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The Road To Wigan Pier
''The Road to Wigan Pier'' is a book by the English writer George Orwell, first published in 1937. Its first half documents his sociological investigations of the bleak living conditions among the working class in Lancashire and Yorkshire in the industrial north of England before World War II. Its second half is a long essay on his middle-class upbringing, and the development of his political conscience, questioning British attitudes towards socialism. Orwell states plainly that he himself is in favour of socialism, but feels it necessary to point out reasons why many people who would benefit from socialism, and should logically support it, are in practice likely to be strong opponents. According to Orwell biographer Bernard Crick, publisher Victor Gollancz first tried to persuade Orwell's agent to allow the Left Book Club edition to consist solely of the descriptive first half of the book. When this was refused Gollancz wrote an introduction to the book. "Victor could not bear ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Left Book Club
The Left Book Club is a publishing group that exerted a strong left-wing influence in Great Britain, during its initial run, from 1936 to 1948. It was relaunched in 2015 by Jan Woolf and Neil Faulkner, in collaboration with Pluto Press. Pioneered by Victor Gollancz, it offered a monthly book choice, for sale to members only, as well as a newsletter that acquired the status of a major political magazine. It also held an annual rally. Membership peaked at 57,000, but after the Soviet-Nazi non-aggression pact of 1939, it disowned its large Communist element, and subsequent years of paper-rationing, during and after the war, led to further decline. It ceased publishing in 1948. The concept and series was revived in 2015, following at least one earlier effort to relaunch the series in the early 2000s. Early success and organisation The Left Book Club, founded in May 1936, was a key left-wing institution of the late 1930s and the 1940s in the United Kingdom. It was set up by Sta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Wigan
Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its administrative centre. The town has a population of 107,732 and the wider borough of 330,714. Wigan is part of the Historic counties of England, historic county of Lancashire. Wigan was in the territory of the Brigantes, an ancient List of ancient Celtic peoples and tribes, Celtic tribe that ruled much of what is now Northern England. The Brigantes were subjugated in the Roman conquest of Britain and the Roman settlement of was established where Wigan lies. Wigan was incorporated as a Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in 1246, following the issue of a charter by Henry III of England, King Henry III of England. At the end of the Middle Ages, it was one of four boroughs in Lancashire established by royal charter. The Industrial Re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
National Unemployed Workers' Movement
The National Unemployed Workers' Movement was a British organisation set up in 1921 by members of the Communist Party of Great Britain. It aimed at drawing attention to the plight of unemployed workers during the post-First World War slump, the 1926 General Strike and later the Great Depression, and at fighting the Means Test. Activities The NUWM was founded by Wal Hannington and led in Scotland by Harry McShane. From 1921 until 1929 it was called the National Unemployed Workers' Committee Movement. The NUWM became the foremost body responsible for organising the unemployed on a national basis in the interwar period, these years being characterised by high levels of unemployment. A central element of its activities was a series of hunger marches to London, organised in 1922, 1929, 1930, 1932, 1934 and 1936. The largest of these was the National Hunger March, 1932, which was followed by some days of serious violence across central London with 75 people being badly injured, which ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
The Adelphi
''The Adelphi'' or ''New Adelphi'' was an English literary journal founded by John Middleton Murry and published between 1923 and 1955. The first issue appeared in June 1923, with issues published monthly thereafter. Between August 1927 and September 1930 it was renamed the ''New Adelphi'' and issued quarterly. Murry was editor until 1930, when he handed over to Sir Richard Rees and the monthly issues resumed. Rees was succeeded by Max Plowman in 1938. The magazine included one or two stories per issue with contributions by Katherine Mansfield, A.A. Milne, D. H. Lawrence, H. E. Bates, Rhys Davies, G.B. Edwards and Dylan Thomas. ''The Adelphi'' published George Orwell's " The Spike" in 1931 and Orwell contributed regularly thereafter, particularly as a reviewer; in the late 1930s/early 1940s, working class writers Jack Common and Jack Hilton also contributed. The name means "siblings" in Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Sir Richard Rees, 2nd Baronet
Sir Richard Lodowick Edward Montagu Rees, 2nd Baronet (4 April 1900 – 24 July 1970) was a British diplomat, writer, humanitarian, and painter. Rees was the son of John David Rees, Sir John Rees, 1st Baronet and his wife Mary Catherine Dormer. His sister was the pilot Rosemary Rees, Lady du Cros, MBE. He was educated at West Downs School, Eton College, Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge. His father, who had been an administrator in British India and a Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician, died in 1922 and he inherited the baronetcy. He was for a while an attache at the British Embassy in Berlin. In 1925 he became a lecturer at the Workers' Educational Association in London, and also acted as Treasurer there. John Middleton Murry appointed him editor of ''Adelphi (magazine), Adelphi'' in 1930, where he provided encouragement to George Orwell among others. He was the inspiration for the wealthy Ravelston, publisher of the socialist magazine ''Antichrist'', in Orwell's ''Keep ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Kentish Town
Kentish Town is an area of northwest London, England, in the London Borough of Camden, immediately north of Camden Town, close to Hampstead Heath. Kentish Town likely derives its name from Ken-ditch or Caen-ditch, meaning the "bed of a waterway." The area was initially a small settlement on the River Fleet, first recorded in 1207 during John, King of England, King John's reign. The early 19th century brought modernization to the area, and it became a popular resort due to its accessibility from London. Notably, Karl Marx resided at 46 Grafton Terrace in Kentish Town from 1856. The area saw further development after World War II and has a rich history of political representation, with the Holborn and St Pancras seat held by Labour Party (UK), Labour Party Prime Minister Keir Starmer as of July 2024. Kentish Town has also been a popular filming location for various movies and television shows. It is home to numerous independently owned shops, music venues, and cultural establish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Jack Common
Jack Common (15 August 1903 – 20 January 1968) was a British socialist, essayist and novelist. Writing Common's writing was warm, ironic and quirky. He soon won admirers throughout the 1930s as a writer with a genuine proletarian viewpoint, as distinct from the purveyors of middle-class Marxist fiction. He was invited in 1930 by John Middleton Murry, founder and editor '' The Adelphi'', who had noticed an essay he had written, to become circulation promoter and later assistant editor of the magazine. For a period in 1936 he was acting editor, and a collection of his articles ''The Freedom of the Streets'' appeared in 1938. V.S. Pritchett considered the book to have been the most influential in his life, and George Orwell heard in the essays 'the authentic voice of the ordinary working man, the man who might infuse a new decency into the control of affairs if only he could get there, but who in practice never seems to get much further than the trenches, the sweatshop and th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Michael Shelden
Michael Shelden (born 1951) is an American biographer and teacher, notable for his authorized biography of George Orwell, his history of Cyril Connolly's ''Horizon'' magazine, his controversial biography of Graham Greene, and his study of the last years of Mark Twain, ''Man in White''. In March 2013 his ''Young Titan: The Making of Winston Churchill'' was published. In 2016 his biography of Herman Melville, ''Melville in Love'', was published by Ecco/HarperCollins. Education and early career Sheldon was born in Oklahoma and graduated from Omaha Benson High School, Omaha, Nebraska. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1973 from the University of Nebraska Omaha, a Master of Arts in 1975 from Indiana University Bloomington and a Ph.D. in English in 1979 also from Indiana University Bloomington. He then began teaching at Indiana State University, where he was promoted to professor of English in 1989, and where he remains a full-time member of the faculty. For ten years he was a fiction ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Wallington, Hertfordshire
Wallington is a small village and civil parish in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It lies east of the town of Baldock. Nearby villages include Rushden, with which it shares a parish council, and Sandon. The Icknield Way Path passes through the village on its 110-mile journey from Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire to Knettishall Heath in Suffolk. The author George Orwell lived in the village in the 1930s and 1940s. History The village appears to have been named for its Romano-British population. Buildings of interest The Church of St Mary is a Grade II* listed building lying at the southern end of the village. The nave, west tower and windows date from the mid-15th Century. The chancel was rebuilt in 1864. File:StMaryChurch.WallingtonHerts.jpg, Interior view. Church of St Mary, Wallington. File:No 2 Kits Lane, Wallington 2020-07-18.jpg, No 2 Kits Lane, Wallington. George Orwell residence circa 1936–1940 File:WallingtonHertzUKmap.jpg, Map o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Omnibus (UK TV Series)
''Omnibus'' is a British documentary series broadcast mainly on BBC One. The programme was the successor to the arts-based series ''Monitor''. It ran from 1967 until 2003, usually being transmitted on Sunday evenings. During its 35-year history, the programme won 12 British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) awards. History For one season in 1982, the series was in a magazine format presented by Barry Norman. In 2001, the BBC announced that the programme was being switched to BBC Two, prompting accusations that the corporation was further marginalising its arts programming."BBC arts chief defends Omnibus switch" by Jason Deans, '''', 6 February 2001 BBC ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Melvyn Bragg
Melvyn Bragg, Baron Bragg (born 6 October 1939) is an English broadcaster, author and parliamentarian. He is the editor and presenter of ''The South Bank Show'' (1978–2010, 2012–2023), and the presenter of the BBC Radio 4 documentary series ''In Our Time (radio series), In Our Time''. Earlier in his career, Bragg worked for the BBC in various roles including presenter, a connection that resumed in 1988 when he began to host ''Start the Week'' on BBC Radio 4. After his ennoblement in 1998, he switched to presenting the new ''In Our Time'', an academic discussion radio programme, which has run to more than one thousand broadcast editions and is also a podcast. He served as Chancellor (education), Chancellor of the University of Leeds from 1999 until 2017. Early life Bragg was born on 6 October 1939 in Carlisle and was raised in Wigton, Cumberland, the son of Stanley Bragg, a stock keeper turned publican, and Mary Ethel (née Park), who worked alongside her husband in the pub. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Geoffrey Gorer
Geoffrey Edgar Solomon Gorer (26 March 1905 – 24 May 1985) was an English anthropologist and writer, noted for his application of psychoanalytic techniques to anthropology. Biography Born into a non-practising Jewish family, Gorer was educated at Charterhouse and at Jesus College, Cambridge. During the 1930s, he wrote unpublished fiction and drama. His first book was ''The Revolutionary Ideas of the Marquis de Sade'' (1934, revised in 1953 and again in 1964 as ''The Life and Ideas of the Marquis de Sade''). He then published an account of a journey he made following Féral Benga in Africa, entitled ''Africa Dances'' (1935, new editions 1945: Penguin, 1949, 1962; Eland 2003), which was a considerable success and proved to be a springboard for a career as a writer and anthropologist. After ''Africa Dances'', his career was advanced by the publishers and anthropologists now taking a keen interest in his well-regarded work. Another cultural study followed: ''Bali and Angkor, or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
