''Beard's Roman Women'' is a 1976 novel by British novelist
Anthony Burgess
John Anthony Burgess Wilson, (; 25 February 1917 – 22 November 1993), who published under the name Anthony Burgess, was an English writer and composer.
Although Burgess was primarily a comic writer, his Utopian and dystopian fiction, d ...
.
Dated "Montalbuccio-Monte Carlo-Eze-Callian, Summer 1975", according to Burgess it was written in the back of his
Bedford Dormobile
Dormobile is a 1950s-era onwards campervan (motorcaravan, motorhome) conversion manufactured by the coachbuilder Martin Walter of Folkestone in Kent.
Initially based on the Bedford CA van, the name is associated more with those and subsequent ...
as he and his wife,
Liana Burgess Liana Burgess (born Liliana Macellari, September 25, 1929 – December 3, 2007) was an Italian translator and literary agent who was the second wife of English writer Anthony Burgess. Burgess and Macellari had embarked on an affair while Burgess was ...
toured Europe and "partly in the bedroom of a small hotel run by Swiss homosexuals" (''
You've Had Your Time'').
The novel is set in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
and is apparently based on Burgess's experience of being widowed in the mid-1960s. Burgess's wife, Liana, is depicted as Paola Lucrezia Belli in the novel.
Photographs in the original edition were by David Robinson.
In 2018, a new edition of Beard's Roman Women was published by
Manchester University Press
Manchester University Press is the university press of the University of Manchester, England and a publisher of academic books and journals. Manchester University Press has developed into an international publisher. It maintains its links with th ...
. This edition restores David Robinson's photographs for the first time since the first edition. It also features a new introduction by Graham Foster, a fully annotated text, and several appendices of previously unpublished writing by Burgess.
Plot
Ronald Beard, a screenwriter specialising in musicals, is grieving the death of his wife, Leonora, from cirrhosis of the liver. He is convinced by a Hollywood mogul to write a musical based on the life of
Lord Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...
, and
Percy
The English surname Percy is of Norman origin, coming from Normandy to England, United Kingdom. It was from the House of Percy, Norman lords of Northumberland, derives from the village of Percy-en-Auge in Normandy. From there, it came into use ...
and
Mary Shelley
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic fiction, Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of scie ...
, so he makes the trip to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
to meet with the studio. There, he meets the photographer Paola Lucrezia Belli at a party and begins an affair, later following her to Rome.
In Rome, Beard gets down to work as Paola is called to
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
to take pictures of the
Six Day War
The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states (primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, S ...
. While she is away, Beard is constantly interrupted by Gregory Gregson, a brash drunk who worked with Beard in the Colonial Service in Brunei, and mysterious phone calls from someone claiming to be Leonora. He also has to fend off Paola's ex-husband, the literary novelist Pathan, who lays claim to the contents of Paola's apartment.
Eventually, Beard, suffering from an unnamed, and terminal, tropical disease, settles down with Leonora's sister in England. He returns to Rome a final time to die, though his body refuses to give up.
Analysis
Background
''Beard's Roman Women'' is loosely based on Burgess's own experiences following the death of his first wife, Lynne, and his subsequent meeting with his second wife, Liana. The film script for the musical about Byron and Shelley is inspired by a television script Burgess wrote for
BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
in 1964 titled 'By the Waters of Leman: Byron and Shelley at Geneva'. In reality, Burgess was commissioned to write a musical based on the life of Shakespeare by producer
William Conrad
William Conrad (born John William Cann Jr., September 27, 1920 – February 11, 1994) was an American actor, producer, and director whose entertainment career spanned five decades in radio, film, and television, peaking in popularity when he s ...
.
Title
''Beard's Roman Women'' was originally titled ''Rome in the Rain''. It was changed by the American publisher, McGraw-Hill. It is still called ''Rome in the Rain'' in many translations.
Literary Connections
The plot of the novel is loosely based on the
Orpheus
Orpheus (; Ancient Greek: Ὀρφεύς, classical pronunciation: ; french: Orphée) is a Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet in ancient Greek religion. He was also a renowned poet and, according to the legend, travelled with Jaso ...
myth, including elements of
Jean Cocteau
Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the su ...
's version
Orphee.
[
]
Characters
*Ronald Beard
*Paola Lucrezia Belli – an Italian photographer
*Greg Gregson – old Friend of Ronald Beard
*Leonora Beard – deceased wife of Ronald Beard
*P.R. Pathan – famous writer and husband of Paola Lucrezia Belli
*Byron – the poet
*Shelley – the writer
References
{{Reflist
1976 British novels
Novels by Anthony Burgess
Novels set in Rome
Hutchinson (publisher) books