George Orwell: And the Problem of Authentic Existence

First Published in 1985, the aim of this book is to define an aspect of Orwell’s literary identity which underlies and informs the sociopolitical content of his novels, and which may account for his being ‘more widely read’ than perhaps any other serious writer in the twentieth century.

It is the author’s contention that the thematic source of the Orwell novel is the problem of authentic existence, and that Orwell’s particular sociopolitical concerns were expressions of this problem. In chap...