Choose Trainspotting, the explosive debut of author Irvine Welsh, as Folio celebrates the 30th anniversary of this cult classic with the first illustrated edition ever published.
A Clockwork Orange
Illustrated by Ben Jones
Introduced by Irvine Welsh
One of the most important books of the 20th century, Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange is presented as a stunning Folio edition that includes an exclusive introduction by Irvine Welsh.
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‘Goodness is something chosen. When a man cannot choose he ceases to be a man.’
So says the prison chaplain, perhaps the only voice of reason in Anthony Burgess’s most celebrated work. Both a horrific satire of youth culture and an ingenious examination of social justice and government control, A Clockwork Orange has left an indelible, boot-shaped mark on the popular and literary culture of the late 20th century. Stanley Kubrick’s notorious 1971 film — with its iconic imagery and enduring controversies — has overshadowed a work whose philosophical paradoxes and astonishing linguistic invention are some of literature’s most inspired.
Bound in Buckram and blocked with metallic foil
Set in Bembo with Shelton Slab as display
240 pages
Frontispiece and 6 colour illustrations
Plain slipcase
9½˝ × 6¼˝
The Folio Society’s new edition of Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange, introduced by Irvine Welsh. Here illustrator Ben Jones talks about this fascinating commission and how he went about separating the text from Stanley Kubrick’s iconic 1971 film adaptation.
‘My first impression of the book when taking it out of its packaging was how perfect it felt in my hands. The black alligator skin binding with its metallic orange illustration really highlights what you are about to experience while reading the book. The final production of the book has gone beyond my expectations.’
- Ben Jones
This edition follows the restored text of 2012, which includes the 21st chapter excluded from early US editions of the book. Also featured here is an expanded glossary, compiled with reference to Burgess’s handwritten notes and letters to his editors. Comprehensive notes from Burgess’s biographer Andrew Biswell explore allusions in the text, including references to the work of Gerard Manley Hopkins. Ben Jones’s sinister collage illustrations are reminiscent of cautionary fairy tales.