollywood and meets Paola Lucrezia Belli, an Italian photographer and descendant of the Roman dialect poet Giuseppe Gioacchino BelliGiuseppe Gioacchino Belli
Giuseppe Francesco Antonio Maria Gioachino Raimondo Belli was an Italian poet, famous for his sonnets in Romanesco, the dialect of Rome.- Biography :...
. Various comic adventures ensue as the narrative switches to the Eternal City.
The book is an interesting companion piece to Burgess's next novel, Abba Abba
Abba Abba
Abba Abba was published in 1977. It is English writer Anthony Burgess's 22nd novel.The theme is the last months in the life of John Keats.-Plot summary:...
(1977): the Roman setting (some 150 years apart), references to the poet Belli, and the focus on the Romantic poets. In Abba Abba
Abba Abba
Abba Abba was published in 1977. It is English writer Anthony Burgess's 22nd novel.The theme is the last months in the life of John Keats.-Plot summary:...
John Keats is the main character; here it's Byron and Shelley as the subject of a screenplay by the main character.
Characters
- Ronald Beard
- Paola Lucrezia Belli – an Italian photographer
- John Keats – the poet
- Byron – the poet
- Shelley – the writer