A Collection of Essays by George Orwell

by George Orwell

book

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published January 1, 1954

About the author

Eric Arthur Blair was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to all totalitarianism (both fascism and stalinism), and support of democratic socialism.

Orwell is best known for his allegorical novella Animal Farm (1945) and the dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), although his works also encompass literary criticism, poetry, fiction and polemical journalism. His non-fiction works, including The Road to Wigan Pier (1937), documenting his experience of working-class life in the industrial north of England, and Homage to Catalonia (1938), an account of his experiences soldiering for the Republican faction of the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), are as critically respected as his essays on politics, literature, language and culture.

Orwell's work remains influential in popular culture and in political culture, and the adjective "Orwellian"—describing totalitarian and authoritarian social practices—is part of the English language, like many of his neologisms, such as "Big Brother", "Thought Police", "Room 101", "Newspeak", "memory hole", "doublethink", and "thoughtcrime". In 2008, The Times named Orwell the second-greatest British writer since 1945.

Reviews

[Chris Gleck]

This paperback book was published in 1984 and contains 14 essays written between 1931 and 1950 (this one published posthumously so not sure when it was written) with the vast majority written in the 1940's. The time period is important to understand the world events taking place when he was writing these essays. The essays covered a variety of topics, some autobiographical, but they all had a socio-political and economic point to them. I found him to be an insightful and clear thinker and writer and enjoyed these essays immensely. I only wish I could remember them now that I'm writing this 2 1/2 weeks after reading them! I acquired this book used because I considered Orwell to be a writer of significance. After ripping out excerpts I want to keep, I will recycle the book.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring, thought-provoking, and resonant, even though some of them were written 80 years ago.

[Philip Athans · Rating 5 out of 5]

A mixed bag of essays that include some greats, and some of his literary criticism. I preferred the former, but will provide more context in a video to follow soon…