The most generous and varied single volume selection available of the literary and political writings of one of our greatest essayists of the twentieth century. In these 240 plus essays, Orwell elevated political writing to the level of art, and his motivating ideas–his desire for social justice, his belief in universal freedom and equality, and his concern for truth in language–are as enduringly relavant now, a hundred years after his birth, as ever.

“Orwell’s are the most important essays of the twentieth century, and reading them . . . will make you a clearer thinker, a cleaner writer, and a more thoughtful human being. This handsome 1,372 hardcover volume contains his complete esssays [and] an incisive introduction by the brilliant John Carey.”—Philip Hensher, Atlantic Monthly
George Orwell (1903–1950) served with the Imperial Police in Burma, fought with the Republicans during the Spanish Civil War, and was a member of the Home Guard and a writer for the BBC during World War II. He is the author of many works of nonfiction and fiction. He is best known for his novels 1984 and Animal Farm. View titles by George Orwell
“Orwell is the most influential political writer of the twentieth century…He gives us a gritty, personal example of how to engage as a writer in politics.” –New York Review of Books

“[Orwell] evolved, in his seemingly offhand way, the clearest and most compelling English prose style this century…But of course he was more than just a great writer. We need him today because [of] his passion for the truth.” –The Sunday Times (London)

“Had Orwell lived to a full term, he might well have gone on to become the greatest modern literary critic in the language. But he lived more than long enough to make writing about politics a branch of the humanities, setting a standard of civilized response to the intractably complex texture of life.” –The New Yorker

“The real reason we read Orwell is because his own fault-line, his fundamental schism, his hybridity, left him exceptionally sensitive to the fissure–which is everywhere apparent–between what ought to be the case and what actually is the case. He says the unsayable.” –Financial Times

“Orwell was the conscience of his generation.” –V. S. Pritchett

About

The most generous and varied single volume selection available of the literary and political writings of one of our greatest essayists of the twentieth century. In these 240 plus essays, Orwell elevated political writing to the level of art, and his motivating ideas–his desire for social justice, his belief in universal freedom and equality, and his concern for truth in language–are as enduringly relavant now, a hundred years after his birth, as ever.

“Orwell’s are the most important essays of the twentieth century, and reading them . . . will make you a clearer thinker, a cleaner writer, and a more thoughtful human being. This handsome 1,372 hardcover volume contains his complete esssays [and] an incisive introduction by the brilliant John Carey.”—Philip Hensher, Atlantic Monthly

Author

George Orwell (1903–1950) served with the Imperial Police in Burma, fought with the Republicans during the Spanish Civil War, and was a member of the Home Guard and a writer for the BBC during World War II. He is the author of many works of nonfiction and fiction. He is best known for his novels 1984 and Animal Farm. View titles by George Orwell

Praise

“Orwell is the most influential political writer of the twentieth century…He gives us a gritty, personal example of how to engage as a writer in politics.” –New York Review of Books

“[Orwell] evolved, in his seemingly offhand way, the clearest and most compelling English prose style this century…But of course he was more than just a great writer. We need him today because [of] his passion for the truth.” –The Sunday Times (London)

“Had Orwell lived to a full term, he might well have gone on to become the greatest modern literary critic in the language. But he lived more than long enough to make writing about politics a branch of the humanities, setting a standard of civilized response to the intractably complex texture of life.” –The New Yorker

“The real reason we read Orwell is because his own fault-line, his fundamental schism, his hybridity, left him exceptionally sensitive to the fissure–which is everywhere apparent–between what ought to be the case and what actually is the case. He says the unsayable.” –Financial Times

“Orwell was the conscience of his generation.” –V. S. Pritchett

New Documentary Following the Life and Career of George Orwell

Orwell: 2+2=5 is a 2025 documentary film, directed and produced by Raoul Peck. It follows the life and career of George Orwell, and how his political observations are still relevant in present day, particularly the lessons from his novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.   George Orwell (1903–1950) served with the Imperial Police in Burma, fought with the Republicans during the Spanish Civil War, and

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