stealing. In England he observed men degraded by unemployment and homelessness, reduced to a spineless condition by hunger and malnutrition. Tramps, condemned to move from one shelter to another and cut off from women by extreme poverty, live in âenforced idlenessâ that destroys their souls. Only while hop-picking in Kent can they earn some money and enjoy a freer life in the English countryside.
Down and Out
was well received. Though Orwell had started tramping in the late 1920s, his book gained significance during the Depression, when unemployment, poverty and the struggle to survive were crucial issues for millions of people. His contrast between the luxury of the grand hotel and the exploitation of the workers, his firsthand analysis of the psychology of poverty met the demand for social realism in the 1930s. Reviewers praised his honesty, his sensitive social conscience, his practical suggestions for the alleviation of poverty, and his portrayal of the differences in national temperament in the sections on Paris and London.
In his introduction to the French edition,
La Vache enragée (manger la vache enragée
means âto have a rough timeâ), Orwell took pains to mollify his French audience and wrote: âSince all the personal scenes andevents have something repulsive about them, it is quite possible that I have unconsciously portrayed Paris and London as abominable cities.â But, he disingenuously added, he would be hurt if Parisian readers âbelieved I feel the least hostility toward a city that is very dear to me.â In an enthusiastic letter of August 1936, Henry Miller, another connoisseur of Parisian lowlife, told Orwell: âIt's almost fantastic; it's so incredibly true! How you ever held out for so long is beyond meâ¦. Did you get to China? It's a pity you couldn't have had another section [complete with opium dens] on down and out in Shanghai. That would be the coup de grace!â In 1962 Miller added: âI was crazy about his book
Down and Out in Paris and London;
I think it's a classic. For me it's still his best book.â Miller would have been pleased to know that for many years
Down and Out
was the most popular work in the library of Dartmoor prison.
In France Orwell formed some personal habits that lasted a lifetime. He adopted a proletarian appearance, wore a blue flannel workman's shirt and started to roll his own cigarettes from strong black tobacco. He also returned to London with a narrow, rectangular clipped mustache that left an odd bare strip under his nose. It must have taken some trouble to maintain, but distinguished him from the clean-shaven English and made him look more military and authoritative. The English novelist Anthony Powell was fascinated by this idiosyncratic mustache, which always remained âa bit of a mysteryâ¦. It was perhaps Orwell's only remaining concession to a dandyism that undoubtedly lurked beneath the surface of his self-imposed austerityâ¦. Perhaps it had something to do with the French blood inherited through his mother.â
In January 1937, on the way to fight for the Loyalists in the Spanish Civil War, Orwell stopped to see Henry Miller in Paris. Miller thought Orwell, willing to sacrifice his life in a foreign war, a foolish idealist. But he wished him well and gave him a leather jacket that was useful on the wintry Aragon front. Six months later, after barely escaping the Communist death squads in Barcelona, Orwell crossed the border into France and spent three restful days (on one of the two rare holidays in his adult life) on the Mediterranean coast at Banyuls.
In 1938, to avoid another flare-up of his chronic tuberculosis, Orwell and his wife Eileen spent the winter in the supposedly perfect climate of French Morocco. Unfortunately, the hot, dry desert blew a lot of sand and dust in the air and irritated his lungs. He was no stronger and in no better health when he returned to England the following
Down and Out
was well received. Though Orwell had started tramping in the late 1920s, his book gained significance during the Depression, when unemployment, poverty and the struggle to survive were crucial issues for millions of people. His contrast between the luxury of the grand hotel and the exploitation of the workers, his firsthand analysis of the psychology of poverty met the demand for social realism in the 1930s. Reviewers praised his honesty, his sensitive social conscience, his practical suggestions for the alleviation of poverty, and his portrayal of the differences in national temperament in the sections on Paris and London.
In his introduction to the French edition,
La Vache enragée (manger la vache enragée
means âto have a rough timeâ), Orwell took pains to mollify his French audience and wrote: âSince all the personal scenes andevents have something repulsive about them, it is quite possible that I have unconsciously portrayed Paris and London as abominable cities.â But, he disingenuously added, he would be hurt if Parisian readers âbelieved I feel the least hostility toward a city that is very dear to me.â In an enthusiastic letter of August 1936, Henry Miller, another connoisseur of Parisian lowlife, told Orwell: âIt's almost fantastic; it's so incredibly true! How you ever held out for so long is beyond meâ¦. Did you get to China? It's a pity you couldn't have had another section [complete with opium dens] on down and out in Shanghai. That would be the coup de grace!â In 1962 Miller added: âI was crazy about his book
Down and Out in Paris and London;
I think it's a classic. For me it's still his best book.â Miller would have been pleased to know that for many years
Down and Out
was the most popular work in the library of Dartmoor prison.
In France Orwell formed some personal habits that lasted a lifetime. He adopted a proletarian appearance, wore a blue flannel workman's shirt and started to roll his own cigarettes from strong black tobacco. He also returned to London with a narrow, rectangular clipped mustache that left an odd bare strip under his nose. It must have taken some trouble to maintain, but distinguished him from the clean-shaven English and made him look more military and authoritative. The English novelist Anthony Powell was fascinated by this idiosyncratic mustache, which always remained âa bit of a mysteryâ¦. It was perhaps Orwell's only remaining concession to a dandyism that undoubtedly lurked beneath the surface of his self-imposed austerityâ¦. Perhaps it had something to do with the French blood inherited through his mother.â
In January 1937, on the way to fight for the Loyalists in the Spanish Civil War, Orwell stopped to see Henry Miller in Paris. Miller thought Orwell, willing to sacrifice his life in a foreign war, a foolish idealist. But he wished him well and gave him a leather jacket that was useful on the wintry Aragon front. Six months later, after barely escaping the Communist death squads in Barcelona, Orwell crossed the border into France and spent three restful days (on one of the two rare holidays in his adult life) on the Mediterranean coast at Banyuls.
In 1938, to avoid another flare-up of his chronic tuberculosis, Orwell and his wife Eileen spent the winter in the supposedly perfect climate of French Morocco. Unfortunately, the hot, dry desert blew a lot of sand and dust in the air and irritated his lungs. He was no stronger and in no better health when he returned to England the following
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