Orwell

The Authorized Biography

By: Michael Shelden

Narrated by: Frederick Davidson

In his probing and revelatory biography of one of the great prose stylists of the 20th century, acclaimed biographer Michael Shelden breaks new ground in the evocation of George Orwell’s personal life and in our understanding of his art. Based on original interviews, previously undiscovered letters and documents, and astute literary detective work, Orwell is the major biography of one of the great yet elusive literary figures of our time.

Shelden reveals the author of 1984 and Animal Farm as a lively, engaging literary personality. Few writers can rival Orwell’s experience of history: being shot through the throat in the Spanish Civil War, holding the position of colonial police superintendent in Burma, and living through the Blitz. Shelden restores a sense of drama and passion to this writer’s life and shows him to be a captivating, even heroic character struggling against great public and private turmoil.

About the author: Michael Shelden spent 12 years as a feature writer for the Daily Telegraph in London and as a fiction critic for the Baltimore Sun. He has written several biographies, including Orwell, which was a Pulitzer Prize finalist and a New York Times Notable Book. He is currently a professor of English at Indiana State University.

©1991 Michael Shelden (P)1993 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“This life of Orwell furnishes new details of the career of a writer the influence of whose honesty and decency has been far greater than his literary accomplishments.” ( New York Times Book Review)

Well done

I very much enjoyed this book. The narrator’s accent sounded snobby English but I came to like it as the story progressed. Heartily recommend it.

Good biography, poor narration

Orwell was a fascinating man, and this is a very solid biography. But as an audiobook, i was disappointed. The narration is lifeless, making the book sound far more dull than it should. The strange sing-song rendition constantly reminds you that this is just a book being read aloud by a bloke in a studio, rather than a story being told. Sounds like he's going through the motions, never fully engaged with the text. In retrospect, I would have enjoyed the printed version more. Clearly, this is a subjective view. Others may like the way it is read.