Description
Book SynopsisGeorge Orwell has had a profound influence on modern politics and culture. He is regularly invoked as an authority by journalists, commentators and politicians, and his works speak with increasing relevance to our polarised and media-saturated society.
Stephen Ingle explores Orwellâs character, his life and his beliefs by guiding the reader through the main events, private and public, that shaped his life and major works. This includes his time fighting in the Spanish Civil War as well as the writing of classics like Animal Farm and 1984. The book also reconsiders Orwellâs legacy and contextualises his contemporary resonance. Orwell, it is argued, is more concerned with morality than ideology.
This book will be of significant interest to students and other readers interested in Orwellâs life as well as his profound contribution to the history of social and political thought and English literature.
Trade Review"The book is certainly timely given current political concerns and crises in the English-speaking world. In some respects Orwell will always be timely . . . and I imagine the book will have a long shelf life. Although introductory, it is certainly not superficial. It neither underestimates the reader’s intelligence nor overwhelms the reader with academic jargon. The theory and fight for common decency is superbly evaluated and developed and the author’s conclusive passages drawing together understandings of the true political and moral imperatives of Orwell as a writer are very interesting and engaging. This was a book I was able to enjoy and appreciate reading in less than a day—a very satisfying experience."
Professor Tim Crook, Goldsmiths, University of London, and joint editor of the George Orwell Studies Journal
Table of ContentsForeword 1. The Road Ahead 2. The Making Of An Outsider 3. The Abyss 4. Taking Sides 5. The World Set Free 6. Two Plus Two 7.The Heart Of The Matter
