Burmese Days

George Orwell's triumphant first novel. Informed by his experiences as a police officer in Burma, the novel paints a vivid portrait of the waning days of British imperial rule, and the racism and corruption that ran rampant.

It centers on John Flory, a European businessman in colonial Burma, disenfranchised by the bigotry he sees around him and his persistent feeling of being out of place. When he meets Elizabeth Lackersteen, a beautiful, sensitive young woman, he thinks he has found a kindred spirit, but the picture of her in his mind may not prove to match the real person.