George Orwell: References & Edit History

Additional Reading

Peter Davison (ed.), Complete Works of George Orwell, 20 vol. (1986–98), contains all of the author’s writings. Two authorized biographies of Orwell are Michael Shelden, Orwell (1991, reissued 2006); and Bernard Crick, George Orwell: A Life, new ed. (1992). Other biographies are Gordon Bowker, Inside George Orwell (2003); D.J. Taylor, Orwell (2003); and Robert Colls, George Orwell: English Rebel (2013). Two important biographical works are Peter Stansky and William Abrahams, The Unknown Orwell (1972), and Orwell: The Transformation (1979); both were published in one volume in 1994.

Critical studies include George Woodcock, The Crystal Spirit (1966, reprinted 2005); John Atkins, George Orwell: A Literary Study, new ed. (1971); Richard Rees, George Orwell: Fugitive from the Camp of Victory (1961); Robert A. Lee, Orwell’s Fiction (1969); Keith Alldritt, The Making of George Orwell: An Essay in Literary History (1969); Raymond Williams (compiler), George Orwell: A Collection of Critical Essays (1974); and Alex Zwerdling, Orwell and the Left (1974). Jeffrey Meyers (ed.), George Orwell: The Critical Heritage (1975); Harold Bloom (ed.), George Orwell, updated ed. (2007); Graham Holderness, Bryan Loughrey, and Nahem Yousaf (eds.), George Orwell (1998); and John Rodden (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to George Orwell (2007), are useful collections of critical essays. John Rodden, George Orwell: The Politics of Literary Reputation, rev. ed. (2002), analyzes the development of his reputation. Daphne Patai, The Orwell Mystique: A Study in Male Ideology (1989), offers a persuasive critique of Orwell’s work from a feminist perspective, and Sylvia Topp, Eileen: The Making of George Orwell (2020), is a biography of his first wife and her influence on his writing. Roger Fowler, The Language of George Orwell (1995), examines Orwell’s practice of language. Christopher Hitchens, Why Orwell Matters (also published as Orwell’s Victory, 2002), is a polemical defense of Orwell’s continuing relevance. By travel writer and novelist Paul Theroux, Burma Sahib (2024), is a fictional account of Orwell’s days with the Indian Imperial Police.

Article Contributors

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  • George Woodcock
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Article History

Type Description Contributor Date
Add new Web site: Literary Devices - George Orwell. Oct 25, 2026
Added media. Sep 15, 2026
Add new Web site: The Open university - OpenLearn - Orwell’s route to Nineteen Eighty-Four. Jul 30, 2026
Anniversary information added. Jun 21, 2026
Add new Web site: ABC listen - Late Night Live - George Orwell and Evelyn Waugh. May 13, 2026
Article thoroughly revised and updated. Apr 17, 2026
Add new Web site: Online Library of Liberty - Beyond the Hate: George Orwell’s 1984. Jan 19, 2026
Anniversary information added. Jan 17, 2026
Add new Web site: ABC listen - Nightlife - George Orwell’s relevance today. Jul 31, 2025
Questions and answers added. Feb 07, 2025
Added a cross-reference. Nov 06, 2024
Add new Web site: UNESCO - George Orwell, a "Tory anarchist". Oct 29, 2024
Added cross-references and updated to reflect contemporary spellings. Jun 03, 2024
Add new Web site: Historic UK - George Orwell. May 06, 2024
First paragraph modernization. Mar 29, 2024
Add new Web site: The National Endowment for the Humanities - George Orwell, Outdoorsman. Sep 05, 2023
Add new Web site: Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy - George Orwell. Nov 08, 2022
Add new Web site: The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction - George Orwell. Aug 20, 2022
Add new Web site: British Library - Biography of George Orwell. Apr 20, 2022
Add new Web site: Famous Authors - George Orwell. Feb 05, 2021
Media added. Apr 10, 2020
Noted that Orwell attended Wellington briefly before studying at Eton. Mar 08, 2019
Add new Web site: Facts about Famous People - George Orwell Facts and Biography. Feb 06, 2019
Corrected display issue. Jan 03, 2018
Media added. Sep 24, 2015
Add new Web site: Official Site of The Orwell Foundation. May 18, 2015
Add new Web site: Fort Bend School Disctrict - Biography of George Orwell. May 18, 2015
Add new Web site: Fort Bend School Disctrict - Biography of George Orwell. May 18, 2015
Add new Web site: Official Site of The Orwell Foundation. May 18, 2015
Article revised. Mar 26, 2015
Bibliography revised and updated. Mar 26, 2015
Add new Web site: eBook at the University of Adelaide - George Orwell, 1903-1950. Apr 23, 2014
Add new Web site: The Literature Network - Biography of George Orwell. Feb 12, 2013
Add new Web site: ILoveIndia.com - Biography of George Orwell. Sep 16, 2012
Add new Web site: The History Guide - Biography of George Orwell. Feb 17, 2012
Add new Web site: Pegasos - Biography of George Orwell. Dec 08, 2011
Add new Web site: Fact Monster - People - Biography of George Orwell. Dec 08, 2011
Add new Web site: Spartacus Educational - Biography of George Orwell. Dec 08, 2011
Add new Web site: Marxists Internet Archive - Biography of George Orwell. Dec 08, 2011
Article revised and updated. Nov 10, 2006
Bibliography revised. Nov 10, 2006
Added new Web site: British Broadcasting Corporation - Biography of George Orwell. Jul 18, 2006
Article added to new online database. May 04, 1999
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