Rebel? Prophet? Relic? Perspectives on George Orwell in 2019
Rebel? Prophet? Relic?
Perspectives on George Orwell in 2019
University College London (UCL)
24-25 May 2019
John Rodden closes the preface to his 1989 book, The Politics of Literary Reputation: The Making and Claiming of ‘St. George’ Orwell with the assertion:
Orwell poses unusual, and valuable, difficulties by virtue of the complex, highly personal response to him by readers; and he offers unusual, if complicated, opportunities by his politicized reception and the diversity of his audiences. The rare and auspicious fact is that Orwell has been both an extraordinarily popular serious writer and a critically acclaimed one. (xiii)