An acceptable copy of the first edition of this collection of wartime essays by Orwell. Of the wide-ranging essay topics, the two most important are arguably “Wells, Hitler and the World State” and “In Defence of P.G. Wodehouse”. Both concern World War II, with Orwell in the former criticising H.G. Wells for not taking the threat of Hitler seriously; in the latter, Orwell defends P.G. Wodehouse’s wartime actions.
Provenance: From the library of Orwell scholar and former UCL deputy librarian Ian Angus, with his neat pencilled ownership to the front free endpaper. Angus was the co-editor of Orwell’s Collected Journalism, Essays and Letters published in 1968 and also later contributed to editing the enormous 20-volume edition of Orwell’s Complete Works published 1997-8.
Dust jacket very worn and foxed, spine panel with large close tear towards the middle. Some foxing to fore-edge.
