George Orwell: Animal Farm-Nineteen Eighty-Four (Readers' Guides to Essential Criticism) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 184046254X ISBN 13: 9781840462548

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003

Synopsis

George Orwell is a writer who has been appropriated by very different political regimes and opinions, pressed into service as his various critics have seen fit. Though a polemicist and satirist at heart, his anti-totalitarian ideals are expounded with deft story-telling and a simplicity that belies the ultimately complex debates to which he gave voice. The changing responses to his two classic novels, Animal Farm (1945) and Nineteen Eighty-four (1949), provide an illuminating account of the developing preoccupations of the second half of the 20th century.

In this Readers' Guide, Daniel Lea takes a decisive path through the maze of interpretations that has accumulated around Orwell's best-known novels, examining critical reactions from the beginning of the Cold War through to the collapse of Communist Eastern Europe, and at the same time placing Orwell within a long tradition of dystopian writings. In exploringthe artistic, cultural and social contexts of Orwell's work, it is an essential resource for students and general readers alike.

About this title

Review:

'I continue to find the Readers' Guides indispensable for teaching - they really give students a sense of criticsm having a history' - Professor Rachel Bowlby, University of York

'The series looks really excellent - attractively produced, user friendly; and outstanding value for money' - Ronald Knowles, Reader, University of Reading

Synopsis:

In this Readers' Guide, Daniel Lea takes a decisive path through the maze of interpretations that has accumulated around Orwell's best-known novels, examining critical reactions from the beginning of the Cold War through to the collapse of Communist Eastern Europe, and at the same time placing Orwell within a long tradition of dystopian writings. In exploring the artistic, cultural and social contexts of Orwell's work, it is an essential resource for students and general readers alike.

About this edition

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 184046254X
• ISBN 13: 9781840462548
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 220
• Editor: Lea Daniel