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Shop nowOrwell
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Learn moreIn his probing and revelatory biography of one of the great prose stylists of the twentieth century, acclaimed biographer Michael Shelden breaks new ground in the evocation of George Orwell’s personal life and in our understanding of his art. Based on original interviews, previously undiscovered letters and documents, and astute literary detective work, Orwell is the major biography of one of the great yet elusive literary figures of our time.
Shelden reveals the author of 1984 and Animal Farm as a lively, engaging literary personality. Few writers can rival Orwell’s experience of history: being shot through the throat in the Spanish Civil War, holding the position of colonial police superintendent in Burma, and living through the Blitz. Shelden restores a sense of drama and passion to this writer’s life and shows him to be a captivating, even heroic character struggling against great public and private turmoil.
Michael Shelden spent twelve years as a feature writer for the Daily Telegraph in London and as a fiction critic for the Baltimore Sun. He has written several biographies, including Orwell, which was a Pulitzer Prize finalist and a New York Times Notable Book. He is currently a professor of English at Indiana State University.
Frederick Davidson (1932–2005), also known as David Case, was one of the most prolific readers in the audiobook industry, recording more than eight hundred audiobooks in his lifetime, including over two hundred for Blackstone Audio. Born in London, he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and performed for many years in radio plays for the British Broadcasting Company before coming to America in 1976. He received AudioFile’s Golden Voice Award and numerous Earphones Awards and was nominated for a Grammy for his readings.
Reviews
“This life of Orwell furnishes new details of the career of a writer the influence of whose honesty and decency has been far greater than his literary accomplishments.”
“[Shelden] offers a sympathetic but balanced account of Orwell’s life, and communicates well the wonderfully lucid, lively, and still very relevant quality of his writings.”
“Intrinsically interesting…What Shelden does best is show how such events and circumstances as war and conflicts with authority shaped Orwell’s writing.”
“Not a dry summation of facts and figures, obsessions and works, this book brims with humor and compassion…A once-thought shy observer of humanity (and inhumanity) here becomes a passionate democratic socialist. A fine work.”
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