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.