George Orwell

First edition of Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell. Orwell had great difficulties in publishing Homage to Catalonia, his experiences of the Civil War in Aragón and the revolution in Barcelona. His old publisher Victor Gollancz rejected it, in part under pressure from the Communist Party. It was finally published after months of rejections in late 1938 by the small outfit of Secker & Warburg. The first edition was a commercial flop and the 1500 copies did not sell out until 1951, a year after Orwell's death.

Image kindly provided by Professor Pelai Pagès i Blanch, specialist in the POUM at Barcelona University. The book forms part of his personal collection. — First edition of Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell. Orwell had great difficulties in publishing Homage to Catalonia, his experiences of the Civil War in Aragón and the revolution in Barcelona. His old publisher Victor Gollancz rejected it, in part under pressure from the Communist Party. It was finally published after months of rejections in late 1938 by the small outfit of Secker & Warburg. The first edition was a commercial flop and the 1500 copies did not sell out until 1951, a year after Orwell's death. Image kindly provided by Professor Pelai Pagès i Blanch, specialist in the POUM at Barcelona University. The book forms part of his personal collection.

Exhibition leaflet for exhibition in Huesca on George Orwell on the Aragón front. “Orwell Takes Coffee in Huesca”, 2017. Orwell wrote in Homage to Catalonia:
"Months earlier, when Sietamo was taken, the general commanding the Government troops had said gaily: ‘Tomorrow we’ll have coffee in Huesca.’ It turned out that he was mistaken. There had been bloody attacks, but the town did not fall, and ‘Tomorrow we’ll have coffee in Huesca’ had become a standing joke throughout the army. If I ever go back to Spain I shall make a point of having a cup of coffee in Huesca." — Exhibition leaflet for exhibition in Huesca on George Orwell on the Aragón front. “Orwell Takes Coffee in Huesca”, 2017. Orwell wrote in Homage to Catalonia: "Months earlier, when Sietamo was taken, the general commanding the Government troops had said gaily: ‘Tomorrow we’ll have coffee in Huesca.’ It turned out that he was mistaken. There had been bloody attacks, but the town did not fall, and ‘Tomorrow we’ll have coffee in Huesca’ had become a standing joke throughout the army. If I ever go back to Spain I shall make a point of having a cup of coffee in Huesca."

Film poster of Land and Freedom (Tierra y Libertad) (1995) by Ken Loach (Spanish version) Loach tried to film Orwell's Homage to Catalonia but was unable to acquire the rights. Instead Land and Freedom tackles similar events by very loosely telling the true story of Orwell's POUM comrade Stafford Cottman, through the invented character of David Carr.

Leaflet for tours in Spanish centred around George Orwell's time on the Aragón front (2018).

Turkish edition of Homage to Catalonia. Donated by xxxxx

1975 Japanese edition of Homage to Catalonia.

Urdu edition of Homage to Catalonia, translated into Urdu by S.M. Mazahir and given as a donation to Poble-sec library by his nephew.
Image provided by Biblioteques de Barcelona. — Urdu edition of Homage to Catalonia, translated into Urdu by S.M. Mazahir and given as a donation to Poble-sec library by his nephew. Image provided by Biblioteques de Barcelona.

Elsewhere

Looking back on the Spanish War – an essay Orwell wrote 6 years later.
VIDEO: George Orwell BBC Arena Part 3 Homage to Catalonia (YouTube). Made in 1983
AUDIO: BBC Radio 4 – Bookclub, George Orwell’s Homage to Catalonia
George Orwell en Aragón. Routes in Spanish by Aragonese Orwell expert Victor Pardo.
Centro de Interpretación de la Guerra Civil en Aragón. In the village of Robres. Little museum to the war on the Aragón front where Orwell fought.