The Complete Works. In Summer 1998, a 20-volume 'definitive' version of the writings of George Orwell was published in London by Secker and Warburg. The editor, Peter Davison, underwent 17 years of almost absurdly difficult research to complete the task; his story is described here. Amongst the Complete Works' discoveries was a long-ignored 1943 Tribune essay by "John Freeman" which has now been attributed to Orwell. Read it here. And here are the many reviews.
Orwell the Spy? In 1997, declassified British Foreign Office documents revealed that shortly before his death Orwell had compiled a "Black" and "White" list of Communist and anti-Communist fellow travellers for a Government propaganda unit. This raised questions as to whether or not the author of the great anti-totalitarian novel was himself a state stooge. Here is a synopsis of the affair from the New York Times, including extracts from the notorious "Red list"; neo-conservative Norman Podhoretz's take on the issue in a '97. National Review can be contrasted with Geoffrey Wheatcroft's defence in the London Independent and Christopher Hitchens' comparison with the Trotsky/HUAC affair.
Orwell's Women. George Orwell's attitudes towards, and relationships with, women have provided rich fodder for an analysis of his personality - and whether or not the spokesman for "common decency" practiced what he preached. This is the opinion of Orwell's editor Peter Davison on the question of his 'misogyny', while Tom Rosenthal gives a non-too sympathetic portrayal of Sonia Brownell, Orwell's second wife, here.
Animal Farm - Critical Essays. The hardy standard of High School and GCSE literature classes continues to intrigue with its simple but powerful parable. Here is a review of a 1996 edition illustrated by Ralph Steadman, a retrospective marking the book's 50th anniversary of publication in the United States, a musing on the concept of 'equality' in Orwell's farmyard tale, a comparison with the works of Tolstoy, and an intriguing suggestion of a possible 19th Century Russian antecedent.
The Road to Wigan Pier - Critical Essays. This consideration of the reportage classic compares and contrasts it with an earlier, rougher draft of Orwell's material in diary form.
