A Study of George Orwell: The Man and His Works

Author Christopher Hollis knew George Orwell personally during his schooldays at Eton, afterwards in Burma, and at the end of his life. His study of Orwell’s books is therefore illuminated by some anecdotes of reminiscence. However, it is important to note that this book is primarily a study rather than a biography. Hollis examines Orwell’s books in order and traces through them the development of this unmatched literary giant’s thought process.

From the experiences described in Down and Out in Paris and London to the points in his life that began driving him toward socialism, A Study of George Orwell is a comprehensive overview of Orwell’s work as it related to his personal life. Hollis guides the reader all the way through Orwell’s oeuvre, including his two most famous books—Animal Farm and 1984—which are, arguably, the greatest literary protests of political power and tyranny ever penned.

Portraying Orwell as a fearless champion of the common man and a follower in the footsteps of Jonathan Swift, Hollis offers a compelling review and analysis of Orwell’s work as well as a perspective not found by the average, distant biographer

Christopher Hollis was born in 1902 in England. He was a university teacher, schoolmaster, Conservative politician, and author. In addition to Orwell, Hollis was a friend to many well-known members of the community, including famous writer Evelyn Waugh. Hollis also served as a member of parliament and an intelligence office for the Royal Air Force in the Second World War. He died in May of 1977.

John Rodden has taught at the University of Virginia and the University of Texas at Austin. He has published seventeen books, including Irving Howe and the Critics, The Worlds of Irving Howe, Lionel Trilling and the Critics, and The Politics of Literary Reputation: The Making and Claiming of St. George Orwell.