George Orwell the Essayist by Peter Marks
This title provides an insight into the original context, qualities and influence of George Orwell's essays and provides the first extended examination of his genius as an essayist. George Orwell ranked his essays among his greatest literary achievements. In modern English literature they are praised as the finest accomplishments of the form. More than half a century after his death, Peter Marks gives them the scholarly attention they merit. We gain a better understanding of Orwell by properly understanding his essays. Mark's sophisticated account of the essay form explains why its flexible properties are the ideal tool for Orwell's critical and political thinking. Situating the essays in their original periodical contexts we see how Orwell manipulates his approach across a range of journals so as to entertain, convince or provoke his expected readers. We are privy to the rhetorical tactics a master uses to convince his audience. Exploring the popularity of the essay's beyond his death, we realize how the essays have influenced Orwell's posthumous reputation. A major contribution to our interpretation of Orwell, this critical study unravels the variety, complexity and, occasional inconsistency, of essays by one of the greatest writers of the form.
This is the definitive, detailed narrative analysis of Orwell the essayist we have been waiting forPeter Marks's book is a fine, original addition to Orwell criticism, a work of genuine scholarship and integrity, true to the spirit of Orwell's own writing. -- Professor Gillian Fenwick, Trinity College, University of Toronto, Canada
In an age dominated by the novel, the periodical essay has become very much a poor relation on the literary scene. Yet some of our finest writers have traditionally used the form to consider key issues of cultural, social and political import. Foremost among these is George Orwell, and Peter Marks has done this currently under-rated writer an immense service in this major new study of the whole of Orwell's literary and political journalism through the three decades of his writing, situating it comprehensively within the biographical, historical and publishing contexts of its production. Whether examining his responses to the complexities of left-wing infighting in the 1930s, the debates about national identity and political renewal of the war years, or the strains and divided loyalties of the Cold War era, Marks is a massively well-informed and reliable guide not only to the permanent value of Orwell's non-fiction prose but also to the pressures and priorities of the age in which he wrote. This study goes a long way towards restoring Orwell's reputation as both a practitioner of English prose and an astute and long-sighted commentator on British culture and society. -- Stan Smith, Professor Emeritus in English, Nottingham Trent University, UK
In an age dominated by the novel, the periodical essay has become very much a poor relation on the literary scene. Yet some of our finest writers have traditionally used the form to consider key issues of cultural, social and political import. Foremost among these is George Orwell, and Peter Marks has done this currently under-rated writer an immense service in this major new study of the whole of Orwell's literary and political journalism through the three decades of his writing, situating it comprehensively within the biographical, historical and publishing contexts of its production. Whether examining his responses to the complexities of left-wing infighting in the 1930s, the debates about national identity and political renewal of the war years, or the strains and divided loyalties of the Cold War era, Marks is a massively well-informed and reliable guide not only to the permanent value of Orwell's non-fiction prose but also to the pressures and priorities of the age in which he wrote. This study goes a long way towards restoring Orwell's reputation as both a practitioner of English prose and an astute and long-sighted commentator on British culture and society. -- Stan Smith, Professor Emeritus in English, Nottingham Trent University, UK
Peter Marks is Senior Lecturer in English at the University of Sydney, Australia. He wrote British Filmmakers: Terry Gilliam (Manchester University Press, 2009), co-edited Literature and the Contemporary (Longmans, 1999) and has written articles and chapters on such topics as George Orwell, the essay, 1930s British and American literature, periodicals, surveillance, and film adaptation.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781441125842 |
| ISBN 10 | 1441125841 |
| Title | George Orwell the Essayist |
| Author | Peter Marks |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Continuum Publishing Corporation |
| Year published | 2012-02-09 |
| Number of pages | 232 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |