Down and Out in Paris and London (Unabridged)

“You have talked so often of going to the dogs—and well, here are the dogs, and you have reached them, and you can stand it. It takes off a lot of anxiety.”

Down and Out in Paris and London is George Orwell’s first full-length book—a semi-autobiographical memoir that blends reportage with fiction to expose the brutal realities of poverty in two major European cities. In this early memoir, Orwell recalls with vivid clarity his time working as a penniless dishwasher in Paris, before moving to London to recount his experiences of life on the road in and around London alongside tramps, a star-gazing pavement artist and a starving Russian ex-army captain.

Part memoir, part social commentary, Down and Out in Paris and London is a sobering analysis of poverty and society in two of the world’s wealthiest cities.

Born Eric Arthur Blair, George Orwell (1903-1950) was a British novelist, essayist, and critic famous for his insightful social and political commentary. His personal engagement with real world issues imbues his work with a sense of social conscience that continues to resonate with listeners, and his two most famous novels, Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four, continue to captivate audiences worldwide.