Orwell and Marxism: The Political and Cultural Thinking of George Orwell (International Library of Cultural Studies)

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Whether as a fighter in the Spanish Civil War, an advocate of patriotic Socialism or a left-wing opponent of the Soviet Union, George Orwell was the ultimate outsider in politics-- insecure, scornful of orthodoxies, cussedly independent.Best known today as the author of Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four, Orwell also wrote seven other full-length books and a vast number of essays, articles and reviews. A pioneering cultural critic, he addressed a range of important issues including art, literature, x201C;Englishness," mass communication and the specter of totalitarianism. Famously describing his own background as "lower-upper-middle class," Orwell had a complex relationship with Marxism and all his work reflects the influence of British communism.Through close analysis of Orwellx2019;s writings as well as his historical and literary context, Philip Bounds has produced an important study of one of the iconic writers of the 20th century. Orwell and Marxism offers a thorough introduction to Orwell the intellectual, reviving his reputation as a serious cultural thinker and documenting his most important influences, as well as a convincing portrait of British Marxism and society in the 1930s and 40s.

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PHILIP BOUNDSxA0;holds a PhD in Politics from the University of Wales. He is the author of British Communism and Literary Theory and Cultural Studies.