Edited by John Rodden, a renowned Orwell scholar, this volume in the Critical Insights series presents a variety of new essays on the British writer. For readers who are studying Orwell for the first time, a biographical sketch relates the details of his life and four essays survey the critical reception of Orwell's work, explore its cultural and historical contexts, situate Orwell among his contemporaries, and review key themes in his work. Readers seeking a deeper understanding of the writer can then move on to other essays that explore topics like Orwell's politics; his use of fable, satire and allegory; his outlook on science and technology; his reputation as a public intellectual; and his accomplishments as a journalist and documentarian. Uniquely, this volume also contains a short memoir by Dione Venables, whose cousin was a close childhood friend of Orwell. Works discussed include Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four, Homage to Catalonia and The Road to Wigan Pier, and some Orwell's most memorable essays, like "Politics and the English Language" and "Why I Write.".