Fifty Essays

PREFACE

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SUMMARY

"The word Fascism has now no meaning except in so far as it signifies "something not desirable"...In the case of a word like democracy, not only is there no agreed definition, but the attempt to make one is resisted from all sides. It is almost universally felt that when we call a country democratic we are praising it: consequently the defenders of every kind of regime claim that it is a democracy, and fear that they might have to stop using the word if it were tied down to any one meaning."

"There are books that one reads over and over again, books that become part of the furniture of one's mind and alter one's whole attitude to life, books that one dips into but never reads through, books that one reads at a single sitting and forgets a week later:"

― George Orwell, A Collection of Essays

This excellent collection brings together Orwell's longer, major essays and a fine selection of shorter pieces. With great originality and wit Orwell unfolds his views on subjects ranging from a revaluation of Charles Dickens to the nature of Socialism, from a comic yet profound discussion of naughty seaside postcards to a spirited defence of English cooking. Displaying an almost unrivalled mastery of English plain prose, Orwell's essays created a unique literary manner from the process of thinking aloud and continue to challenge, move and entertain. The articles collected in George Orwell's Essays illuminate the life and work of one of the most individual writers of the XX century - a man who elevated political writing to an art.

Essays included:

• THE SPIKE
• A HANGING (1931)
• BOOKSHOP MEMORIES (1936)
• SHOOTING AN ELEPHANT (1936)
• DOWN THE MINE (1937) (FROM "THE ROAD TO WIGAN PIER")
• NORTH AND SOUTH (FROM "THE ROAD TO WIGAN PIER") (1937)
• SPILLING THE SPANISH BEANS (1937)
• MARRAKECH (1939)
• BOYS' WEEKLIES AND FRANK RICHARDS'S REPLY (1940)
• CHARLES DICKENS (1940)
• CHARLES READE (1940)
• INSIDE THE WHALE (1940)
• THE ART OF DONALD MCGILL (1941)
• THE LION AND THE UNICORN: SOCIALISM AND THE ENGLISH GENIUS (1941)
• WELLS, HITLER AND THE WORLD STATE (1941)
• LOOKING BACK ON THE SPANISH WAR (1942)
• RUDYARD KIPLING (1942)
• MARK TWAIN-THE LICENSED JESTER (1943)
• POETRY AND THE MICROPHONE (1943)
• W B YEATS (1943)
• ARTHUR KOESTLER (1944)
• BENEFIT OF CLERGY: SOME NOTES ON SALVADOR DALI (1944)
• RAFFLES AND MISS BLANDISH (1944)
• ANTISEMITISM IN BRITAIN (1945)
• FREEDOM OF THE PARK (1945)
• FUTURE OF A RUINED GERMANY (1945)
• IN DEFENCE OF P. G. WODEHOUSE (1945)
• NONSENSE POETRY
• NOTES ON NATIONALISM (1945)
• REVENGE IS SOUR (1945)
• THE SPORTING SPIRIT
• YOU AND THE ATOMIC BOMB (1945)
• A GOOD WORD FOR THE VICAR OF BRAY
• A NICE CUP OF TEA (1946)
• BOOKS VS. CIGARETTES
• CONFESSIONS OF A BOOK REVIEWER
• DECLINE OF THE ENGLISH MURDER
• HOW THE POOR DIE
• JAMES BURNHAM AND THE MANAGERIAL REVOLUTION
• PLEASURE SPOTS
• POLITICS AND THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
• POLITICS VS. LITERATURE: AN EXAMINATION OF GULLIVER'S TRAVELS
• RIDING DOWN FROM BANGOR
• SOME THOUGHTS ON THE COMMON TOAD
• THE PREVENTION OF LITERATURE
• WHY I WRITE (1946)
• LEAR, TOLSTOY AND THE FOOL
• SUCH, SUCH WERE THE JOYS (1947)
• WRITERS AND LEVIATHAN (1948)
• REFLECTIONS ON GANDHI