Works

A selection of essays, scripts and even poems by George Orwell, and articles about him. Look out for our special features.

Our friends at Finlay Publisher (who publish Jacintha Buddicom's account of her childhood with Orwell, Eric & Us) are publishing bi-monthly (and brand new) essays on Orwell and his work. You can discuss the essays in their forums. The current essay is by Gordon Bowker, and is called 'The Biography Orwell Never Wrote'.

Features

British Cookery

View the manuscript of Orwell's 1946 essay on British Cookery, and read some of his other thoughts on British food and drink.

Orwell and Poetry

Read some of Orwell's poems and his thoughts on poetry, and view some of the manuscripts.

Works by George Orwell

SCRIPT: Free Will (a one act drama)

An early, and very short dramatic sketch observing the ridiculousness of the idea of 'free will' revolving around a family engagement.

POEM: The Pagan

An early poem, addressed to friend Jacintha Buddicom, inspired by her agnostic family's battle with school authorities.

POEM: Suggested by a Tooth Paste Advertisement

A curious little poem that Orwell used to recite while brushing his teeth.

POEM: Summer-like for an instant

A poem of Orwell's published in The Adelphi in May 1933.

POEM: A dressed man and a naked man

Two men meet outside a kip-house.

POEM: On a Ruined Farm near the His Master’s Voice Gramophone Factory

Black and budless trees to the left of him, factory-towers to the right, Orwell finds himself stuck in the middle.

POEM: A Happy Vicar I Might Have Been

One of Orwell's more famous poems, it contrasts the 'pleasant haven' of the past with the 'evil time' to come.

POEM: Gordon Comstock’s poem from Keep the Aspidistra Flying

He may never have finished his epic poem, London Pleasures, but the main character of Orwell's novel did finish this work.

ESSAY: The Road to Wigan Pier (extract)

An extract on food, from Orwell's famous piece of extended journalism and polemic.

POEM: from 'Looking Back on the Spanish War'

Written in 1939 and published in 1943, Orwell recounts a meeting with an Italian soldier during the Spanish Civil War.

ESSAY: Poetry and the Microphone

Inspired by his wartime broadcasts for the BBC, Orwell considers how to popularise poetry.

ESSAY: In Defence of English Cooking

Orwell defends English cooking - primarily from the English themselves.

ESSAY: A Nice Cup of Tea

One of Britain's favourite authors considers the best way of making one of Britain's favourite drinks.

Articles about George Orwell

D. J. Taylor: Orwell - The (Brief) Life

A short biography by Orwell biographer, critic and novelist, D. J. Taylor.

D. J. Taylor: An Oxfordshire Tomb

Orwell's latest, Whitbread Prize-winning biographer explains Orwell's influence on him and why he wrote an Orwell biography, and offers a short history of biographies of Eric Blair.

D. J. Taylor: Orwell and the Rats

Where did Orwell's obsession with rats, most obvious in Winston Smith's experiences in Room 101, come from?

D. J. Taylor: Orwell's Face

D. J. Taylor explores Orwell's obsession with faces and their place in his work, and looks at Orwell's own face.

D. J. Taylor: Orwell's Voice

No recording of Orwell's voice is known to exist - so what did he sound like, and why does it matter?

Ben Pimlott: Introduction to Nineteen Eighty-Four

One of the greatest political biographers of his generation and a leading left-wing essayist and commentator, Pimlott's piece is a thought-provoking introduction to perhaps Orwell's greatest work.

Ben Pimlott: Introduction to Orwell's England

The late biographer and journalist looks at Orwell's works on England and the English, with a particular emphasis on The Road to Wigan Pier.

Eric Hobsbawm: Intellectuals and the Spanish Civil War

An essay, written by one of Britain's finest left-wing historians, on the role of intellectuals in the 1930s and the conflict which crystallized Orwell's political views.

Sir Bernard Crick: Orwell as a comic writer

A new essay, written by Orwell's authorised biographer, originally published by our friends at Finlay Publisher. You can discuss the essay in their forums.

Dione Venables: Orwell - Plain Speaking and Hidden Agendas

Authority on Orwell's childhood friend, Jacintha Buddicom, Venables offers her thoughts on reading - and re-reading - Orwell's works. 

Colin Brush: 'It was a bright cold day in April...'

Penguin's Senior Copywriter considers briefly the challenges of writing a blurb for Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four.

Loraine Saunders: George Orwell - A Master of Narration

In an extract from her new book, Loraine Saunders argues that Orwell's skill as a novelist has been underrated.

The editor of Orwell's complete works and one of the foremost authorities on Orwell, Davison discusses religion and morality in Orwell's works. Given the response in Finlay Publisher's forums, the author posted a further response which you can also read.

Gordon Bowker's new essay is currently published by our friends at Finlay Publisher. You can discuss the essay in their forums.