Volume 2 of The Complete Works of George Orwell Burmese Days was first published in the United States, by Harper & Brothers, in October 1934. It was Orwell's second book to be published and his first novel. It draws on his experiences serving in the Indian Imperial Police in Burma (some preliminary sketches survive on Government of Burma paper). he resigned from the Burma Police in autumn 1927 'because he disliked putting people into prison for doing the same things which he should have done in their circumstances'. Orwell ...
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Volume 2 of The Complete Works of George Orwell Burmese Days was first published in the United States, by Harper & Brothers, in October 1934. It was Orwell's second book to be published and his first novel. It draws on his experiences serving in the Indian Imperial Police in Burma (some preliminary sketches survive on Government of Burma paper). he resigned from the Burma Police in autumn 1927 'because he disliked putting people into prison for doing the same things which he should have done in their circumstances'. Orwell was convinced that publication of his novel in England would be impeded by the India Office because of his exposure of the evils of colonialism - his title, so appropriate to a volume of conventional memoirs, is subtly ironic - but his difficulties proved quite different. Victor Gollancz, though keen to publish Burmese Days, feared action for defamation and libel. After modification, an English version was brought out in June 1935. Although at the time Orwell considered the changes required to be 'trifling', he later rejected the English edition as 'garbled'. However, as well as forced changes, it does include genuine authorial revisions, something which Orwell had forgotten.
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Seller's Description:
Near fine. No Dj cover as issued. Near fine condition. The Folio Society, 2001. First Folio edition. Pictorial hardback (two small nicks on the edges of the cover) in near fine condition, no Dj cover as issued, without a slipcase. Illustrated with b/w drawings. Nice and clean pages as new with a small ink mark on the outer edges. Nice and clean book as new but no slipcase. 314pp including List of illustrations.
Prior to embarking on a literary career, Orwell served as a police officer in Burma. His experience there was eye opening, but this is not a novel for the faint-hearted. In many ways darker than 1984, Burmese Days paints a dismal picture of British character in the backwaters of the Empire. Certainly not a revelation of human goodness.
