George Orwell - Softcover

Bowker, Gordon

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0349115516 ISBN 13: 9780349115511

Publisher: Abacus, 2004

Synopsis

'Adds enormously to our understanding of the man' Evening Standard

George Orwell was one of the greatest writers England produced in the last century. He left an enduring mark on our language and culture, with concepts such as 'Big Brother' and 'Room 101.' His reputation rests not only on his political shrewdness and his sharp satires (Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four) but also on his marvellously clear style and superb essays, which rank with the best ever written.

Gordon Bowker's new biography includes fascinating new material which brings Orwell'slife into unfamiliar focus. He writes revealingly about Orwell's family background; the lasting influence of Eton on his work and character; his superstitious streak and youthful flirtation with black magic; and his chaotic and reckless sex life, which included at least one homoerotic relationship. It highlights the strange circumstances of his first marriage and provides remarkable new evidence of his experiences in Spain and their nightmarish consequences. It also offers a fresh look at his peculiar deathbed marriage to a woman fifteen years his junior. All this has enabled Bowker to give Orwell's life a brilliantly fresh and distinctive interpretation.

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

"[In this book] Orwell comes alive in all his shortcomings as well as strengths--an unfaithful husband with an ambiguous attitude toward Jews and homosexuals, yet also as a loyal friend, a courageous militiaman, a generous supporter of struggling writers, a master of plain prose, a champion of freedom of speech, and an outspoken scourge of both capitalist profiteers and Stalinist ideologues. If you assumed, as I did, that nothing fresh and original could be said about a figure so exhaustively studied as George Orwell, you too have much to learn from this superb biography."--John Rodden, author of George Orwell: The Politics of Literary Reputation and Scenes from an Afterlife: The Legacy of George Orwell

"Gordon Bowker has brought the same sure psychological understanding that distinguished his biographies of Malcolm Lowry and Lawrence Durrell to Inside George Orwell. At every point his careful judgment and indefatigable research deepens and enriches our understanding of one of the most complex and most misunderstood of modern writers. It is a splendid and splendidly revealing book, emphasizing the enduring and heroic character of Orwell's achievement 'warts and all.'"--James K. Hopkins, author of Into the Heart of the Fire: The British in the Spanish Civil War

"This superb and fascinating biography adds enormously to our understanding of a man who knew the times he lived in far better than he knew himself."--Lloyd Evans, Evening Standard

"It is an exhilaratingly crowded book. Bowker doesn't really try to add Orwell up; instead, he piles everything in. . . ."--Fred Inglis, Independent Review

About the Author:

Gordon Bowker has written highly acclaimed biographies of Malcolm Lowry (a New York Times Recommended Book of the Year) and Lawrence Durrell, and articles and reviews for the Observer, the Sunday Times, the New York Times and the Times Literary Supplement.

About this edition

• Publisher: Abacus
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0349115516
• ISBN 13: 9780349115511
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 512