A Collection of Essays
by George Orwell
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Book Summary Information
Author: George OrwellEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1970-10-21
ISBN: 0156186004
Number of pages: 336
Publisher: Mariner Books
Book Reviews of A Collection of Essays
Book Review: A Collection of Essays by George Orwell is a festschrift of outstanding writing on many topics by George Orwell
Summary: 5 Stars
George Orwell (1903-50) is famous to most people for his two greatest works of fiction "Animal Farm" and "1984" However there is much more gold in the minefield of Orwell's brain! He wrote several more novels, was a World War II correspondent and a BBC commentator. Whatever Orwell wrote is worth reading. In this Collection of Essays published by Harvest Harcourt Press we see the great essayist at his best.
The subjects covered are:
1. Such Such Were the Joys-An ironic title since Orwell's experience in an oppressive English boy's school were horrific. Young Orwell was savagely beaten, nearly starved, insulted and forced to endure years of living in drafty dormitory rooms. His desciption of the snobbery and elitism of British schooling is an indictment more withering than that offered on the same topic by Charles Dickens in his "Nicholas Nickleby" novel. Orwell's essays was suppressed by the government for many years.
2. Charles Dickens is a careful reading of the great Boz. Dickens, says Orwell, called on the powers to be to live moral and kindly lives. He points out the faults and achievements of Dickens writing career.
3. The Art of Donald McGill refers to cheap sensational fiction published for the masses in Britain. This chapter is not too interesting for us American lads and lassies.
4. Rudyard Kipling-Orwell was born in India and has a keen interest in Kipling's depiction of the British Empire in the Raj and the waning days of the British Empire. Intellectuals hate Kipling but the public enjoys his work.
5. Raffles and Miss Blandish looks at the novel by E. Hornung written in the late Victorian period concerning a gentleman jewel thief who is redeemed by dying for Queen and Country on the battlefied of the Boer War. Miss Blandish is a modern novel revealing the brutality and violence manifest in modern fiction.
6. Shooting an Elephant goes back to Orwell's career as a British official in Burma when he was called upon to shoot an elephant running amok in the marketplace. Orwell hated British imperialism. This short essays often appears in literary anthologies.
7. Politics and the English Language examines hypocrisy and deception in offical government pronouncements and in the political world. A shade here of his later novel "1984"!
8. Reflections on Gandhi gives Orwell's views on the great ledader of Indian independence. He admires Gandhi.
9. Marrakech makes you feel the heat, stench and ambience of life in colonial Africa in the 1930s.
9. Looking Back on the Spanish War is a short reflection on Orwell's career as a soldier in the liberal government's army against Franco and the Fascists. A gruesome and truthful piece of reportage! He also wrote a book on his experiences in the Spanish Civl War entitled "Homage to Catalonia."
9. Inside the Whale is an examination of British literary tastes since the end of World War I.This chapter contains a good critique of "Tropic of Cancer" by Henry Miller. Other writers he discusses include Aldous Huxley, Evely Waugh,m D.H. Lawrence and poet A.E. Houseman.
10. England Your England is an intimate view of the tastes and belief of the great British public. Orwell was ambivalent about his nation loving and hating it in equal measure.
11. Boys Weeklies examines the various cheap periodicals appealing to boys and adolescents.
12. Why I Write says Orwell is to bring to the attention of the public the great political and social issues of the time in which he was living. A good credo for any creative artist to follow.
George Orwell was a champion of Democracy and an essayist who could express his thoughts in a clear prose which is a wonder to behold. He is always a treat to read. No wonder Christopher Hitchens the present day essayist and columnist for Vanity Fair has been inspired by Orwell's life, work and commitment to justice for all.
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