A life in letters
George Orwell, Peter Davison (Editor)
"Appearing for the first time in one volume, these trenchant letters tell the eloquent narrative of Orwell's life in his own words. From his school days to his tragic early death, George Orwell, who never wrote an autobiography, chronicled the dramatic events of his turbulent life in a profusion of powerful letters. Indeed, one of the twentieth century's most revered icons was a lively, prolific correspondent who developed in rich, nuanced dispatches the ideas that would influence generations of writers and intellectuals. This historic work--never before published in America and featuring many previously unseen letters--presents an account of Orwell's interior life as personal and absorbing as readers may ever see. Over the course of a lifetime, Orwell corresponded with hundreds of people, including many distinguished political and artistic figures. Witty, personal, and profound, the letters tell the story of Orwell's passionate first love that ended in devastation and explains how young Eric Arthur Blair chose the pseudonym "George Orwell." In missives to luminaries such as T.S. Eliot, Stephen Spender, Arthur Koestler, Cyril Connolly, and Henry Miller, he spells out his literary and philosophical beliefs. Readers will encounter Orwell's thoughts on matters both quotidian (poltergeists and the art of playing croquet) and historical--including his illuminating descriptions of war-shattered Barcelona and pronouncements on bayonets and the immanent cruelty of chaining German prisoners ... Meticulously edited and fully annotated by Peter Davison, the world's preeminent Orwell scholar, the volume presents Orwell "in all his varieties" and his relationships with those most close to him, especially his first wife, Eileen. Combined with rare photographs and hand-drawn illustrations, George Orwell: A Life in Letters offers "everything a reader new to Orwell needs to know ... and a great deal that diehard fans will be enchanted to have" (New Statesmen)."--Publisher's description
Print Book, English, 2013
First American edition View all formats and editions
Liveright Publishing Corporation, A Division of W.W. Norton & Company, New York, 2013
Autobiography
xviii, 542 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 25 cm
9780871404626, 0871404621
830667929
Introduction
From pupil to teacher to author: 1911/1933
Publishing, Wigan and Spain: 1934/1938
From Morocco to the BBC: 1938/1941
The BBC and the War: 1941/1943
Journalism and the death of Eileen: 1943/1945
Jura: 1946 and 1947
Hairmyres and Jura: 1948
Cranham, University College Hospital, and Orwell's death: 1949/1950
New textual discoveries
"Letters collected from The Complete Works of George Orwell, edited by Peter Davison, OBE."--Title page verso
Originally published: London : Harvill Secker, 2010