George Orwell
English Rebel
Published on 1. October 2015
Book
Paperback/Softback
352 pages
978-0-19-968081-8 (ISBN)
Description
An intellectual who did not like intellectuals, a socialist who did not trust the state, a writer of the left who found it easier to forgive writers of the right, a liberal who was against free markets, a Protestant who believed in religion but not in God, a fierce opponent of nationalism who defined Englishness for a generation.
Aside from being one of the greatest political essayists in the English language and author of two of the most famous books in twentieth century literature, George Orwell was a man of many fascinating contradictions, someone who liked to go against the grain because he believed that was where the truth usually lay.
George Orwell. English Rebel takes us on a journey through the many twists and turns of Orwell's life and thought, from the precocious public school satirist at Eton and the imperial policeman in Burma, through his early years as a rather dour documentary writer, down and out on the streets of Paris and London and on the road to Wigan pier, to his formative experiences as a volunteer soldier in the Spanish Civil War.
Above all, the book skilfully traces Orwell's gradual reconciliation with his country, a journey which began down a coal mine in 1936 to find its exhilarating peaks during the dark days of the Second World War.
Aside from being one of the greatest political essayists in the English language and author of two of the most famous books in twentieth century literature, George Orwell was a man of many fascinating contradictions, someone who liked to go against the grain because he believed that was where the truth usually lay.
George Orwell. English Rebel takes us on a journey through the many twists and turns of Orwell's life and thought, from the precocious public school satirist at Eton and the imperial policeman in Burma, through his early years as a rather dour documentary writer, down and out on the streets of Paris and London and on the road to Wigan pier, to his formative experiences as a volunteer soldier in the Spanish Civil War.
Above all, the book skilfully traces Orwell's gradual reconciliation with his country, a journey which began down a coal mine in 1936 to find its exhilarating peaks during the dark days of the Second World War.
Reviews / Votes
Impressive for both the quality of its insights and stylishness of its prose, Robert Colls's biography gives us the English Orwell ... His readings of Orwells fiction ... are lucid, persuasive and often very funny. * David Evans, Best paperbacks of the year 2015, Independent on Sunday * superb analysis ... [Colls] knows Orwell's works intimately and has a perfect grasp of the historical context ... Best of all, he writes with great wit as well as with learning. If there exists a better book on Orwell, I have yet to discover it. * Simon Heffer, The Daily Telegraph * superb ... both authoritative and gloriously readable. Colls writes like an offbeat mixture of Isaiah Berlin and Clive James - which is to say, like a dream - and his lucid interpretation of Orwell's life and work makes sense of his various contradictions. * David Evans, Independent on Sunday * ... fascinating and insightful ... Colls writes clearly and engagingly, in the manner of his subject. * Alwyn W Turner, BBC History magazine * Full of learning and insight ... Colls is a lovely writer, who is fearless in a way that academics too often are not. He is happy to subvert cliches, make little speeches and is willing to permit useful generalisations ... There are several ways in which - quite apart from the success or otherwise of Colls' thesis - this book is a kind of Orwellian triumph. * David Aaronovitch, New Statesman * This is the most sensible and systematic interpretation of George Orwell's books that I have ever read ... This biography's achievement is to give us back Orwell the writer - neither a saint, nor an infallible sage, but a perverse, intelligent commentator on his time, and also, on occasion, a superb critic. * A. N. Wilson, The Spectator * This is an excellent, provocative addition to Orwell ... an exceptionally interesting book ... Colls is now entitled to consider himself a prime ornament ... of Orwell studies. * D J Taylor, The Guardian * Colls is an honest and intelligent writer, interrogating a mind that he very much admires, about issues that he deeply cares about. * Roger Scruton, The Times * [a] provocative, very well written study ... Colls offers an intelligent, probing route map through the life, work and contradictions of [George Orwell] * Geoff Reid, Methodist Recorder * Coll's prose style is engaging, with the occasional nudge to the humorous, which makes for a lively reading experience ... * A Hermit's Progress *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
16pp black and white plates
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 160 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
554 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-968081-8 (9780199680818)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
10/2013
Oxford University Press
€44.40
Shipment within 15-20 days
Person
Robert Colls is Professor of Cultural History at De Montfort University, Leicester. He was born in South Shields and educated at South Shields Grammar Technical School and the universities of Sussex and York. He has held fellowships at the universities of Oxford, Yale, and Dortmund, and with the Leverhulme Trust. He is author of the acclaimed Identity of England, which is also published by Oxford University Press (2002).
Content
Preface and Acknowledgements ; Introduction ; 1. Angry Old Etonian ; 2. North Road ; 3. Eye Witness in Barcelona, 1937 ; 4. Mr Bowling Sees it Through ; 5. England the Whale ; 6. Not Quite Tory ; 7. Last of England ; 8. Death in the Family ; Life After Death: A Bibliographical Essay ; Notes ; Index