George Orwell the Essayist

<div>George Orwell is acclaimed as one of English<br/>literature's great essayists. Yet, while many are considered classics, as a<br/>body of work his essays have been neglected. Peter Marks provides the first<br/>sustained study of Orwell the essayist, giving these compelling pieces the<br/>critical attention they merit. <br/></div><div> </div><div>Orwell employed the essay as a tool to entertain, illuminate and<br/>provoke readers across an array of topics. Marks situates the essays in their<br/>original contexts, exploring how journals influenced the type of essay Orwell<br/>wrote. Acknowledging this periodical culture helps explain the tactics Orwell<br/>employed, the topics he chose and the audiences he addressed. Orwell's first<br/>and last published works were essays, providing evidence of the development of<br/>his cultural and political views over two decades. Essays helped him fashion his distinctive<br/>literary ‘voice' and Mark traces how their afterlife contributes to Orwell's<br/>posthumous reputation. Arguing the essays are central to Orwell's enduring<br/>literary, political and cultural value, Marks shows how we understand the<br/>complexities, subtleties, and contradictions of Orwell better when we<br/>understand his essays.<br/></div>>