In Burmese Days, George Orwell brilliantly evokes the sounds and sights of Burma and reveals, in unflinching detail, the dark side of colonial rule.
Part of the Macmillan Collector's Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition features an introduction by journalist and writer, David Eimer.
John Flory is a disillusioned timber merchant based in the remote town of Kyauktada in 1920's Burma. Whilst his English peers gather night after night to drink and gossip in their exclusive club, Flory has embraced local life – his best friend is Dr Veraswami and his mistress is Ma Hla May. The slow, stickily hot days are interrupted by the arrival of the young and beautiful Elizabeth. And when the club is forced to elect a non white member, Flory is caught up in an increasingly hostile and dangerous feud. Eric Arthur Blair (George Orwell) was born in 1903 in India where his father was a civil servant. After studying at Eton, he served with the Indian Imperial Police in Burma for several years which inspired his first novel, Burmese Days. After two years in Paris, he returned to England to work as a teacher and then in a bookshop. In 1936 he travelled to Spain to fight for the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War, where he was badly wounded. During the Second World War he worked for the BBC. A prolific journalist and essayist, Orwell wrote some of the most influential books in English literature, including the dystopian Nineteen Eighty-Four and his political allegory Animal Farm. He died from tuberculosis in 1950. Burmese Days is a scathing satire of British colonialism in Burma, featuring an introduction by journalist and writer, David Eimer.
