Keep the Aspidistra Flying

In this dark satire, Gordon Comstock gives up his job in advertising in a refusal to give in to the middle-class worship of money, yet his endeavour to live without materialistic fulfilment doesn't bring him the freedom he craves. First published in 1936, this early novel by George Orwell is set in London in the 1930s and illustrates the author's characteristic social criticism. When Gordon Comstock attempts to diverge from the city's obsession with money and status, he is diverted into a life of mediocrity and unfulfillment. With little support from anyone but his girlfriend, Rosemary, can Comstock be saved from a life of poverty and isolation?This seminal text from the author of Animal Farm (1945) and Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), is highly recommended for collectors of Orwell's work and is now in this new edition featuring the introductory essay 'Why I Write'.