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Good Bad Books
"Good Bad Books" is an essay by George Orwell first published in ''Tribune'' on 2 November 1945. After Orwell's death, the essay was republished in '' Shooting an Elephant and Other Essays'' (1950). The essay examines the lasting popularity of works not usually considered great literature. Orwell defines a "good bad book" as "the kind of book that has no literary pretensions but which remains readable when more serious productions have perished." Orwell concludes: "I would back ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' to outlive the complete works of Virginia Woolf or George Moore, though I know of no strictly literary test which would show where the superiority lies." He acknowledges G. K. Chesterton as the originator of the term, as seen in his defences of penny dreadfuls and detective stories in the 1901 collection ''The Defendant''. Orwell's examples Orwell claims that "perhaps the supreme example of the 'good bad' book is ''Uncle Tom's Cabin''. It is an unintentionally ludicrous book, full ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ernest Raymond
Ernest Raymond (31 December 1888 – 14 May 1974) was a British novelist, best known for his first novel, '' Tell England'' (1922), set in World War I. His next biggest success was ''We, the Accused'' (1935), generally thought to be a reworking of the Crippen case. Raymond was a highly prolific writer, with an output of forty-six novels, two plays and ten non-fiction works. Early life Ernest Raymond was born in Argentières, France, the illegitimate son of a British Army officer. He lived with his abusive aunt as a child. Her sister, his undisclosed mother, lived nearby with her family.Drewey Wayne Gunn (2014) ''Gay Novels of Britain, Ireland and the Commonwealth, 1881–1981'', McFarland & Co., Jefferson, North Carolina Raymond was educated at St Paul's School, London and at Chichester Theological College, before moving on to Durham University to read for a degree in Theology. At Durham he did not join any of the colleges and studied as an 'unattached' member. He was or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Essays By George Orwell
The bibliography of George Orwell includes journalism, essays, novels, and non-fiction books written by the British writer Eric Blair (1903–1950), either under his own name or, more usually, under his pen name George Orwell. Orwell was a prolific writer on topics related to contemporary English society and literary criticism, who has been declared "perhaps the 20th century's best chronicler of English culture." His non-fiction cultural and political criticism constitutes the majority of his work, but Orwell also wrote in several genres of fictional literature. Orwell is best remembered for his political commentary as a left-wing anti-totalitarian. As he explained in the essay "Why I Write" (1946), "Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism and for democratic socialism, as I understand it." To that end, Orwell used his fiction as well as his journalism to defend his political convictions. He first ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western Canon
The Western canon is the body of high culture literature, music, philosophy, and works of art that are highly valued in the West; works that have achieved the status of classics. However, not all these works originate in the Western world, and such works are also valued throughout the globe. It is "a certain Western intellectual tradition that goes from, say, Socrates to Wittgenstein in philosophy, and from Homer to James Joyce in literature". Literary canon Classic book A classic is a book, or any other work of art, accepted as being exemplary or noteworthy. In the second century Roman miscellany '' Attic Nights'', Aulus Gellius refers to a writer as "classicus... scriptor, non proletarius" ("A distinguished, not a commonplace writer"). Such classification began with the Greeks' ''ranking'' their cultural works, with the word ''canon'' (ancient Greek κανών, kanṓn: "measuring rod, standard"). Moreover, early Christian Church Fathers used ''canon'' to rank the authori ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Classic Book
A classic is a book accepted as being exemplary or particularly noteworthy. What makes a book "classic" is a concern that has occurred to various authors ranging from Italo Calvino to Mark Twain and the related questions of "Why Read the Classics?" and "What Is a Classic?" have been essayed by authors from different genres and eras (including Calvino, T. S. Eliot, Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve). The ability of a classic book to be reinterpreted, to seemingly be renewed in the interests of generations of readers succeeding its creation, is a theme that is seen in the writings of literary critics including Michael Dirda, Ezra Pound, and Sainte-Beuve. These books can be published as a collection (such as Great Books of the Western World, Modern Library, or Penguin Classics) or presented as a list, such as Harold Bloom's list of books that constitute the Western canon. Although the term is often associated with the Western canon, it can be applied to works of literature fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bibliography Of George Orwell
The bibliography of George Orwell includes journalism, essays, novels, and non-fiction books written by the British writer Eric Blair (1903–1950), either under his own name or, more usually, under his pen name George Orwell. Orwell was a prolific writer on topics related to contemporary English society and literary criticism, who has been declared "perhaps the 20th century's best chronicler of English culture." His non-fiction cultural and political criticism constitutes the majority of his work, but Orwell also wrote in several genres of fictional literature. Orwell is best remembered for his political commentary as a left-wing anti-totalitarian. As he explained in the essay "Why I Write" (1946), "Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism and for democratic socialism, as I understand it." To that end, Orwell used his fiction as well as his journalism to defend his political convictions. He first ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kenneth McLeish
John Kenneth Tyrrell McLeish, known as Kenneth McLeish (1940-1997) was a British writer, playwright and translator. McLeish, "the most widely respected and prolific translator of drama in Britain", translated all the surviving classical Greek plays, most plays by Henrik Ibsen and Georges Feydeau, and individual plays by Plautus, Molière, Alfred Jarry, August Strindberg, Ödön von Horváth and Eugène Marin Labiche. Stephen UnwinObituary: Kenneth McLeish ''The Independent'', 11 December 1997. Life McLeish was born in Glasgow on 10 October 1940. He was educated at Bradford Grammar School, where he learnt French, Latin and Greek. He taught himself Swedish, Norwegian and Danish. He studied Music and Classics at Worcester College, Oxford before becoming a teacher. He married Valerie Heath in 1965. In 1975 he gave up teaching to write and translate full-time. McLeish's translations were staged by companies including the Royal Shakespeare Company the National Theatre, the Gate Theat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brian Redhead
Brian Leonard Redhead (28 December 1929 – 23 January 1994) was a British author, journalist and broadcaster. He was a co-presenter of the Today (BBC Radio 4), ''Today'' programme on BBC Radio 4 from 1975 until 1993, shortly before his death. He was a great lover and promoter of the city of Manchester and the North West England, North West in general, where he lived for most of his career. Biography Redhead was born in Newcastle upon Tyne. He was the only child of Ernest Leonard Redhead, a silk screen printer and advertising agent, and his wife, Janet Crossley (née Fairley). He was educated at the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle, Royal Grammar School in Newcastle. After national service, he read history at Downing College, Cambridge, Downing College, University of Cambridge, Cambridge. His career in journalism started in 1954 as a journalist for the ''The Guardian, Manchester Guardian'' newspaper. He married Jean Salmon (known as Jenni) on 19 June 1954. They had four children ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Riding Down From Bangor (essay)
Riding Down from Bangor is an essay published in 1946 by the English author George Orwell. In it, he muses on 19th-century American children's literature and the type of society it portrayed. Background The article was prompted by the appearance of a new edition of '' Helen's Babies'' by the American author John Habberton. The novel first published in 1876 was subtitled: "Helen's Babies with some account of their ways...innocent, crafty, angelic, impish, witching and repulsive by THEIR LATEST VICTIM." and was set in New York. The article appeared in ''Tribune'' on 22 November 1946. Summary The appearance of ''Helen's Babies'' prompts Orwell's thoughts about the impression of the world made by books read in childhood. His impressions of America came down to the barefoot boy in the schoolroom aspiring to become president, and the tall man leaning against a wooden paling making occasional observations. These ideas were derived from books like ''Tom Sawyer'', ''Rebecca of Sunnybr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Habberton
John Habberton (February 24, 1842 – February 24, 1921) was an American author and journalist. Biography He was born at Brooklyn, New York, and educated in the public schools of Illinois, where he went to live with an uncle after his father died when he was six years old. He served in the army during the Civil War. After the war, he got a job with Harper & Brothers, where he stayed until 1872. After an unsuccessful attempt to become a publisher himself, in 1873 he became literary editor of the ''Christian Union'' (later called the ''Outlook''), where he remained until 1877. From 1876 to 1893, he was literary critic on the staff of the ''New York Herald''. ''Helen's Babies'' Habberton's first major work of fiction was '' Helen's Babies'', based on his sons' adventures (published in 1876 by Loring Publisher, Boston, in 1877 by David Byce and Son, Glasgow and in 1878 by William Mullan, London. It was revived in the early 20th century by George Routledge and Sons, London). The w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
If Winter Comes (novel)
'' If Winter Comes '' is a novel by A. S. M. Hutchinson, first published in 1921. It deals with an unhappy marriage, eventual divorce, and an unwed mother who commits suicide. It was a bestseller on publication, and was adapted into film in 1923 and 1947. Title The title of the novel was taken from the last line of the Percy Bysshe Shelley poem "Ode to the West Wind": "If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?". Plot summary The story is the life of Mark Sabre, a middle-aged and upstanding man, but one who is much maligned. Sabre is presented as Christlike in terms of the unjustified persecution he faces. Sabre enlists during World War I, he is badly injured, and he returns to his loveless marriage to his shrewish wife Mabel. Sabre gets into trouble when he tries to help Effie, an unwed mother, who is assumed to be his mistress. He is divorced, loses his job, and scandal follows when Effie kills herself. ''If Winter Comes'' presents sensational and controversial subjects ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wyndham Lewis
Percy Wyndham Lewis (18 November 1882 – 7 March 1957) was a British writer, painter and critic. He was a co-founder of the Vorticist movement in art and edited ''BLAST,'' the literary magazine of the Vorticists. His novels include ''Tarr'' (1918) and ''The Human Age'' trilogy, composed of ''The Childermass'' (1928), ''Monstre Gai'' (1955) and ''Malign Fiesta'' (1955). A fourth volume, titled ''The Trial of Man'', was unfinished at the time of his death. He also wrote two autobiographical volumes: '' Blasting and Bombardiering'' (1937) and ''Rude Assignment: A Narrative of my Career Up-to-Date'' (1950). Biography Early life Lewis was born on 18 November 1882, reputedly on his father's yacht off the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.Richard Cork"Lewis, (Percy) Wyndham (1882–1957)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004. His English mother, Anne Stuart Lewis (née Prickett), and American father, Charles Edward Lewis, separated about 1893. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
