The Critical Writings (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. 69 Essays and Articles in One Edition: Books vs. Cigarettes; The Lion and the Unicorn, Antisemitism in Britain, Reflections on Gandhi, Not Counting Niggers, Prophecies of Fascism…By George Orwell
Length38h 58m
About this audiobook
The Critical Writings gathers George Orwell's essays, reviews, and cultural commentaries into a sustained inquiry into literature's relation to truth, power, and ordinary life. Written in Orwell's lucid, sinewy prose, these pieces move from literary criticism to political diagnosis, treating language not as ornament but as a moral instrument. In the context of mid-twentieth-century upheaval—imperial decline, totalitarianism, class conflict, and mass media—Orwell's criticism becomes a form of civic vigilance. Orwell's authority as a critic arose from a life spent crossing social and ideological borders: colonial service in Burma, poverty in Paris and London, investigations of English working-class life, and combat in the Spanish Civil War. These experiences sharpened his distrust of cant, euphemism, and abstract dogma. They also explain the urgency with which he defended intellectual honesty, plain style, and the writer's duty to resist political falsification. This volume is essential for readers who know Orwell chiefly through Animal Farm or Nineteen Eighty-Four. It reveals the disciplined critical intelligence behind those works and offers enduring lessons in how to read literature, propaganda, and public language with skepticism, clarity, and moral seriousness.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- A comprehensive Introduction outlines these selected works' unifying features, themes, or stylistic evolutions.
- The Author Biography highlights personal milestones and literary influences that shape the entire body of writing.
- A Historical Context section situates the works in their broader era—social currents, cultural trends, and key events that underpin their creation.
- A concise Synopsis (Selection) offers an accessible overview of the included texts, helping readers navigate plotlines and main ideas without revealing critical twists.
- A unified Analysis examines recurring motifs and stylistic hallmarks across the collection, tying the stories together while spotlighting the different work's strengths.
- Reflection questions inspire deeper contemplation of the author's overarching message, inviting readers to draw connections among different texts and relate them to modern contexts.
- Lastly, our hand‐picked Memorable Quotes distill pivotal lines and turning points, serving as touchstones for the collection's central themes.
Audiobook details
GenreLiterary Classics
Length38 hrs 58 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateAug 31, 2019
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1The Critical Writings (Annotated)
93A Hanging
2Introduction
94Bookshop Memories
3Author Biography
95Shooting an Elephant
4Historical Context
96Marrakech
5Synopsis (Selection)
97New Words
Show all chaptersShow less
6Thoughts on England
98Boys’ Weeklies and Frank Richards’s Reply
7Down the Mine
99Poetry and the Microphone
8North and South
100The Sporting Spirit
9Democracy in the British Army
101A Good Word for the Vicar of Bray
10The Lion and the Unicorn: Socialism and the English Genius
102A Nice Cup of Tea
11PART ONE: England Your England
103Pleasure Spots
12I
104Riding Down from Bangor
13II
105Some Thoughts on the Common Toad
14III
106James Burnham and the Managerial Revolution
15IV
107Why I Write
16V
108Books vs. Cigarettes
17VI
109Such, Such Were the Joys
18PART TWO: Shopkeepers at War
110As I Please
19I
111December 3rd
20II
112December 17th
21III
113December 24th
22PART THREE: The English Revolution
114December 31st
23I
115January 7th
24II
116January 14th
25III
117January 28th
26Antisemitism in Britain
118February 4th
27In Defence of English Cooking
119February 11th
28Decline of the English Murder
120February 25th
29Politics and the English Language
121March 3rd
30Reflections on War and Society
122March 10th
31Spilling the Spanish Beans
123March 17th
32Not Counting Niggers
124March 24th
33Prophecies of Fascism
125March 31st
34Wells, Hitler and the World State
126April 14th
35Looking Back on the Spanish War
127April 21st
361
128April 28th
372
129May 5th
383
130May 12th
394
131May 19th
405
132May 26th
416
133June 2nd
427
134June 9th
43Who Are the War Criminals?
135June 16th
44Future of a Ruined Germany
136June 23rd
45Revenge is Sour
137June 30th
46You and the Atomic Bomb
138July 7th
47Notes on Nationalism
139July 14th
48Catastrophic Gradualism
140July 21st
49Freedom of the Park
141July 28th
50How the Poor Die
142August 11th
51In Front of Your Nose
143August 18th
52Views on Literature, Art & Influential Famous People
144August 25th
53In Defence of the Novel
145September 1st
54Notes on the Way
146September 8th
55Charles Dickens
147September 15th
56I
148October 6th
57II
149October 13th
58III
150October 20th
59IV
151October 27th
60V
152November 3rd
61VI
153November 17th
62Charles Reade
154November 24th
63Inside the Whale
155December 1st
64I
156December 8th
65II
157December 29th
66III
158January 5th
67Literature and Totalitarianism
159January 12th
68The Art of Donald McGill
160January 19th
69Rudyard Kipling
161January 26th
70W. B. Yeats
162February 2nd
71Mark Twain—the Licensed Jester
163February 9th
72Raffles and Miss Blandish
164February 16th
73Arthur Koestler
165November 8th
74Benefit of Clergy: Some Notes on Salvador Dali
166November 15th
75Good Bad Books
167November 22nd
76Nonsense Poetry
168November 29th
77In Defence of P. G. Wodehouse
169December 6th
78Politics vs. Literature: An Examination of Gulliver’s Travels
170December 13th
79Confessions of a Book Reviewer
171December 20th
80The Prevention of Literature
172December 27th
81Lear, Tolstoy and the Fool
173January 3rd
82Writers and Leviathan
174January 17th
83Reflections on Gandhi
175January 24th
84Book Reviews
176February 7th
85Mein Kampfby Adolf Hitler
177February 14th
86Personal Recordby Julien Green
178March 7th
87The Totalitarian Enemyby Franz Borkenau
179March 14th
88Landfallby Nevil Shute andNailcruncherby Albert Cohen
180March 28th
89The Development of William Butler Yeatsby V. K. Narayana Menon
181Analysis
90Miscellaneous Writings
182Reflection
91A Farthing Newspaper
183Memorable Quotes
92The Spike
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