Orwell in Context

This new reading of Orwell draws on a wide range of theoretical and historical sources to explore his representation of communities.

This bold new reading of Orwell’s work focuses upon his representation of communities and the myths that shape them. In particular, it analyzes his interpretations of class, gender and nationality within the context of the political and literary culture of the Nineteen-Thirties and Forties. The book uses a wide range of literary, historical and theoretical texts to argue that Orwell’s radicalism lay in his attempt to integrate ‘traditional’ communal identities into a revolutionary socialist politics.

BEN CLARKE has taught at Leader University, Taiwan and the University of Derby, UK. He has written on Orwell, utopian writing, and Taiwan, and is currently working on a literary history of the Nineteen-Thirties.

Acknowledgements * Abbreviations * Introduction * Class * Gender * Theories of Nationalism * Englishness * Totalitarianism * Conclusion * Bibliography * Index