Orwell essays

These are essays written BY Orwell? Don't have it myself, but based upon that quote, I think I'll look for a copy. Sounds great.

David and I were talking about this the other day, and decided that there's a case to be made for Orwell being a much better essayist than novelist. There's something so delicious about so many essays by Orwell. For starters he has an amazingly clear prose style, but one that, rather than attempting for some kind of objective authority, is always talking about the world in the way he sees it. Although at times Orwell is attempting to get across quite complicated ideas, he never manages to work himself into a lather of language. Also, you get the feeling reading his essays that he has just catalogued thoughts that have been floating around his head, making a lot of his essays feel like comfortable conversations with an old friend who is much, much, much cleverer than you. 'Boy's Weeklies' for example is full of some the funniest, most informative digressions on a subject I have ever heard, culminating in Orwell speculating what a left wing boy's weekly comic would be like. My copy of 'Shooting an Elephant' is a lovely old fifties cloth bound Secker & Warburg copy, with a great grey dust jacket, with a big red splash in the middle, presumably signifying the elephant being shot. It also has that wonderful sweet smell that old books have, like baking bread, or old relatives houses or fresh hay..... mmmmmmmm, orwelllllllll....

orwell comprehensively ripped off Jack London but his essays are good stuff....

i cant remember reading shooting an elephant, but as a teenager i read a collection of essays called the lion and the unicorn which i think still affects me...in particular his analysis of what it is [or was at the time] to be english, and the differences between the english and contintental europeans...eg "an englishman considers it effeminate to pronouce a foreign word correctly"...anyway i will look out for the elephant collection..

I didnt know that about the Jack London comparison. Only ever read People of the Abyss by London: extremely powerful writing. Got a copy of Inside the Whale, (Orwell) and am 'getting arouind to it' Good stuff so far, the few pages I've read. Thanks to all for the informed comments, it really helps.