Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Nothing Like the Sun

3.84 of 5 stars 3.84 · rating details · 492 ratings · 43 reviews

Before Shakespeare in Love, there was Anthony Burgess's Nothing Like the Sun: a magnificent, bawdy telling of Shakespeare's love life.

Paperback, 240 pages

Published December 17th 1996 by W. W. Norton & Company (first published 1964)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard

Books That Quote or Reference Other Works In The Title

20th out of 218 books — 45 voters

Faction

57th out of 203 books — 44 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 1,032)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Feb 17, 2010 Hazel rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is great fun. Burgess was channelling Shakespeare, so it's full of bawdy imagery, puns and alliterations, all that playful stuff, even poignant at times. There's often rhythm to the prose, and I keep expecting him to break into verse. I'm not knowledgeable enough about Shakespeare's life and work to judge whether Burgess' take is valid, or even remotely convincing. But in my ignorance, it's very enjoyable. Recommended.

Ellen, Elizabeth, have you read this?

4 likes · like · see review

Apr 24, 2013 Mel Campbell rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, fiction

I read this book years ago but only just thought about it when I was musing today that I can't think of many memorable historical novels by men. By 'historical novel' I mean a novel based on real people and events. This one speculates on William Shakespeare's love life and was published to coincide with his 400th birthday. Its title references the sonnet: "My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun", and proposes that the much-speculated-upon 'Dark Lady of the Sonnets' was a prostitute and madam...more I read this book years ago but only just thought about it when I was musing today that I can't think of many memorable historical novels by men. By 'historical novel' I mean a novel based on real people and events. This one speculates on William Shakespeare's love life and was published to coincide with his 400th birthday. Its title references the sonnet: "My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun", and proposes that the much-speculated-upon 'Dark Lady of the Sonnets' was a prostitute and madam named Lucy Negro.

Burgess sticks with a conventional Shakespearean-scholar interpretation of a love triangle between WS (as he's referred to throughout), the Dark Lady and his early patron Henry Wriothesley, third Earl of Southampton. He also portrays Shakespeare's marriage to Anne Hathaway as a teenage folly he's forced into after getting the much older woman pregnant. After he leaves her behind in Stratford to go to London, his brother seems to step into his marital role.

What's striking about this book is Burgess's use of a cod-Shakespearean English. I'd have to re-read it to be completely reminded of it, but I remember the language as being vivid and earthy, and the sex as being very enthusiastically, voluptuously described. The story is pretty bog-standard soapie stuff (which I ate up nonetheless!) and it's not really that much about the plays – although, again, perhaps I'd find it more intertextually satisfying on re-reading. Rather, my lasting impression is of a vanished everyday England brought oozing and stinking to life. We often think of the past as a pretty pageant, but certain historical novels I've read capture an ordinariness that's both recognisable and alien.

I first remember encountering this mode of 'grunge history' in Playing Beatie Bow and its vision of a disgusting 19th-century Sydney where cabbages and rotting rabbit heads bobbed in overflowing gutters. Then I encountered it again in Perfume 's vision of 18th-century France, this time olfactorily. Nothing Like the Sun does this too. The next time I encountered such a vision of Tudor England was in Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall . These books remind us that powerful, influential, creative people were also vulnerable, mortal creatures with everyday routines and concerns.

(less)

1 like · like · see review

Mar 23, 2012 Tracy Reilly rated it 5 of 5 stars

I was already impressed with Burgess' language skills in Clockwork, although I now hear he pans that book as a 15 minute bezoomy lark, but there are lines in this book that a good Shakespeare scholar might think that Will wrote himself . I really wanted to give it 4 1/2, because it drags a little in the 4th quarto, but 5 is more accurate than 4 . I would quote to prove myself, but I'm lazy and it's late.
Addendum--
I especially like the scene early in the book, with Will as a teenager ( I think..h...more

like · see review

May 18, 2013 Vijeta rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013, biography-autobiography

"My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun.."

Virginia Woolf has written of the new biography in which fact and fiction are commingled in an entirely novel and delicious manner thus bringing forth the true personality of the subject of that biography. Anthony Burgess' 'Nothing Like The Sun' epitomises the new biography. A story of Shakespeare's love life, it is also a revelation of his incandescently fascinating mind. I knew about Shakespeare's literary history and a little of his personal life,...more "My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun.."

Virginia Woolf has written of the new biography in which fact and fiction are commingled in an entirely novel and delicious manner thus bringing forth the true personality of the subject of that biography. Anthony Burgess' 'Nothing Like The Sun' epitomises the new biography. A story of Shakespeare's love life, it is also a revelation of his incandescently fascinating mind. I knew about Shakespeare's literary history and a little of his personal life, but the present novel resurrects his personality, turning words to flesh. There's another biography I've been reading simultaneously with this fictional take on the Bard. Although it maybe more informative, it also very impersonal. Nothing Like The Sun, on the other hand, situates us not only within the Elizabethan period but also within Shakespeare's mind. A mix of Elizabethan English, Shakesperean language, and Joycean wordplay, Nothing....might not be easy to read but for the one who perseveres it can be a richly rewarding experience.

It also has something of a postcolonial bent to it in its unmasking of slavery, serfdom and naked colonialism. That must have made the New Historicists really happy.

"Life...is in a sense all lies. We watch ourselves act everyday. Philip drunk and Philip sober. One is inside the other watching the other".

These lines hint at the Bakhtinian idea that we can never know our true self. It is the other, the one outside us who completes us.

Shakespeare, referred throughout as WS, is always shown searching for love. He calls women a deflection, being time and again disappointed in love.

"...Faustus. A play, yes, a mere play, but the smell of truth in it - not the truth of the present feel of his horse's hot flanks, the sweat running down his nose, Kemp's droning song, but the bigger truth that lay behind this painted curtain."

Fervently he worked, not giving in to the demands of his time, in order to create something timeless and transcendent.

The novel maybe built on speculation, because not much is known about Shakespeare's life, but it fuses life into a bygone era. It offers historical context for most of Shakespeare's work through the relationships of WS with Henry Wriothesley and the Dark Lady.

Also, this was my first Burgess and I devoured it. I wish I could read how writing about the Bard impacted Burgess.
(less)

2 likes · like · see review

Feb 05, 2010 Eli rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, 2010

A masterpiece of the English language, a clunker plot-wise. The parts where a young WS runs around chasing tail are infinitely more interesting than the ones where an older WS writes poems and plays. This says a lot for Burgess's stylistic talents, as precious few write as well about sex as they think they do. But it's also a mark against his imagination: making the life of Shakespeare seem hopelessly dull is quite a feat (not the good kind).

I have serious issues with the novel's misogyny. I'm a...more

like · see review

Nov 15, 2011 Tom Nittoli rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

As impressed as I was that Burgess captured the Shakespearean tongue in novel format. The story never capitavited me or brought my interest below the surface. I didn't get into WS head or even learn more about his upstart or career. It's told in small vignettes, most of which aren't very interesting. It's an interesting approach, but I felt that chapter 7 in part 2 was the peak for the book, when the chapter is told through a series of journal entries. As far as criticizing a book of this magnit...more

like · see review

Apr 16, 2010 Adam rated it 4 of 5 stars

Summary:
Anthony Burgess’s Nothing Like the Sun is a highly fascinating, albeit fictional, re-telling of Shakespeare’s love life. In 234 pages, Burgess manages to introduce his reader to a young Shakespeare, developing into manhood and clumsily fumbling his way through his first sexual escapade with a woman, through Shakespeare’s long, famed (and contested) romance with Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton and, ultimately, to Shakespeare’s final days, the establishment of The Globe theater,...more
Summary:
Anthony Burgess’s Nothing Like the Sun is a highly fascinating, albeit fictional, re-telling of Shakespeare’s love life. In 234 pages, Burgess manages to introduce his reader to a young Shakespeare, developing into manhood and clumsily fumbling his way through his first sexual escapade with a woman, through Shakespeare’s long, famed (and contested) romance with Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton and, ultimately, to Shakespeare’s final days, the establishment of The Globe theater, and Shakespeare’s romance with “The Dark Lady.”

The Good:
Burgess has a command for language. This is my third experience with a work by Anthony Burgess and, once again, I am impressed and awed by his skill as a story-teller and an imagist. While, in typical fashion, he does tend to break-off at points of leisurely prose into something more Gertrude Steine-esque (stream of consciousness, for example), for the most part he keeps this novel in finely tuned form. There is also an exceptional arc to this story, which carries the reader from Shakespeare’s boyhood, to his death, with common characters interacting regularly and to an end result. Even the minor characters, such as Wriothesley’s secretary, are well-established and easily identified, once they have been described. I also very much appreciated the references to other historical figures of the time, and how they impacted Shakespeare’s life and works. Marlowe, Lord Burghley, Sir Walter Raleigh, Queen Elizabeth I, The University Wits (Greene, Lyly, Nashe) all make an appearance, or are at least referred to, throughout the novel – their works (as well as works of the Classicists – Ovid, Virgil; and the early dramatists – Seneca, etc) are clearly defined in relation to their impact on Shakespeare’s own designs and interpretations. I found this highly informative and a nice refresher to/reinforcement of my studies of Shakespeare at the Undergraduate and Graduate levels – I enjoyed being reminded of how the playwrights competed and worked together, how Shakespeare was inspired, and by whom, and how politics and the time period played an important role in the successes and failures of the players (Greene, for instance, died sickly and shamed; Marlowe hunted down as an atheist; Jonson’s imprisonment for treasonous writing, and Nashe’s escape from England for the same). Incredibly fascinating and surprisingly sound story, which also appropriately references, with subtlety, many of Shakespeare’s works, at their time of development, so that a reader familiar with the works may catch them without their names actually having been written. Lovely little way for Burgess to reward his learned readers (as Shakespeare oft amused himself by doing).

The Bad:
Burgess takes much creative, though well-researched, license with Shakespeare’s life and the details of his relationship with various people. For instance, while many scholars believe “The Rival Poet” of “The Fair Youth” sonnets to be either Chapman or Marlowe due to circumstances of fame, stature, and wealth (ego, essentially), Burgess breaks from the traditional interpretation of “The Rival Poet” to explore the possibility that Chapman was, in fact, a rival for Henry Wriothesley’s attention and affection and, for this reason, Shakespeare became jealous and critical of Chapman. Similarly, the ultimately un-established relationship between Shakespeare and Wriothesley, Shakespeare and “The Dark Lady” (or Lucy, in this novel), as well as, even Shakespeare and his wife – are all quite largely fictional. That being said, while the novel’s general details – including historical happenings, political and religious tensions, and rivalries between the poets and the players are all well envisioned – the novel is dangerous in that the story of Shakespeare’s life comes across so logical here that it almost appears factual (and, who knows, a large portion of Burgess’s interpretations may have been true). Thus, the writing is fantastic, but the liberties taken are troublesome.

Final Verdict (4.0 out of 5.0)
The story was well written and enjoyable. It was also, I thought, a fascinating glimpse at history and this particularly time period. Burgess reminds the reader of many of the fears and prejudices of the time, and seems to be more critical of Elizabeth I than Shakespeare himself (most scholars believe) was. I appreciated Burgess’s cleverness and subtlety, but also his openness and candor in terms of sexuality and taboo relationships. Burgess clearly wants to open the reader’s eyes to what very well could have happened, yet is never acknowledged. Still, some of the author’s creative license, I think, goes beyond an artistic historian’s realm. When I compare Nothing Like the Sun to, say, Stone’s Lust for Life I find the latter to be much more honest to the facts as we know them, whereas the former is a bit more adventurous in scope. Overall, though, it was a highly educational, enjoyable read of an interesting and valid perspective look on Shakespeare.
(less)

like · see review

Feb 17, 2009 Aaron rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ny-book-club

I enjoyed seeing snippets of Shakespeare's plays and poems presented throughout the text. More than implying that even the greatest of artists are mere thieves of the lives that flow around them, Burgess takes these moments to inject interesting critiques of Shakespeare's work (e.g. the particularly Christian nature of Ophelia's madness). However, I'm no Shakespeare scholar and I probably missed most of these elements. Certainly, I did not gather enough of them to find a bold new framework for r...more

like · see review

Jun 23, 2011 Graham Storrs rated it 4 of 5 stars

The language was gorgeous. I'd recommend it just for the language alone. If you haven't read a lot of Shakespeare, some Shakespeare biographies, and probably a bit of Marlowe and some other Elizabethan playwrights, oh yes, and some history of the period, you will miss a lot of the richness of the book.

On the other hand, you might not find Burgess's rather dodgy speculations about Shakespeare's character and his life, quite so improbable as I did, and would enjoy the book a lot more for it.

like · see review

May 24, 2010 keith koenigsberg rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

Awesome, top shelf stuff. After reading the disapointing Malaysia Trilogy, I was dumbfounded. Could this be the same author who produced the genius of Clockwork Orange? So I gave Burgess another chance and it paid off. This is a fictional account of a bit of Shakespeare's life, his nutty wife, his rascally patrons, etc. The language is quasi-shakespearean and Burgess's imagination is up to the task. Wow. This rocked.

like · see review

Feb 09, 2011 Micha rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: post-modern, books-about-writers, 20th-century

Not Burgess' best, and Dead Man in Deptford is the superior English playwright fictionalization. Burgess doesn't shy away from the unhygienic grit of 16th century life, but this is perfected in the latter novel, and tends to be overdone in this one. Burgess interprets the literary artist well, however, and makes some interesting assumptions about the obscure life of W. Shakespeare.

like · see review

Feb 02, 2011 Clare rated it 4 of 5 stars

Nothing Like the Sun is a rich and downright sensuous novel that focuses on Shakespeare’s love life, particularly his relationship with the Dark Lady and Fair Youth of the sonnets. While the style has a learning curve, it’s quite rewarding, being poetic, seemingly spontaneous, and period-appropriate. If you enjoy Shakespeare or just wonderfully written books, I highly recommend this.

like · see review

Apr 15, 2013 Blair rated it 4 of 5 stars

Burgess is such an impressive writer, and he does a really fine job of imagining Shakespeare's love lives in this novel. At times it feels a little too pat when he's foreshadowing lines that will appear in plays that his main character has yet to write, but in the main it all feels right and you get a sense that this is more than just pastiche.

like · see review

Jun 17, 2010 Jordan rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book is so great. It takes you into the mind and times of Willie himself, all the bawdiness and intrigue and plagues and sources for all his amazing language innovations. It personalizes the man behind the image of Willie and is at once intimate and informative. Burgess knows language so well that he uses it as the perfect entry point

like · see review

Aug 03, 2011 Aaryn rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really loved this book. You really have to know your Shakespeare history though, as I don't know that I would have enjoyed it as much if I hadn't read Will In The World. I thought the word play incredibly fun and thoroughly enjoyable; although I'm not sure the ending was as strong as I would have liked. Maybe just me...

like · see review

Sep 09, 2009 Rodney Welch rated it 4 of 5 stars

I'm inclined to agree with Harold Bloom that this is the best novel ever written about Shakespeare -- although I can't say I've read many. Very lively, funny, bawdy, smart, and as is always the case in books like this, the more you know about the subject the funnier it is.

like · see review

May 08, 2012 Kathy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

When I read Shakespeare's sonnets on my local community radio station, as I do from time to time, I always suggest that listeners enchanted by the music and passion of those poems read this novel. It is a shimmering, surprising, enlightening book.

like · see review

May 08, 2010 Steve rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

Burgess riffing Shakespeare. Lots of wordplay, and lots of fun, but like most Burgess novels, I'm not sure he totally pulls it off.

like · see review

Mar 06, 2010 Barbara A. rated it 3 of 5 stars

Read this while I was taking a college Shakespeare class. I enjoyed it then. I would like to reread it after 40 years tho...

1 like · like · see review

Mar 05, 2012 John E. Branch Jr. rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction-historical, fiction-modern-british, shakespeare-history-criticism, theater-fiction

Glorious language. I remember few details; you can find those elsewhere. Let me repeat: glorious language!

like · see review

Aug 28, 2009 Valperry rated it 5 of 5 stars

Absolutely the best Shakespeare novel, and probably best historical, and possibly best novel ever.

like · see review

Jun 15, 2009 Kevin Kizer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Burgess is always brilliant and this is a great bit historical fiction re: Shakespeare's love life.

like · see review

Feb 16, 2013 Rob rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013, historical-fiction

The idea is simple and brilliant at once, but by no means easy to execute. Burgess gets the tone right: there are some fantastic scenes and descriptions here. The downside for casual readers is that while you don't need any knowledge of Shakespeare's life to read this book, there are so many allusions and in-jokes that I'm sure it would scare off many lay readers. Those who know just a little, though, will marvel at the blend of erudition and playfulness. The 'dark lady' by the way is held to be...more

like · see review

Jun 24, 2012 Babs added it

I love this book, I can't help it. And why should I?

like · see review

Jan 09, 2009 Scott Harris rated it 5 of 5 stars

A great fictionalized life of Shakespeare.

like · see review

Jul 23, 2012 Sarah Key rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012

Not bad. I've always been a fan of Burgess's writing style though. I probably would have appreciated this book more if I had taken a Shakespeare class before reading. Maybe I'll revisit this book in the future.

like · see review

Sep 17, 2009 Kit Fox rated it 5 of 5 stars

I was worried that reading this book without having read a whole hell of a lot of Shakespeare was going to be tantamount to watching a '60s Godard film without having watched a whole hell of a lot of movies: it may be enjoyable but you're gonna miss out on, like, 95% of the in-jokes and references. Sure, I probably didn't catch all (or even 50%) of Burgess's allusions, but I still really dug this book. Fascinating and pretty naughty at times too.

like · see review

Nov 27, 2011 Laura rated it 1 of 5 stars

Just gross. Unless your interested in a Clockwork Orange treatment of Shakespeare, skip it.

like · see review

May 23, 2007 jackson rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Burgess fans

At times, Nothing Like the Sun is extraordinarily gripping. During certain scenes, such as WS writing a sonnet at home early in the book or WS witnessing the executions, the brilliance expected from Burgess is on clear display. Unfortunately, much of this book is sorely lacking this brilliance. As a great fan of Burgess, I was a little disappointed with this story, but it was still enjoyable.

Looking back, this might be a book that requires a second reading to truly appreciate.

like · see review

Aug 09, 2012 Michael Kneeland rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: comic-masterpieces

An absolute gem: Shakespeare via Joyce's Poldy Bloom. And we get to see the conception and execution of the Richards, Love's Labour's Lost, Romeo & Juliet, The Merchant of Venice, the Henrys, the sonnets, and inklings of what will become Hamlet. Burgess's true strengths here are the language-play and the evocation of the period. Never before has Elizabethan England felt so real. This is undoubtedly a book I will be traversing again.

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 34 35 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (8)

More editions...

Genres

Historical Fiction

11 users

Literature

8 users

Literature > 20th Century

4 users

Classics

3 users

European Literature > British Literature

3 users

Romance

2 users

Novels

2 users

Plays > Theatre

2 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Anthony Burgess

Anthony Burgess was a British novelist, critic and composer. He was also a librettist, poet, playwright, screenwriter, essayist, travel writer, broadcaster, translator, linguist and educationalist. Born in Manchester, he lived for long periods in Southeast Asia, the USA and Mediterranean Europe as well as in England. His fiction includes the Malayan trilogy (The Long Day Wanes) on the dying days o...more

More about Anthony Burgess...

Books by Anthony Burgess

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Nothing Like the Sun

2 trivia questions

More quizzes & trivia...

title link	preview: Nothing Like the Sun
avg rating	preview: Nothing Like the Sun Goodreads rating: 3.84 (492 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8824.Nothing_Like_the_Sun?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348291832l/8824.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8824.Nothing_Like_the_Sun?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Nothing Like the Sun by Anthony Burgess[/url]

Nothing Like the Sun

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website