New Books

Two books by OS chair mark 70th anniversary of Orwell’s death.

Richard Keeble, chair of The Orwell Society, has just published two books on George Orwell marking the 70th anniversary of the death of the celebrated author of Nineteen Eighty-Four.

Routledge have brought out Journalism Beyond Orwell, a collection of (often controversial) essays by Keeble on a range of topics: Orwell’s journalism, literary journalism, war and peace and the secret state. Orwell’s ties with British intelligence, the manufacture of the myth of heroic warfare in the reporting of the Afghan conflict, peace journalism, Fleet Street and the spooks and the crucial role of the alternative media are amongst the topics covered.

The veteran investigative reporter John Pilger comments: ‘Richard Keeble is unusual among journalism academics. He thinks like that rare breed of journalist whose work is not subverted by corporatism. With Orwell as a guide, this imaginative, refreshing book illuminates why we should protect the best of our craft.’

Keeble, Professor of Journalism at the University of Lincoln and Honorary Professor at Liverpool Hope University, is also the chair of the Orwell Society and joint editor of George Orwell Studies.

His other new book – his 42nd – George Orwell, the Secret State and the Making of Nineteen Eighty-Four brings together 25 essays and is published by Abramis, of Bury St Edmunds. John Rodden, the leading authority on Orwell’s legacy, comments: ‘Keeble’s provocative collection of essays represents an original and significant contribution both to Orwell biography and literary criticism.’

Keeble comments: ‘Orwell is best known as the author of the novels Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four. But he was throughout his life a committed journalist of the left. These two books aim to put the spotlight on that too-often neglected aspect of his career.’

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Uploaded: 17 February 2020