Robert Graves' books [Digest urth.v019.n020]

I've read most of them, a long time ago. I subsequently learnt a bit of anthropology, linguistics and history, all making me doubt the background element of matriarchy replaced by patriarchy. And I only ever saw the "bln..." alphabetic order in his works ("Beth Luis Nion"), until just now, when an altavista search shows them being used by neo-pagans. But could he write! Like Orwell, his work was once famous and is now undeservedly obscure. -John

1984 isn't obscure, but most of his best writing (Road to Wigan Pier & the essays in general) is. 1984 is an important book, but it isn't all that well written, except for a spots here and there (the opening and the finale). I wonder why it happened to Orwell. To bring us on topic, Wolfe's talked about his two favorites, also far more obscure than they deserve to be, Kipling and Chesterton. You can see political/social agendas lurking behind those falls from critical favor, but that really shouldn't hurt Orwell--I mean, having argued with Gollancz and criticized Shaw and the Webbs isn't exactly cause for blacklisting now that nobody defends Stalin...