The Cambridge Companion to George Orwell

by John Rodden

Overview

George Orwell is regarded as the greatest political writer in English of the twentieth century. The massive critical literature on Orwell has not only become extremely specialized, and therefore somewhat inaccessible to the nonscholar, but it has also attributed to and even created misconceptions about the man, the writer and his literary legacy. For these reasons, an overview of Orwell's writing and influence is an indispensable resource. Accordingly, this 2007 Companion serves as both an introduction to Orwell's work and furnishes numerous innovative interpretations and fresh critical perspectives on it. Throughout the Companion, which includes chapters dedicated to two of Orwell's major novels, Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm, Orwell's work is placed within the context of the political and social climate of the time. His response to the Depression, British imperialism, Stalinism, World War II, and the politics of the British Left are also examined.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521675079
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	06/21/2007
Series:	Cambridge Companions to Literature
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	238
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.51(d)

About the Author

John Rodden is Adjunct Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Texas at Austin.

Table of Contents

Preface; Notes on contributors; An Orwell calendar John Rodden; 1. A political writer John Rossi and John Rodden; 2. Orwell and the biographers Gordon Bowker; 3. Englands his Englands: Orwell's Britain between the wars Jonathan Rose; 4. The truths of experience: Orwell's nonfiction of the 1930s Margery Sabin; 5. The fictional realist: novels of the 1930s Michael Levenson; 6. Orwell's essays as a literary experience William Cain; 7. 'My Country, Right or Left': Orwell's patriotism John Rossi; 8. Orwell and the British left Ian Williams; 9. Orwell, anti-semitism, and the Holocaust John Newsinger; 10. Orwell and the Cold War Robert Conquest; 11. Animal Farm: history as fable M. Dickstein; 12. Nineteen Eighty-Four: context and controversy B. Crick; 13. Orwell, the academy, and the intellectuals Neil McLaughlin; 14. Orwell for today's reader: an open letter John Rodden; 15. George Orwell: a bibliographic essay Erika Gottlieb; 16. Why Orwell still matters Christopher Hitchens; Further reading.

Editorial Reviews

"This excellent collection of essays by fifteen Anglo-American scholars, edited by the distinguished Orwell scholar, John Rodden...is a genuine companion. The essays are sharp and to the point; never outstay their welcome; and, unlike so much academic writing which seems to be more concerned to address a narrow field of fellow academics, is completely free of jargon. Orwell would have been delighted."
-Peter Davison, Orwell Forum, www.finlay-publisher.com

From the Publisher