Overview

Full Product Details

9780199680818

Table of Contents

Reviews

An eloquent reminder that George Orwell loved his country rebelliously ... both timely and necessary Calum Mechie, TLS Full of learning and insight ... Colls is a lovely writer, who is fearless in a way that academics too often are not. He is happy to subvert cliches, make little speeches and is willing to permit useful generalisations ... There are several ways in which - quite apart from the success or otherwise of Colls' thesis - this book is a kind of Orwellian triumph. David Aaronovitch, New Statesman This is an excellent, provocative addition to Orwell ... an exceptionally interesting book ... Colls is now entitled to consider himself a prime ornament ... of Orwell studies. D. J. Taylor, The Guardian Colls is an honest and intelligent writer, interrogating a mind that he very much admires, about issues that he deeply cares about. Roger Scruton, The Times Illuminating insights ... [a] thought-provoking study Yvonne Sherratt, Times Higher Education Supplement This is the most sensible and systematic interpretation of George Orwell's books that I have ever read ... This biography's achievement is to give us back Orwell the writer - neither a saint, nor an infallible sage, but a perverse, intelligent commentator on his time, and also, on occasion, a superb critic A. N. Wilson, The Spectator A stunning piece of work, well researched, tautly written and often funny ... It is the best book on Orwell to appear for several years, erudite and original. It catches the extent to which Orwell lived on his wits better than any other account of his life. It's up there with Crick, Gordon Bowker and DJ Taylor. Paul Anderson, Tribune 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 [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 subtle, probing and refreshingly original study... the closest and most intimate portrait of Orwell to date John Gray, Literary Review Short, witty and intelligent, performing a valuable service by situating Orwell in the context of interwar history. Robert McGhee, Prospect 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 identifies and analyses a strand of Orwell's authorship the importance of which has been consistently underestimated: Orwell's highly problematic relations with his English inheritance By showing how this concern changed its shape over time 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: Thoughts on Humans and Other Animals This book should interest both informed general readers and serious students of Orwell's work, for it represents a judicious and all-too-rare example of being an absorbing intellectual biography undergirded by scrupulous literary scholarship. John Rodden, editor of The Cambridge Companion to George Orwell Colls has written a highly entertaining book in the good plain jargon-free prose style so valued by its subject. It has much for the general reader and student, and will ruffle a few ideological feathers which, as Orwell well knew, is always a good thing. Spokesman Penetrating historical exploration of Orwell's political imagination...Orwell himself would have enjoyed this good read. Daniel Ritschel, Journal of British Studies Brilliant analysis...makes a wonderful joke of the whole endeavour to pin down a contrarian. Englewood Review of Books, US d

superb ... both authoritative and gloriously readable. Colls writes like an offbeat mixture of Isaiah Berlin and Clive James - which is to say, like a dream - and his lucid interpretation of Orwell's life and work makes sense of his various contradictions. David Evans, Independent on Sunday ... fascinating and insightful ... Colls writes clearly and engagingly, in the manner of his subject. Alwyn W Turner, BBC History magazine Full of learning and insight ... Colls is a lovely writer, who is fearless in a way that academics too often are not. He is happy to subvert cliches, make little speeches and is willing to permit useful generalisations ... There are several ways in which - quite apart from the success or otherwise of Colls' thesis - this book is a kind of Orwellian triumph. David Aaronovitch, New Statesman This is the most sensible and systematic interpretation of George Orwell's books that I have ever read ... This biography's achievement is to give us back Orwell the writer - neither a saint, nor an infallible sage, but a perverse, intelligent commentator on his time, and also, on occasion, a superb critic. A. N. Wilson, The Spectator This is an excellent, provocative addition to Orwell ... an exceptionally interesting book ... Colls is now entitled to consider himself a prime ornament ... of Orwell studies. D J Taylor, The Guardian Colls is an honest and intelligent writer, interrogating a mind that he very much admires, about issues that he deeply cares about. Roger Scruton, The Times [a] provocative, very well written study ... Colls offers an intelligent, probing route map through the life, work and contradictions of [George Orwell] Geoff Reid, Methodist Recorder Coll's prose style is engaging, with the occasional nudge to the humorous, which makes for a lively reading experience ... A Hermit's Progress

Coll's prose style is engaging, with the occasional nudge to the humorous, which makes for a lively reading experience ... * A Hermit's Progress * [a] provocative, very well written study ... Colls offers an intelligent, probing route map through the life, work and contradictions of [George Orwell] * Geoff Reid, Methodist Recorder * Colls is an honest and intelligent writer, interrogating a mind that he very much admires, about issues that he deeply cares about. * Roger Scruton, The Times * This is an excellent, provocative addition to Orwell ... an exceptionally interesting book ... Colls is now entitled to consider himself a prime ornament ... of Orwell studies. * D J Taylor, The Guardian * This is the most sensible and systematic interpretation of George Orwell's books that I have ever read ... This biography's achievement is to give us back Orwell the writer - neither a saint, nor an infallible sage, but a perverse, intelligent commentator on his time, and also, on occasion, a superb critic. * A. N. Wilson, The Spectator * Full of learning and insight ... Colls is a lovely writer, who is fearless in a way that academics too often are not. He is happy to subvert cliches, make little speeches and is willing to permit useful generalisations ... There are several ways in which - quite apart from the success or otherwise of Colls' thesis - this book is a kind of Orwellian triumph. * David Aaronovitch, New Statesman * ... fascinating and insightful ... Colls writes clearly and engagingly, in the manner of his subject. * Alwyn W Turner, BBC History magazine * superb ... both authoritative and gloriously readable. Colls writes like an offbeat mixture of Isaiah Berlin and Clive James - which is to say, like a dream - and his lucid interpretation of Orwell's life and work makes sense of his various contradictions. * David Evans, Independent on Sunday * superb analysis ... [Colls] knows Orwell's works intimately and has a perfect grasp of the historical context ... Best of all, he writes with great wit as well as with learning. If there exists a better book on Orwell, I have yet to discover it. * Simon Heffer, The Daily Telegraph * Impressive for both the quality of its insights and stylishness of its prose, Robert Colls's biography gives us the English Orwell ... His readings of Orwells fiction ... are lucid, persuasive and often very funny. * David Evans, Best paperbacks of the year 2015, Independent on Sunday *

Author Information

Robert Colls is Professor of Cultural History at De Montfort University, Leicester. He was born in South Shields and educated at South Shields Grammar Technical School and the universities of Sussex and York. He has held fellowships at the universities of Oxford, Yale, and Dortmund, and with the Leverhulme Trust. He is author of the acclaimed Identity of England, which is also published by Oxford University Press (2002).

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available