George Orwell: The Lost Writings
New York: Arbor House, 1985. 1st American Edition. Hardcover. 8vo. Near Fine / Near Fine. Item #002769
First American edition with full number line; first published in Great Britain under the title "Orwell: The War Broadcasts." 304 p.p. Quarter bound in black and red cloth, with red and silver lettering to spine, title in blind to front board. Spine ends and corners lightly bumped, else fine. Small damp stain to top edge. Dust jacket has some bumping and light wear to extremities, a few short tears. Until the contents of this book were discovered in the vaults of the BBC, everyone believed that for more than two years of his life George Orwell wrote nothing whatsoever. Those ostensibly barren years were those during which Orwell worked as a radio producer at the BBC. It was a terrifying time - August 1941 to November 1943 - for World War II was going badly for the Allies. William J. West, while researching Orwell's life for another book, discovered an extraordinary cache of Orwell material in the archives of the BBC. Hundreds of essays, radio programs, dramatic adaptations, and letters were found, filed not under Orwell's name, but under the names of the various program announcers. This never-published material is a milestone of literary history. There are letters from Orwell to T.S. Eliot, E.M. Forster, Stephen Spender, and other noted writers. Prefaced with a substantial biographical and literary introduction, the publication of these writings offers a radical and important reinterpretation of this formative period of Orwell's life and work.
Price: $40.00