Overview

When we think about George Orwell, we imagine an angular, moustachioed sceptic crouched over a typewriter, who – between puffs on his cigarette – composes effortless streams of prose, unadorned but explosive. We see a man with ‘Important Things to Say’: about the slow creep of authoritarianism; the consequences of all-seeing tech; the fragility of truth. Much less often do we see him as a person caught up in the business of everyday life. And yet Orwell’s work thrums with the quotidian: the smell of boiled cabbage, the chill of an unheated flat in early spring, the rumbling of old pipes. A Bright Cold Day reveals how the principles that govern us begin in the mundane. From waking and showering to breakfast, work, lunch, the pub, sleep and dreaming, Orwell was never dulled to the routines of living. And in the details of the day, we can understand how power, money, freedom and choice play out, not just for Orwell’s literary characters, but for us all.

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9780861549764

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Reviews

'From clogged sinks to nature rambles, Nathan Waddell has written a clever, offbeat history of mid-century Britain through George Orwell’s eyes. This book proves that the ""everyday Orwell"" is just as insightful as the Orwell of 1984 and Animal Farm.' —Helen Lewis

Author Information

Nathan Waddell is an Associate Professor of English Literature at the University of Birmingham. He is currently working on several projects relating to his literary hero – these include The Oxford Handbook of George Orwell and George Orwell in Context, for Cambridge University Press. A Bright Cold Day is his first trade book.

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