George Orwell is acclaimed as one of English
literature”s great essayists. Yet, while many are considered classics, as a
body of work his essays have been neglected. Peter Marks provides the first
sustained study of Orwell the essayist, giving these compelling pieces the
critical attention they merit.
Orwell employed the essay as a tool to entertain, illuminate and
provoke readers across an array of topics. Marks situates the essays in their
original contexts, exploring how journals influenced the type of essay Orwell
wrote. Acknowledging this periodical culture helps explain the tactics Orwell
employed, the topics he chose and the audiences he addressed. Orwell”s first
and last published works were essays, providing evidence of the development of
his cultural and political views over two decades. Essays helped him fashion his distinctive
literary ”voice” and Mark traces how their afterlife contributes to Orwell”s
posthumous reputation. Arguing the essays are central to Orwell”s enduring
literary, political and cultural value, Marks shows how we understand the
complexities, subtleties, and contradictions of Orwell better when we
understand his essays.
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