George Orwell: A Collection of Critical Essays

by Raymond Williams (Editor)

Considers Orwell as a creative writer and polemicist and as a representative of the social and political complexities of his times

Genres: Essays

182 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1974

About the author

Raymond Henry Williams was a Welsh academic, novelist, and critic. He taught for many years and the Professor of Drama at the University of Cambridge. He was an influential figure within the New Left and in wider culture. His writings on politics, culture, the mass media and literature are a significant contribution to the Marxist critique of culture and the arts. His work laid the foundations for the field of cultural studies and the cultural materialist approach. Among his many books are Culture and Society, Culture and Materialism, Politics and Letters, Problems in Materialism and Culture, and several novels.

Reviews

[George Siehl · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nicely balanced collection of eleven literary criticism essays on George Orwell and his writing. Interesting variety as some of the essayists focus on one or more of Orwell's books, others devote more coverage to the man himself. The viewpoints range from strong appreciation to truly critical.
Editor Raymond Williams has chosen from among three generations as authors of these essays. Thus, the views presented include contemporaries of Orwell, those who were active during the widespread fame of Nineteen Eighty-Four, and the later reflections of the third generation.

[Paul Helliwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

raymond william's book on george orwell situates orwell at the crossroads between fiction and documentary. the crossroads is in spain (in catalunya to be exact and at the time of the spanish civil war, at the front line and in a rebel barcelona).

none of orwell's central protagonists is satisfactory, they are all cold and unfeeling, unable to engage, merely able to observe and document - as williams notes they are typical protagonists in fiction at the time. (except for himself, orwell his greatest creation - he repeatedly puts himself in harms way, he repeatedly commits - and this is why he can write).

winston smith is a typical orwell protagonist (of the novels) and 1984 itself is a novel of the type: found book - they give winston the book, he reads it, he joins what he takes to be the revolutionary movement, it turns out to be both a practical and a moral trap, it is this that destroys him. they've done him over good and proper.

the french had sartre and the british had orwell (and this was our loss) but neither is entirely satisfactory - there is a tension in orwell between the writing and the politics at least. that they pull against each other.

[J. Alfred · Rating 3 out of 5]

A selection of essays on Orwell. If you've read a few books like this you know what to expect: thoughts from various decades and various critical viewpoints. There are essays in here from Lionel Trilling, Stephen Greenblatt, and gentle-Marxists Terry Eagleton and Raymond Williams (the editor of the volume). The ones from the lesser-known critics are generally good too. A good little resource.