Rare copy of Anthony Burgess novel that prompted lawsuit up for sale

Most first editions of The Worm and the Ring, whose portrait of a ‘dried-up old duenna’ prompted old colleague to sue, were pulped

A “very scarce” signed novel by A Clockwork Orange’s author Anthony Burgess, which was pulped following libel action – from a school secretary who recognised herself in the book – is set to be sold at one of the world’s largest gatherings of antiquarian booksellers later this month.

Burgess’s The Worm and the Ring was published in 1961 by Heinemann, but was pulled from circulation after Gwendoline Bustin, who was the secretary of Banbury Grammar School and later mayor of Banbury, brought a libel action against it. Burgess had taught at the school in the early 1950s, and Bustin was not the only recognisable character in the book, but she was the only one to sue.

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