Fifty Essential Essays

by George Orwell, Will Jonson (Editor)

This excellent collection brings together Orwell's longer, major essays and a fine selection of shorter pieces. With great originality and wit Orwell unfolds his views on subjects ranging from a revaluation of Charles Dickens to the nature of Socialism, from a comic yet profound discussion of naughty seaside postcards to a spirited defence of English cooking. Displaying an almost unrivalled mastery of English plain prose, Orwell's essays created a unique literary manner from the process of thinking aloud and continue to challenge, move and entertain. The articles collected in George Orwell's Essays illuminate the life and work of one of the most individual writers of the XX century - a man who elevated political writing to an art.
Essays

Genres: Essays, Nonfiction, Politics, History, Humor, Classics, British Literature

466 pages, Paperback

Published September 14, 2014

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

[William Gregory · Rating 5 out of 5]

Orwell’s non-fiction writing got me fanatically back into reading (both fiction and non-fiction) during my listlessness in the most recent Covid lockdown. His straightforward yet deeply insightful style of writing addicted me to this collection, jumping from political analysis, to recounts of life, to rules by which to follow for good writing, to musings on the realities of life.
I now understand why so many credit Orwell as their main inspiration to get into writing or journalism, with his inwardly and outwardly critical, but ultimately optimistic, style of thinking and writing provoking readers to bring this coherent cynicism and introspection into their own life.
I read his works often out of order, at first only reading the titles that interested me, pursuing more information around my preconceived notion of Orwell that I garnered reading 1984, Animal Farm, and Homage to Catalonia, but was most impressed by the writings I often ignored initially. These essays paint a portrait of a man through his internal dialogue, as while Orwell writes almost exclusively about the other rather than himself, his prominent written voice and lived experience shine through in all his works.
I expect I will often revisit these essays in the future, using not just quotes and references to aid my own writing and critical thinking, but also the logic and ethos of Orwell to inform how I dissect the world around me and compose my thoughts on them in the future.

[Carlos Santos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intoxicating collection of essays, a journey back in time into George Orwell's thought process, life and ideas. I need to get a hard copy of this for my library

[Realini Ionescu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fifty Orwell Essays by George Orwell must be part of The Essays – right? And you find this collection in the 917th place on The Greatest Books of All Time site, nevertheless, the algorithm changes the places in the hierarchy, ergo you could see a different structure, I don’t know what data is used, however, if it takes into account the ‘reading public’, then the chefs d’oeuvre will descend from the top spots, and the likes of The Da Vinci Code will dominate the front rows, and they will become the “GOAT” – that notwithstanding, you have more than five thousand reviews on books from the aforementioned site and others, with notes on films from The New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made and other lists waiting for you on my blog and YouTube channel https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... if you are interested, why plug this, I don’t know



10 out of 10

The Essays of George Orwell https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... are a phenomenal treat, I was expecting something less than the much better known and so highly rated (6th on The Greatest Books of All Time Site) Nineteen Eighty Four, or Animal Farm, perhaps even Homage to Catalonia

However, these Essays are such joy to read (well, there is humor, but they do have some terrifying subjects and conclusions) and they keep coming up, I thought that with about twenty-four hours of reading, the collection I finished and reviewed on the blog advertised in the headline, this must be the end of it
Alhamdulillah, there is more, perhaps much more, and his views on most, if not all topics are so clear, accurate and relevant, for now, I think I will concentrate (which mean I will mention it, and then move into realms that come to mind) on socialism and authoritarian regimes, because we face, again, the threat of dictators around

Alas, one of the fellas who wants to be a tyrant, or monarch is the leader of the (once) free world https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... Orange Woland, the same one who posted this cretinous, awful video, in which he is the pilot of a fighter jet, wearing a crown and bombarding his subjects with…shit, literal feces
Just over the past few weeks: this scoundrel has sent troops to US cities, killed scores of men in boats near Venezuela, on the assumption that they are drug dealers, only there is no death penalty there for this crime, and you have to prove guilt in court, in a democracy, not in a tyranny though, and destroyed part of…The White House

There are a couple of articles in The Economist on this, looking at what dictators do, how they bring in golden things (check for this orange idiot), tacky, massive additions, they go for the biggest – Ceausescu is mentioned and I have played a small role in the overthrow of that despot http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/r...
There is another problem that appeared in…New York, where this Mamdani has won the race, and will be the next mayor, I will give him that Adams was disgusting for me, loathsome, so anyone would be an improvement, nevertheless, this Muslim is radical (not the lunatic Woland keeps mentioning) and could hurt Democrats

Furthermore, after the horrible attacks that killed about twelve hundred Israelis, Mamdami posted an attack on the occupation of Gaza, or something along these lines, but nothing condemning the massacre, so that is a serious problem here, maybe he will offer some Atonement https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20...
As it is, it looks like he may show that Democrats can be ineffective, radical, or worse, let me hope he will get better, Insha’Allah, because Woland must be defeated, or else, if he still has a majority, then All Is Lost – the title of one of last films of Robert Redford

Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and invitation – I am on Goodreads as Realini Ionescu, at least for the moment, if I keep on expressing my views on Orange Woland aka TACO, it may be a short-lived presence
Also, maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the benefits from it, other than the exercise per se

There is also the small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse, all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have an idea how it can happen, let me know

As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/r...

Some favorite quotes from To The Hermitage and other works

‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’

[Rob Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was not an easy read. But as a historical artefact it was interesting. From the doss houses to the anti totalitarian rhetoric, the essays about the Spanish civil war or his time in Burma it was the essays from Orwell's own experience I found most interesting. The literary criticism was a bit self serving, boring and actually not very good.

I noticed a few things:
- The Spanish civil war means a lot more to the left in Britain than it does to any other strata
- Orwell was both consistent and demonstrated personal growth in these essays
- He doesn't have many nice words to say about literary greats
- For someone so judgemental about figures from his near history he has a lot opinions that would be judged very poorly in 2020.

[Peveril · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best essays are 5star, some are barely 2 or 3 but Orwell is rarely an uninteresting read. A decent enough refresher for the e-reader.

[Cabbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perhaps it's a little unfair to award Orwell's collection of 50 essays a mere three out of five stars. Some of the essays are brilliant, but there are plenty that, on first reading, are just ok. For instance, it was difficult to properly enjoy his discussion of the merits of Helen's Babies, or James Burnham's The Managerial Revolution, since they mean nothing to me. I would have got more from the essay on Gulliver's Travels more if I had actually read Swift's work, and my knowledge of Shakespeare's King Lear was found wanting in the reading of the essay about Tolstoy.

There are, however, absolute gems in this collection: extracts from The Road to Wigan Pier; The Lion and the Unicorn; Such, Such Were the Joys. His prose is to the point, he is not afraid to criticise injustice and speak out about totalitarianism and nationalism. The essays have provided some insight into the man, and I dare say, once I've corrected my own ignorance, I shal re-read the book and award it five stars.

[Arik Kershenbaum · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Orwell, and some of these short essays are just superb. "The Lion and the Unicorn" captures British society so perfectly, you can hardly tell that 70 years have passed. "Politics and the English Language" is the best guide I know on how to write clearly and precisely. And "A Nice Cup of Tea" is just a cool piece of writing. How many authors can write an engaging story about something so mundane?

[Toby Bond · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most important and interesting bodies of work that i have ever read. Discussions on class, socialism and practicalities and impracticalities of life. I'd recommend everyone gives this a read, soon you'll become absorbed with a miner's lot and mealy-mouthed champagne socialism.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Online via Gutenberg Australia

[Matthias Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favorites: Politics and The English Language, Why I Write, Shooting an Elephant, A Hanging, Confessions of a Book Reviewer, Bookshop Memories, Decline of the English Murder, My Country Right or Left