Down and Out in Paris and London, by George Orwell

Down and Out in Paris and London was the first ever book that George Orwell had published. Unlike Animal Farm (1945) and Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), which are Orwell’s most well-known and acclaimed fictional novels, his first book is an in-part autobiography of his time in Paris and London in the late 1920s.

Orwell wrote nine books in his lifetime (alongside tens of essays), three of which were non-fiction. Down and Out in Paris and London narrates the time that Orwell spent as a plongeur (bottle-washer or washer-up) in Paris and then living voluntarily as a tramp in London. You can see his political insight developing and his writing flourishing as he explored full-length books for the first time.

The edition of this book that we are selling was published by Secker and Warburg in 1951. The book was originally published in 1933 by Victor Gollancz. By 1951, Orwell had already died (only the year before) from health complications due to tuberculosis. It was his final book, Nineteen Eighty-Four, which really catapulted him into fame as a writer, but he died before he had any chance to truly experience it or write anything else.

The book itself is faded on the spine and there is foxing on the endpapers, but the text inside is still clear. It is in fine conditional overall, and the lettering on the spine still stands out well on a shelf!

This early copy of Down and Out in Paris and London is a great book for any fans of Orwell or Nineteen Eighty-Four, or anyone wanting to learn more about his early writing and experiences. It is being sold for £50.

If you are interested in purchasing this book, or would like more information of other items we sell, then please get in contact by emailing us at sales@mainlybooks.co.uk, or come visit us in store in Eton! Please refer to our Contact Us page for more information on how to reach us.