George Orwell_ English Rebel - Robert Colls (2013).pdf

An intellectual who did not like intellectuals, a socialist who did not trust the state, a liberal who was against free markets, a Protestant who believed in religion but not in God, a fierce opponent of nationalism who defined Englishness for a generation.

Aside from being one of the greatest political essayists in the English language and author of two of the most famous books in twentieth century literature, George Orwell was a man of profound contradictions. George Orwell:English Rebel takes us through the many twists and turns of Orwell's life and thought, from precocious, public school satirist at Eton and imperial policeman in Burma, through his early years as a rather dour documentary writer, and his formative experiences as a volunteer soldier in the Spanish Civil War.

Robert Colls traces, in particular, Orwell's complex relationship with his country, from the alienated intellectual of the mid-1930s through a gradual reconciliation, to the exhilarating peaks of his wartime writing. He explores the mistakes and contradictions, the lucky escapes and near misses, and what they tell us about Orwell as man and author.

Review

"Exceptionally interesting... Arresting and provocative." --DJ Taylor, The Guardian


"Colls is a lovely writer, who is fearless in a way that academics too often are not... Full of learning and insight." --New Statesman


"[A] lucid work of intellectual biography... Colls's engaging style and frequent bursts of astringent wit make for lively reading suitable for any Orwell enthusiast." --Publishers Weekly


"A compact intellectual biography with much political and social content... There are useful critiques of Orwell's early "angry" novels, his gradual appreciation of the working class, and the political contradictions that he never fully resolved... General readers will benefit from Colls's deft analysis of Orwell's writings and his attempt to pin down the author's politics." --Library Journal


"There have been many books written about George Orwell but this is surely among the best. Rob Colls has taken on the man's Englishness, his personality, warts and all, and the elusive notion that he was a rebel in his own land. It's full of zesty prose, fine insights, and a freshness of interpretation which made it a pleasure to read. It's a major achievement and a major work on George Orwell." --Melvyn Bragg


"Colls has changed our view of Orwell's life and work, and offered a fresh perspective on a pivotal period in English intellectual and political history." --John Gray, author of Straw Dogs


"A judicious and all-too-rare example of an absorbing intellectual biography undergirded by scrupulous literary scholarship." --John Rodden, editor of The Cambridge Companion to George Orwell


About the Author

Robert Colls is Professor of Cultural History at De Montfort University, Leicester. He is author of the acclaimed Identity of England an Observer Book of the Year.