Historical context of the novel “The kingdom of the wicked” by Anthony Burgess

Abstract

The paper deals with the study of the image of Rome and the socio-political situation of the era, which represent a significant historic context. The focus is on the real image of the Roman emperors Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius and Nero. The presence in the novel image of the narrator acting as interpreter of history and guide for the reader to actual historical events, suggests talking about the possibility of the historical analysis of the novel. Sadoc is definitely one of the most significant characters in the novel. We can assume that the images of the author and the narrator seem to be identical and Anthony Burgess` main ideas are given by Sadoc. The article gives particular attention to the analysis of the narrative features of Sadoc. Highlighting the actions of the apostles in the struggle for faith, the author doesn`t hide the main political events in The Kingdom of the wicked .