Join Amazon Prime and get unlimited Free One-Day Delivery. Already a member? Sign in.

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
More Buying Choices
7 used & new from £3.50
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Down and Out in Paris and London (Penguin Modern Classics)
 
 
Share your own customer images
Search inside this book

Down and Out in Paris and London (Penguin Modern Classics) (Paperback)

by George Orwell (Author) "The Rue Du Coq d'Or, Paris, seven in the morning ..." (more)
4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
RRP: £8.99
Price: £8.09 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £0.90 (10%)
Usually dispatched within 9 to 10 days.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

2 new from £8.09 5 used from £3.50
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Paperback (New Ed) £8.99 £5.39 30 used & new from £3.20

Frequently Bought Together

Down and Out in Paris and London (Penguin Modern Classics) + The Road to Wigan Pier (Penguin Modern Classics) + Homage to Catalonia (Penguin Modern Classics)
Price For All Three: £18.87

Some of these items ship sooner than the others. Show details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Road to Wigan Pier (Penguin Modern Classics)

The Road to Wigan Pier (Penguin Modern Classics)

by George Orwell
3.9 out of 5 stars (12)  £5.39
Homage to Catalonia (Penguin Modern Classics)

Homage to Catalonia (Penguin Modern Classics)

by George Orwell
4.2 out of 5 stars (13)  £5.39
Essays (Penguin Modern Classics)

Essays (Penguin Modern Classics)

by George Orwell
4.9 out of 5 stars (9)  £7.79
The Complete Novels of George Orwell (Penguin Modern Classics)

The Complete Novels of George Orwell (Penguin Modern Classics)

by George Orwell
4.8 out of 5 stars (10)  £15.00
Burmese Days (Penguin Modern Classics)

Burmese Days (Penguin Modern Classics)

by George Orwell
4.6 out of 5 stars (17)  £5.39
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 240 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin Classics; New edition edition (5 Jun 2003)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0141187360
  • ISBN-13: 978-0141187365
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.2 x 1.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 167,826 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #6 in  Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Social Sciences > Social Issues > Homelessness
    #45 in  Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Authors, A-Z > O > Orwell, George
    #60 in  Books > Fiction > 20th Century Classics > Orwell, George

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

Product Description
Written when Orwell was a struggling writer in his twenties, the book documents his 'first contact with poverty': sleeping in bug-infested hostels and doss houses, working as a dishwasher in Paris, surviving on scraps and cigarette butts, living alongside tramps, a star-gazing pavement artist and a starving Russian ex-army captain. Exposing a shocking, previously hidden world to readers, Orwell gave a human face to poverty, and in doing so, found his voice as a great writer.

About the Author
Eric Arthur Blair (George Orwell) was born in India in 1903. He was educated at Eton, served with the Indian Imperial Police in Burma, and worked in Britain as a private tutor, schoolteacher, bookshop assistant and journalist. In 1936, Orwell went to fight for the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War and was wounded. In 1938 he was admitted into a sanatorium and from then on was never fully fit. George Orwell died in London in 1950.
Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
The Rue Du Coq d'Or, Paris, seven in the morning. Read the first page
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
Check the boxes next to the tags you consider relevant or enter your own tags in the field below
(1)
(1)
(1)
See all 6 tags...

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Down and Out in Paris and London (Penguin Modern Classics)
65% buy the item featured on this page:
Down and Out in Paris and London (Penguin Modern Classics) 4.5 out of 5 stars (11)
£8.09
Down and Out in Paris and London (Essential Penguin)
20% buy
Down and Out in Paris and London (Essential Penguin) 4.4 out of 5 stars (25)
£5.99
The Road to Wigan Pier (Penguin Modern Classics)
7% buy
The Road to Wigan Pier (Penguin Modern Classics) 3.9 out of 5 stars (12)
£5.39
Homage to Catalonia (Penguin Modern Classics)
4% buy
Homage to Catalonia (Penguin Modern Classics) 4.2 out of 5 stars (13)
£5.39
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

11 Reviews
5 star:
 (7)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A sobering book, 30 Jan 2007
By DangermouseZilla "He's the strongest, he's th... (Doncaster, Yorkshire, UK.) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)   
George Orwell felt awkward for being middle class, once he started to make a bit of money as an author this added to his awkwardness and he spent a lot of time in dank and impoverished surroundings.

This book is largely autobiographic, it tells of his time spent with the homeless. Orwell would pretend to be a tramp, not just pretend - he would live as a tramp from time to time. It was his time as a tramp that feed the ideas in this book.

Orwell writes about the camaraderie in the tramp community with warmth, you can feel his fondness for the people he is writing about.

The tramp experience covers only the second part of the book.

The first part describes the life of Parisian hotel/restaurant kitchen workers. It isn't glamorous. It is a life devoid of love, warmth, and happiness. Boris is the star of the "Paris" part of this book.

This is not only one of Orwell's finest pieces of work, it is a book that changes how you feel about life. When I read this book I was struggling financially - but this book put things in perspective, and I still imagine scenes in this book when times are hard.

The contrast between the "Paris" and "London" aspects of the book couldn't be more different, even though both are concerning that corner of society who seem to have nothing.

Read this book on the bus/train on the commute to work and you'll get lost in the dark visuals it inspires. The book had many place names and people's names removed for fear of being libellous, at first this seems clumsy but you get used to it.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An under-rated classic, 11 May 2005
I was completely captured by this book from the first page. Having only previously read "Animal Farm" and "Nineteen Eighty-Four" I thought that it was time to explore some early Orwell and make a comparison. Much like with musicians it is usual their early work that they get the most respect for and I feel that it should be the same case here. You get lost in the book and really feel like you are down and out at times, such is the power of the text.

Granted, it is not as fundamentaly powerful as the two mentioned books but it has a different kind of message to it completely, it is a true story for the most part. Whereas "Nineteen Eighty-Four" strikes me as slightly pretentious this is an honest book from an honest and humble, young aspiring writer.

In short the book is a good days reading, excellent when it is raining like when I read it because you get sucked into it. Unlike other, similar down and out stories the book escapes from appearing monotone in your head and depressing, possibly because Orwell turned into a cult hero showing there is hope for all of us.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Down and Out - read it, 9 Nov 2006
By Mr. A. J. Clabburn - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
If ever there was a book deserving the title 'modern classic', this is it. A thought provoking and subtle collection of anecdotes that will make you laugh and out loud and balk at the extremes of poverty described in equal measure. The fact that Orwell avoides self indulgence and manages to evoke a genuine sense of compassion is truely remarkable and whatever your political orientation, having read this book it is hard to feel anything but respect for the man.

Despite its age, down and out still strikes a resonant chord in the modern world and while much has changed in the intervening years, there are still enough parralels with todays society to make you take stock of the world we live in.

I greatly enjoyed this book and recommend everyone to read it.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favourite books
This is a beautiful piece of writing and a wonderful example of humanity. Orwell looks at some of the most downtrodden and neglected in society, lives with them and brings back... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Chris Wood

3.0 out of 5 stars La Vache Enragée
George Orwell, whose real name is Eric Blair, was born in India in 1903. He served in Burma with the Indian Imperial Police and spent the end of the 1920s - as any self-respecting... Read more
Published on 31 Oct 2006 by cluricaune

5.0 out of 5 stars The poverty classic, timeless
Orwell lived the life. Remember watching the movie 'Moulin Rouge' and seeing the romantic vision of a struggling artist bashing out words on a typewriter, plagued by poverty and... Read more
Published on 22 April 2006 by Mark Kobayashi-Hillary

4.0 out of 5 stars Down and Out...
Unfussy, journalistic, swift and very, very witty. The word that seems most frequently attributed to Orwell's writing is 'lucidity', and it's an attribute evidenced nowhere more... Read more
Published on 3 April 2006

5.0 out of 5 stars Travel Review
It's hard to believe that Orwell wrote this while dying for B.T during the Spanish War of Independence. Read more
Published on 2 Jan 2006 by B. Greener

5.0 out of 5 stars Investigative journalism for the intelligent
What a writer - possibly the most natural and passionate user of the English language of the 20th century. Read more
Published on 8 Dec 2004 by F. Webster

4.0 out of 5 stars Can anyone clear up an ambiguity?
I found this book to be an excellent read, and it really outlined the problems encountered by the povery-striken at that time. Read more
Published on 26 Mar 2004 by Ms. M. Plaistow

3.0 out of 5 stars Before his time
You cannot fault Orwell's use of literature to explore the predicament/experiences of those without a voice. Read more
Published on 2 Oct 2003

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject

















i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

The Body Shop

The Body Shop - Vitamin C Skin Boost
Protect and boost your glow with The Body Shop Vitamin C Skin Boost.

›Shop The Body Shop

  

Up to 75% off Shoes

Shoe Clearance - 75% off Shoes
Save up to 75% on shoes for the whole family.

›Shop clearance shoes

  

Boys Smell

Lynx Africa Body Spray and After Shave Gift set
But we make sure they smell good...

›Discover male grooming at Amazon.co.uk

  

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

›Learn more about Gift Certificates

  
Ad

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.
Continue Shopping: Top Sellers

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates