Books published by Benediction Classics

In his engrossing dystopian novel "Nineteen Eighty-Four," Orwell created the world of Big Brother, doublethink, thoughtcrime, Newspeak, Room 101, 2 + 2 = 5, and the memory hole. In our world of fake news, and ubiquitous state and corporate monitoring of citizens, "Nineteen Eighty-Four" is even more relevant than when it was written.

An extraordinarily perceptive analysis of two possible future paths of humanity.

George Orwell was renowned for his use and analysis of the English language. Anyone interested in language will find these six famous pithy essays instructive and engaging. The essays are: Politics and the English Language. Politics vs. Literature: An Examination of Gulliver's Travels The Prevention of Literature Why I Write Writers and Leviathan. Poetry and the Microphone This edition provides generous margins for the reader's notes. George Orwell (born Eric Blair, 1903, Motihari, Bengal, died Jan 1950, London) was a leading British writer of the twentieth century. He studied at Wellington College and Eton (1917-1921) where he was a King's Scholar. After Eton, he followed family tradition and joined the Indian Imperial Police in Burma, until 1927 when, disgusted by imperialism, he resigned to pursue his boyhood dream of being a writer. Orwell was a prolific journalist, essayist, novelist and nonfiction writer. He is remembered for his prescient writing and his unwavering commitment to truth and clarity of expression. His last two novels--Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four--have placed him at the pinnacle of British literature. He has been called "not the best, but the most important writer who ever lived."

George Orwell was renowned for his use and analysis of the English language. Anyone interested in language will find these six famous pithy essays instructive and engaging. The essays are: Politics and the English Language.Politics vs. Literature: An Examination of Gulliver's TravelsThe Prevention of LiteratureWhy I WriteWriters and Leviathan.Poetry and the Microphone This edition provides generous margins for the reader's notes. George Orwell (born Eric Blair, 1903, Motihari, Bengal, died Jan 1950, London) was a leading British writer of the twentieth century. He studied at Wellington College and Eton (1917-1921) where he was a King's Scholar. After Eton, he followed family tradition and joined the Indian Imperial Police in Burma, until 1927 when, disgusted by imperialism, he resigned to pursue his boyhood dream of being a writer. Orwell was a prolific journalist, essayist, novelist and nonfiction writer. He is remembered for his prescient writing and his unwavering commitment to truth and clarity of expression. His last two novels--Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four--have placed him at the pinnacle of British literature. He has been called "not the best, but the most important writer who ever lived." (The Economist, 2023)

"There is nothing else that is like them or that could take their place." - T. S. Eliot"I have just read your "Place of the Lion" and it is to me one of the major literary events of my life ... There are layers and layers-first the pleasure that any good fantasy gives me: then, what is rarely (tho' not so very rarely) combined with this, the pleasure of a real philosophical and theological stimulus: thirdly, characters: fourthly, what I neither expected nor desired, substantial edification." - C. S. Lewis "I want to make clear that these novels of Williams ... are, first of all, very good reading.To him [Williams] the supernatural was perfectly natural, and the natural was also supernatural. And this peculiarity gave him that profound insight into Good and Evil, into the heights of Heaven and the depths of Hell, which provides both the immediate thrill, and the permanent message of novels. Williams is telling us about a world of experience known to him ... he communicates this experience that he has had.These five "supernatural thrillers" are all set in the modern world but present human life as being controlled by unseen powers that operate at another level. In this respect, they are very similar to the Harry Potter series. The reader is shown that the supernatural is, in fact, perfectly natural, and exerts an influence on every aspect of our daily existence. On one level, these novels are gripping stories, but at another, they are a unique blend of fantasy, theology, morality and the supernatural which has not been surpassed, and which leave a deep impression on the reader.Charles Williams was physically frail and for financial reasons never attended university; however, he had a vivid imagination and an inquiring mind. He was always interested in books, and after school he started life packing books but rose to be a proof-reader and then an editor at Oxford University Press; he was appointed a lecturer at Oxford University, and was even awarded an honorary M.A. by the university. As an author he was very versatile, writing novels, plays, poetry, popular theology, and academic works on literature. He was one of the "Inklings", a group that included C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien. One can see his influence on Lewis and Tolkien. Williams is most remembered for his novels.This edition contains the five novels War in Heaven, Many Dimensions, The Place of the Lion, Shadows of Ecstasy, and Descent into Hell, and also the short story, Et in Sempiternum Pereant, which features the protagonist of Many Dimensions.

"Nature never appeals to intelligence until habit and instinct are useless. There is no intelligence where there is no need of change." ¿ H. G. Wells, The Time Machine"We should strive to welcome change and challenges, because they are what help us grow." ¿ H. G. Wells, The Time Machine"Very simple was my explanation, and plausible enough---as most wrong theories are!" ¿ H. G. Wells, The Time MachineThe Time Machine is a fast-paced and fun read.The Time Machine, written in 1895 by the British author H.G. Wells, is a thought-provoking work of science fiction. The novella opens in the author's Victorian Britain, at a dinner party hosted by the central protagonist known as "the Time Traveller." Throughout the meal, the Time Traveller speaks to his guests about his theory that "time is simply a fourth dimension." He then reveals that he has built a time machine, which is able to transport a person to another Time. Through pulling a lever on his machine, this Victorian scientist then finds himself on an adventure of epic proportions: he arrives in A.D 802,701 and is almost immediately immersed in the drama between the Eloi people and Morlocks.This work is most known for popularizing the concept of time travel, particularly when enabled by a vehicle. However, the novella also reflects Wells own outspoken socialist values, and so can be read on another level. Despite the fact that was it was first published in 1895, the story has been adapted many times. It has been turned into three feature films, two TV shows and countless comics. The huge success of this novella is because the narrative is timeless.Written at the threshold of a new century, it continues to enthral 21st century audiences.Hebert George Wells, known as H. G. Wells, was a British author born in 1866. He was a prolific writer, publishing works in many genres, from short stories to social commentaries. However, he is best known for his science fiction novels, leading some to call him the "father of science fiction," or even the "Shakespeare of science fiction!" Wells is known as a futurist, meaning that much of his fiction foresaw changes that have now happened in world. Wells was a socialist and a member of the Fabian society and this political background can be found in his work.