Abstract
Coming Up For Air was written between September 1938 and March 1939 at Marrakech, Morocco. Orwell’s doctors had advised him to spend the winter in a warm climate (his lungs were tubercular and it was felt that the warm air would have a beneficial effect on his health). His financial circumstances were such that it would not have been possible for him to accept this advice, but L. H. Myers the novelist, who greatly admired his work, anonymously gave him £300 to enable him to do so. Orwell gratefully accepted this on the understanding that it was to be regarded as a loan and spent the winter of 1938–9 in North Africa, working steadily on the novel. The book was published in June 1939, three months before the outbreak of the Second World War.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Copyright information
© 1982 J. R. Hammond
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Hammond, J.R. (1982). Coming Up For Air. In: A George Orwell Companion. Literary Companions. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-10710-7_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-10710-7_10
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-63730-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-10710-7
eBook Packages: Palgrave Political & Intern. Studies CollectionPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)