You are invited to a lunchtime reading group to discuss the works of George Orwell.

The Orwell Reading Group meets every month to discuss a book by Orwell. On November 21st, we will be talking about his first-hand account of the brutal conditions of the Spanish Civil War Homage To Catalonia.

Orwell describes with bitter intensity the bright hopes and cynical betrayals of his time as a militiaman: the revolutionary euphoria of Barcelona, the courage of ordinary Spanish men and women he fought alongside, the terror and confusion of the front, his near-fatal bullet wound through his throat, and the vicious treachery of his supposed allies.

Anthony Burgess claimed to have met Orwell in a pub during the Second World War. Whether or not they actually met, the collection of books at the Burgess Foundation contains a complete set of Orwell’s novels and non-fiction works. The two writers have much in common: their genesis as colonial novelists; their status as English outsiders; their involvement in literary journalism; and their lasting reputation as inventors of nightmarish fictional futures.

This informal reading group is free and everyone is welcome. The discussion will last an hour, and you are welcome to join the staff of the Burgess Foundation for tea and biscuits afterwards.

If you would like to attend, please email graham@anthonyburgess.org or register on Eventbrite.