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 | George Orwell | |
![British author George Orwell [1903-50] common portrait from B.B.C. Radio](images/GeorgeOrwell-BBCportrait.jpg "British author George Orwell [1903-50] common portrait from B.B.C. Radio") | short profile |
If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.
In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.
The great enemy of clear language is insincerity.
George Orwell
[Orwell is] a writer who can – and must – be rediscovered with every age. Irish Times, circa 1976
B I O
t e x t
h e r e
Eric Arthur Blair was born in India in 1903. He was educated at Eton, served with the Indian Imperial Police in Burma, and then returned to England. He worked as a private tutor, schoolteacher, bookshop assistant and journalist; he took on the pen name 'George Orwell in 1933. In 1936, he went to fight for the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War and was wounded; he was admitted into a sanatorium in 1938 and from then on was never fully fit. Blair/Orwell died of tuberculosis in London in 1950.
George Orwell entry at Wikipedia
George Orwell credits [since 1953] at Internet Movie Database
George Orwell Quotations Page at Working Minds Philosophy website
Primary Works
Orwell Bibliography entry at Wikipedia
browse George Orwell Store at Amazon
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"Down and Out In Paris and London" (9 January 1933, Victor Gollancz Ltd)
"Burmese Days" (October 1934, Harper & Brothers)
"A Clergyman's Daughter" (11 March 1935, Victor Gollancz Ltd)
"Keep The Aspidistra Flying" (20 April 1936, Victor Gollancz Ltd)
"The Road To Wigan Pier" (February 1937, Left Book Club edition;
8 March 1937 Victor Gollancz Ltd edition for the general public)
"Homage To Catalonia" (25 April 1938, Secker and Warburg)
"Coming Up For Air (12 June 1939, Victor Gollancz Ltd)
"Animal Farm" novel
[Secker & Warburg, London; 17 August 1945]
George Orwell's famed barnyard fable about revolution betrayed.
book entry at Wikipedia
"Animal Farm is not a book about how pigs - [as] animals - when bestowed with power start to behave like men.
It is a book about how men, when given power over other men, start to behave like pigs." — George Orwell
"Animal Farm: What Orwell Really Meant" [Dec 1946 letter] by George Orwell
reprinted as an essay in The New York Review of Books for July 2013
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Kindle Edition from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt [7/2009] for $7.92
Signet Classics mass pb [4/96] for $8.99 Plume 8x5½ pb [5/2003] for $11.39 Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 8¼x5&frav12 hardcover [11/90] for $12.39 Blackstone UNABR audio [4/2001] out of prodn/used Penguin UNABR audio [6/96] out of prodn/used | |
 | "Animal Farm" animated feature [U.K. 1954] Britain's first feature-length cartoon; co-written & co-directed by Joy Batchelor & John Halas Home Vision color DVD [11/2004] for $22.46 Home Vision color VHS [11/2004] for $19.95 United American Video color VHS [8/97] out of stock/used full credits from IMDb | |
 | "Animal Farm" animated TV movie [Hallmark/TNT 1999] Directed by John Stephenson Hallmark color DVD [1/2000] for $$17.98 Hallmark color VHS [9/2000] for $9.98 full credits from IMDb |
more details (synopsis, history, author, movies, other media) are on
Spirit of America Bookstore's "Animal Farm" [1945 novel] Page
"Nineteen Eighty-Four / 1 9 8 4: A Novel"[Secker & Warburg, London; 8 June 1949]
Winston Smith endures a squalid existence as a clerk in a bureaucracy of the totalitarian superstate of Oceania,
where everyone is under the constant surveillance of the Thought Police.
book entry at Wikipedia
Listed #6 on Modern Library's 1998 Reader Poll for the best novels published in the English language since 1900.
"You can't really write a '1984' for our times, because '1984' is still the '1984' of our times."
— Lev Grossman, TIME Magazine critic, October 2013
![Nineteen Eighty-Four 1949 novel by George Orwell [1903-50]](covers/GOrwell1984.jpg "Nineteen Eighty-Four 1949 novel by George Orwell [1903-50]")
more details (synopsis, history, author, movies, other media) are on
Spirit of America Bookstore's "Nineteen Eighty-Four" 1949 Novel & Movies Page
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 | "The Complete Novels of George Orwell" omnibus [1976] includes six novels: "A Clergyman's Daughter", "Animal Farm", "Burmese Days", "Coming Up For Air", "Keep The Aspidistra Flying", and "1984" Penguin Books 9x6 pb [8/2009] out of print/used Penguin Classics 7¾x5 pb [2/2001] out of print/used Secker & Warburg/Octopus 9½x6½ hardcover [1976] out of print/used |
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"Modern Classics The Essential Orwell 4 Volume Boxed Set" [2011]
contains four books: "Down and Out In Paris and London" [1933]; "Animal Farm: A Fairy Story" [1945]; "Nineteen Eighty-Four" [1949]; and "Shooting An Elephant: And Other Essays" [1950] Houghton Mifflin Harcourt pb set [9/2011] out of print/used Houghton Mifflin Harcourt slipcover 8x5 pb set [9/2011] - way overpriced! there was a bundle offer for the four books on Kindle, but it is expired "Animal Farm" and "1984" are paired in a single Kindle book Kindle Edition from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt [6/2003 edition] for $12.99 "Down & Out": Kindle Edition from Mariner Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt [3/1972 edition] for $9.99 "Elephant": Kindle Edition from Penguin [6/2009] - not available at Amazon (2019) |
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Double Novel Editions
Other Works
Two essay collections were published during Orwell's lifetime – "Inside the Whale and Other Essays" in 1940 and "Critical Essays" in 1946 (the latter was published in the United States as "Dickens, Dali, and Others" in 1958). Orwell's publisher followed up these anthologies with "Shooting An Elephant and Other Essays" in 1950, "England Your England and Other Essays" in 1953 (which was revised as "Such, Such Were The Joys") and "Collected Essays" in 1961. The first significant publications in the United States were Doubleday's "A Collection of Essays by George Orwell" [1954], "The Orwell Reader: Fiction, Essays, and Reportage" [1956] from Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, and Penguin's "Selected Essays" [1957] (re-released in 1962 with the title "Inside The Whale and Other Essays"] and in abridged form as "Why I Write" in 2005 as a part of the Great Ideas series). In the aforementioned series, Penguin also published the short collections "Books v. Cigarettes" [2008], "Some Thoughts On The Common Toad" [2010], and "Decline of The English Murder" [2009] – the latter does not contain the same texts as "Decline of The English Murder and Other Essays", published by Penguin in association with Secker & Warburg in 1965.
"Inside The Whale and Other Essays" in 1940
"Critical Essays" in 1946 - published in the U.S. as "Dickens, Dali, and Others" in 1958
"Shooting An Elephant and Other Essays" in 1950
"England Your England and Other Essays" in 1953 (which was revised as "Such, Such Were The Joys")
Doubleday's "A Collection of Essays by George Orwell" [USA 1954]
"The Orwell Reader: Fiction, Essays, and Reportage" [USA 1956] from Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
Penguin's "Selected Essays" [USA 1957]
re-released in 1962 with the title "Inside The Whale and Other Essays"]
re-released in abridged form as "Why I Write" in 2005 as a part of the Great Ideas series
"Collected Essays" in 1961
"Decline of The English Murder and Other Essays" published by Penguin/Secker & Warburg in 1965.
"The Collected Essays, Journalism, and Letters of George Orwell" [1968] edited by Sonia Orwell & Ian Angus
http://www.amazon.com/collected-essays-journalism-letters-George/dp/B0007H9U3Y/
http://www.amazon.com/Collected-Journalism-Letters-Country-Volumes/dp/B000OFMTDM/
Volume 1: "An Age Like This, 19201940"
Volume 2: "My Country Right or Left, 19401943" (first published 1968)
Volume 3: "As I Please, 19431945"
Volume 4: "In Front of Your Nose, 19451950"
"The Complete Works of George Orwell" [Random House 1986-87] Edited by Peter Davison ISBN 0-15-135101-5
in twenty-volumes, with the first nine devoted to the books and novels
Volume 10: "A Kind of Compulsion: 19031936"
Volume 11: "Facing Unpleasant Facts: 19371939"
Volume 12: "A Patriot After All: 19401941"
Volume 13: "All Propaganda Is Lies: 19411942"
Volume 14: "Keeping Our Little Corner Clean: 19421943"
Volume 15: "Two Wasted Years: 1943"
Volume 16: "I Have Tried To Tell The Truth: 19431944"
Volume 17: "I Belong To The Left: 1945"
Volume 18: "Smothered Under Journalism: 1946"
Volume 19: "It Is What I Think: 19471948"
Volume 20: "Our Job Is To Make Life Worth Living: 19491950"
"Lost Orwell: Being A Supplement To The Complete Works of George Orwell" [Timewell Press in 2006 pb 9/2007]
compiled by Davison; a handful of letters, an obituary for H.G. Wells, and a reconstruction of 'Orwell's List'
"Books v. Cigarettes" short collection [2008], Penguin
"Some Thoughts On The Common Toad" short collection [2010]
"All Art Is Propaganda: Critical Essays by George Orwell" [Houghton Mifflin Oct 2008] Edited by George Packer
"Facing Unpleasant Facts: Narrative Essays by George Orwell" [Houghton Mifflin Oct 2008] Edited by George Packer
"Decline of The English Murder" short collection [2009] – not the same texts as the Penguin/Secker & Warburg collection in 1965.
 | George Orwell: A Life In Letters [2010] Edited by Peter Davison Kindle Edition from Liveright [8/2013] for $16.99 Penguin Modern Classics 7¾x5 pb [2011] out of print/used Liveright 9¼x6½ hardcover [8/2013] for $23.34 Harvill Secker U.K. 10½x7½ hardcover [5/2010] out of print/used |
Movies, Stageplays, Other Media
George Orwell credits [since 1953] at Internet Movie Database
one-act play "Free Will"
Orwell adapted four stageplays as radio dramas
Works About George Orwell
"A Study of George Orwell: The Man and His Works" [Hollis & Carter 1956] by Christopher Hollis
"My Brother George Orwell" [Twentieth Century 1961] by Avril Dunn
"Orwell: Fugitive from the Camp of Victory" [Secker & Warburg 1961] by Richard Rees
"The Crystal Spirit: A Study of George Orwell" [Jonathan Cape, London 1967] by George Woodcock ISBN 0-947795-05-7
"The World of George Orwell" [Weidenfield & Nicholson 1971] by Miriam Goss
"A Boy's View of George Orwell: Psychology and Ethical Development" [Allen & Unwin 1974] by R.S. Peters
"Eric and Us: A Remembrance of George Orwell" [Frewin 1974] by Jacintha Buddicom ISBN 0-85632-076-5
"George Orwell: A Life" [Secker & Warburg 1980] by Bernard Crick
"George Orwell: A Personal Memoir" [1982] by T.R. Fyval
"Remembering Orwell" [Penguin Books 1984] by Stephen Wadham
"Inside The Myth: Orwell - Views From The Left" [Lawrence & Whishart 1984]
 | "Orwell For Beginners" [1984] by David N. Smith, Illustrated by Michael Mosher Writers & Readers 9x6 pb [2/2000] out of print/used Writers & Readers 8¼x6 pb [5/84] out of print/used |
"The Paradox of George Orwell" [Purdue Univ Press 1986] by Richard A. Voorhees ISBN 0-911198-80-6
"George Orwell: A Political Life" [Manchester Univ Press 1993] by Stephen Ingle ISBN 0-7190-3233-4
"Orwell: Wintry Conscience of a Generation" [W.W. Norton & Co. 2001] by Jeffrey Meyers ISBN 0-393-32263-7
"Orwell: The Life" [Henry Holt/Chatto & Windus 2003] by D.J. Taylor ISBN 0-8050-7473-2
"George Orwell" [Little, Brown 2003] by Gordon Bowker
"Orwell" [Haus Publng 2003] by Scott Lucas ISBN 1-904341-33-0
"Why Orwell Matters" [2003]
 | "Orwell's Australia: From Cold War To Culture Wars" [2004] by Dennis Glover Scribe Short Books 8½x5½ pb [4/2004] for $11.51 |
"George Orwell: Into The Twenty-First Century" [2004] Edited by Thomas Cushman & John Rodden
"The Social and Political Thought of George Orwell: A Reassessment" [Routledge 2006] by Stephen Ingle ISBN 0-415-35735-7
 | "Orwell Rolls In His Grave" documentary [2003] Written & directed by Robert Kane Pappas Go-Kart DVD [6/2005] for $14.99 full credits at IMDb official website |
 | "What Orwell Didn't Know: Propaganda and The New Face of American Politics" [essays 2007] Edited by Andras Szanto, Introduction by Orville Schell PublicAffairs 8¼x5½ pb [11/2007] for $10.17 |
"The Cambridge Companion to George Orwell" [Cambridge Univ Press 2007]
Edited by John Rodden ISBN 0-521-67507-3
"Decency and Democracy: George Orwell, The Aspiring Plebeian" essay [7/2008] by John Rodden
"The Unknown Orwell" [] by Stansky & Abrahams
"Orwells Century" episode of "Think Tank" PBS TV series with Ben Wattenberg
"Orwell: The Authorised Biography" [HarperCollins 1991] by Michael Shelden ISBN 0-06-092161-7
 | "The Last Man In Europe: A Novel" [2017] by Dennis Glover Suffering from the tuberculosis that would kill him just three years later, George Orwell retreated to a run-down farmhouse on a remote Scottish island to write the book that would become his magnum opus, "1984' Kindle Edition from Overlook Press [11/2017] for $12.29 Harry N. Abrams 8x5½ pb [11/2018] for $16.95 Harry N. Abrams 9¼x6¼ hardcover [11/2017] for $20.37 |
Image Gallery
Family & Friends
Eric Arthur Blair was born in British India in 1903, adopted the pen name 'George Orwell' in 1933,
and died of tuberculosis at age 46 in London, England in January 1950
father Richard Walmesley Blair []
mother Ida Mabel Limouzin Blair []
sister Marjorie Blair []
sister Avril Blair Dunn []
first wife Eileen O'Shaughnessy Blair [1945] married 1935, died 1945
son Richard Horatio Blair [] adopted 1944
second wife Sonia Brownell Blair [-1980] married 1949, widowed 1950
literary rights owner George Orwell Productions, Ltd. was set up on 12 September 1947
unscrupulous executor Jack Harrison []
L i n k s
George Orwell entry at Wikipedia
George Orwell credits [since 1953] at Internet Movie Database
George Orwell Quotations Page at Working Minds Philosophy website
browse George Orwell Store at Amazon
The Orwell Prize [est. 1993] for political writing
online etexts of George Orwell works at Internet Archive's Open Library
George Orwell links at the Open Directory Project
George Orwell Archives at University College London
http://orwell.ru/a_life/newsinger/english/e_oc
here on the George Orwell [1903-50] Page at Spirit of America Bookstore
top of page short profile primary works other works works about George Orwell
movies, plays, other media image gallery family & friends links
"Animal Farm" Novel & Movies Page
"Nineteen Eighty-Four (1 9 8 4)" Novel & Movies Page
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