{"product_id":"9780861549788","title":"A Bright Cold Day","description":"\u003ch4\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003eA pioneering biography of George Orwell told through moments of everyday life\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'A fascinating, oblique take... Revelatory and very insightful.' William Boyd, author of \u003cem\u003eThe Predicament\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhen we think about Orwell, we imagine an angular, moustachioed sceptic crouched over a typewriter, who - between puffs on his cigarette - composes effortless streams of prose, unadorned but explosive. We see a man with 'Important Things to Say' about: the slow creep of authoritarianism; the consequences of all-seeing tech; the fragility of truth.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMuch less often do we see him as a person caught up in the business of everyday life. And yet Orwell's work thrums with the quotidian: the smell of boiled cabbage, the chill of an unheated flat in early spring, the rumbling of old pipes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA Bright Cold Day\u003c\/em\u003e reveals how the principles that govern us begin in the mundane. From waking and showering to breakfast, work, lunch, the pub, sleep and dreaming, Orwell was never dulled to the routines of living. And in the details of the day, we can understand how power, money, freedom and choice play out, not just for Orwell's literary characters, but for us all.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e***\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003e'Summons one of the biggest questions we face nowadays, the relationship between fiction and reality.'\u003cem\u003e \u003c\/em\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew O'Hagan, author of \u003cem\u003eCaledonian Road\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003e'A clever, offbeat history of mid-century Britain\u003c\/span\u003e through George Orwell's eyes.'\u003cstrong\u003e Helen Lewis\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e'An astute and intimate portrait of George Orwell.'\u003cstrong\u003e Dorian Lynskey, author of \u003cem\u003eThe Ministry of Truth\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e'Beautifully written... urgent and compelling.'\u003cstrong\u003e Emma Smith, author of \u003cem\u003ePortable Magic\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Waddell, Nathan","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57961338634614,"sku":"9780861549788","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1208\/4146\/files\/9780861549788.jpg?v=1779880426","url":"https:\/\/chepstowbooks.co.uk\/products\/9780861549788","provider":"Chepstow Books \u0026 Gifts","version":"1.0","type":"link"}