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17. The cog-eyed droog | |
Following Germano Facetti's departure in 1972, David Pelham's role as fiction art director expanded to cover all the books that Penguin published. It was also
the year that Penguin published A Clockwork Orange to coincide with the release of Stanley Kubrick's film adaptation, which the novel's author
Anthony Burgess later described as 'clockwork marmalade'.
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A Clockwork Orange (3219) by Anthony Burgess First published 1962. Published by Penguin Books January 1972 with cover art by David Pelham. |
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To Pelham's surprise his cog-eyed droog went on to acquire iconic status and is now regarded as one of the best book covers of all time. It is probably the longest serving cover of all time too, since it remained in use for over twenty-five years, except for a reprint in 1973 which retained the strap-line 'A TERRIFYING NOVEL ... NOW A TERRIFYING FILM' but used the artwork from Philip Castle's film poster. |
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A Clockwork Orange (3219) by Anthony Burgess 1973 reprint with cover art by Philip Castle. |
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Pelham's cover then returned and the strap-line was replaced with a short black rule. |
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A Clockwork Orange (3219) by Anthony Burgess 1973 reprint with cover art by David Pelham. |
MORE COVERS >> | |
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A Clockwork Orange (3219) by Anthony Burgess 1992 reprint with cover art by David Pelham. |
MORE COVERS >> | |
The cog-eyed droog was finally retired in 1996, although the UK release of Kubrick's film on DVD triggered a reprint four years later with Philip Castle's artwork forming the A of A Clockwork Orange, as it did on his original film poster. |
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A Clockwork Orange (3219) by Anthony Burgess 2000 reprint with cover art by Philip Castle. |
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The title of Burgess' novel comes from an East London expression, he's as queer as a clockwork orange, meaning that appearances can be deceptive. However, Burgess had also worked in Malaysia, where 'orang' means man, as in orang-utan, so A Clockwork Orange may also refer to a mechanical man – a man without free will, like Alex, whose Ludovico conditioning causes him to suffer incapacitating nausea if he contemplates, or even witnesses, a violent act. |
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