“Down and Out in Paris and London” is a largely autobiographical account or Orwell’s times living on the breadline : working as a plongeur in Paris, being caught out by con-artists and life as a tramp on his return to England. The book was originally called “A Scullion’s Diary” and – it would appear – focused only on his days in Paris. However, after a few rejections, Orwell tried his luck with the stories of his life on the streets in and around London added.

To be honest, I find it a pity this happened, as the stories set in Paris are much more readable. While some of the characters we meet – Charlie, for example – are far from admirable, Orwell himself doesn’t come out of the book entirely unscathed. His occasional foolishness is forgivable, but his apparent snobbery and insincerity can be a bit hard to take. For example, as the book closes, he comments he’d like to know people like Paddy (a fellow tramp he’d met in England) “intimately” – a character he’d plainly looked down on since their first meeting. However, on the very same page, the news of Paddy’s apparent death is met with barely a shrug of the shoulders : “perhaps my informant was mixing him up with someone else”.

A great read, though the ‘etc etc’ style that kept popping up was a bit annoying.

I am liking the vivid descriptions of Paris. Nice prose.

Excellent account of grim, optimistic squalor and how closely it stands behind the middle classes. Very good for destroying all appetite.