Penguin Essentials: Down and Out In Paris and London

A Haunting Portrait of Life at the Margins

Renowned urban artist Shepard Fairey provides a striking new look for George Orwell’s classic account of life on the streets. 

To be poor and destitute in 1920s Paris and London was to experience life at its lowest ebb. George Orwell, penniless and with nowhere to go, found himself living this reality as he wandered the streets of both capitals in search of work.

By day, he tramped the pavement, passing time with "screevers" (street artists), drunks, and fellow hobos. At night, he stood in line for a bed in a "spike"—a bleak doss house where a cup of sugary tea, a hunk of stale bread, and a thin blanket were the only comforts on offer.

Down and Out in Paris and London is Orwell's first full-length work, a hauntingly vivid and deeply empathetic record of the struggle for survival. It remains a powerful social document of the invisible people who have no choice but to live on the streets.