Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell (Macmillan Collector's Library)

Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell (Macmillan Collector's Library)

George Orwell came to Spain in 1936 as a journalist, intending merely to report on the Spanish Civil War. What he found instead was a revolution unfolding in real time—with the working class momentarily in control of Barcelona's streets, and the promise of genuine social transformation hanging in the air. Almost immediately, Orwell abandoned journalism for action, joining the Republican militia to fight for a cause that seemed to embody the possibility of a fairer world. What he witnessed and experienced over the following months would shape his political consciousness for the rest of his life.

Homage to Catalonia is Orwell's unflinching account of that experience—a bracing personal narrative that moves from the painful stasis of the front line to the mania of street fighting, from the tension of being hunted in hiding to the bitter relief of coming home to England, disillusioned but not defeated. It is a unique first-hand account of war, but more than that, it is essential reading for understanding Orwell's political passions: his hatred of totalitarianism, his commitment to democratic socialism, his belief in the possibility of human decency even amid brutality and betrayal. This Macmillan Collector's Library edition, introduced by Helen Graham—a leading historian on the Spanish Civil War—contextualises Orwell's experience within the larger historical moment. Beautifully bound in real cloth with gilt edges and ribbon marker, this is a book for anyone seeking to understand how idealism confronts reality, and why bearing witness to history matters.

Publisher: Macmillan Collector's Library

Date Published: 04/03/2021

ISBN: 9781529032710

Number of pages: 320

Binding:

• Hardcover

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