George Orwell, one of the most significant literary icons of the
20th century, was, as Gordon Bowker says in this exceptionally
detailed biography, a man haunted by nightmares: the guilt of
childhood sin (he believed he had killed another boy through black
magic while at Eton); the guilt of working as a high-handed
repressive colonial during his years as a policeman in Burma; and
the nightmare of rock-bottom poverty lived through in his first
novel Down and Out in Paris and London. The best-known - and also
the best - books, Animal Farm and 1984, are an odd mixture of high
Tory values and fundamentalist Marxism. Like him or not, Orwell's
is an endlessly fascinating character, and any readers who want to
understand the complex man behind his strange and often marvellous
books will have to read this biography, which though flawed in
parts is a remarkable work of psychological insight and completely
compelling to read. (Kirkus UK)
George Orwell was one of the greatest writers England produced in
the last century. He left an enduring mark on our language and
culture, with concepts such as 'Big Brother', 'Room 101',
'Newspeak', 'Doublethink'. His reputation rests not only on his
political shrewdness and his sharp satires (Animal Farm and
Nineteen Eighty-Four) but also on his marvellously clear style and
superb essays, which rank with the best ever written. Gordon
Bowker's new biography, written to coincide with Orwell's
centenary, includes fascinating new material which brings his life
into unfamiliar focus. He writes revealingly about Orwell's family
background; the lasting influence of Eton on his work and
character; his superstitious streak and youthful flirtation with
black magic; and his chaotic and reckless sex life, which included
at least one homoerotic relationship. It highlights the strange
circumstances of his first marriage and provides remarkable new
evidence of his experiences in Spain and their nightmarish
consequences. It also offers a fresh look at his peculiar deathbed
marriage to a woman fifteen years his junior. All this has enabled
Bowker to give Orwell's life a brilliantly fresh and disti
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