Title Details

The Left Book Club is something of a legend. Founded in 1936 to distribute cheap, radical books, it was a spectacular success, with nearly 60,000 members at its peak. Always controversial, its famous orange volumes told stories of life in Britain's industrial towns, rebellion in Hitler's Germany, and heroism in the Spanish Civil War. This anthology goes back to the monthly selections themselves and recaptures the fervor and idealism of the 1930s. It includes extracts from many of the Club's most popular books, including Orwell's The Road to Wigan Pier, Koestler's Spanish Testament, Edgar Snow's Red Star Over China, and Wilfred Macartney's Walls Have Mouths. Paul Laity introduces each extract and contributes an excellent general introduction explaining the political and cultural context of the Club.