Fifteen-year-old Alex doesn\047t just like ultra-violence - he also enjoys rape, drugs and Beethoven\047s ninth. He and his gang of droogs rampage through a dystopian future, hunting for terrible thrills. But when Alex finds himself at the mercy of the state and subject to the ministrations of Dr Brodsky, and the mind-altering treatment of the Ludovico Technique, he discovers that fun is no longer the order of the day. The basis for Stanley Kubrick\047s notorious 1971 film, A Clockwork Orange is both a virtuoso performance from an electrifying prose stylist and a serious exploration of the morality of free will. In his introduction, Blake Morrison situates "A Clockwork Orange" within the context of Anthony Burgess\047 many other works, explores the author\047s unhappiness with the Stanley Kubrick film version, analyses the composition of the Nadsat argot spoken by Alex and his droogs, and examines the influences on Burgess\047 unique, eternally original style.