A brilliant literary critic, George Orwell approached works of literature on his own unique terms. Witty, incisive, and unexpectedly charming, the essays in this collection bring together his finest observations on writers and writing.

A brilliant literary critic, George Orwell approached works of literature on his own unique terms. Witty, incisive, and unexpectedly charming, the essays in this collection bring together his finest observations on writers and writing.

The novels of Henry Miller lead Orwell inside the belly of Jonah's whale, an imagined refuge at a time of total war. A trenchant investigation of Charles Dickens unfolds into a poignant portrait of nineteenth-century liberalism. A minor pamphlet on Shakespeare by Tolstoy provokes a stirring evocation of humanism and the excessive vitality of life. These are a series of singular thrilling reading experiences, a celebration of Orwell's engagement with the literary world.