The English People.

London: Collins,, 1947. First edition, first impression, of the author's celebrated study of the English character. Orwell's essay was commissioned to promote English values and to describe aspects of English life during the Second World War, although it was not published until after the war's conclusion. The book was commissioned by Collins's general editor W. J. Turner in September 1943 for the Britain in Pictures series. The brainchild of the Ministry of Information's Hilda Matheson (1888-1940), the propaganda series presented "the most eloquent case for Britain as a free society" during, and in the aftermath of, the Second World War (Windeatt). Orwell's contribution to the series was to describe the ethos of the English, from their faults - snobbishness, insularity, anachronistic class divisions - to their achievements and essentially humane political culture and peaceful outlook, an important model to offer to war-torn Europe. Orwell's socialist politics runs through the book: it is only with the empowerment of the common people, he argues, that England can remain a great nation in the post-war world. The work's radical nature, and Orwell's refusal to amend the negative aspects of the text, almost prevented its publication. Collins later declared, "typically English, is Mr. Orwell's capacity to look with critical eyes upon his fellow citizens. It is part of his love for them" (jacket blurb). Octavo. Original green boards, spine and front cover lettered in white, vignette on front cover in white, covers with white borders. With dust jacket. With 8 colour plates, illustrations in the text by artists including Edward Ardizzone, L. S. Lowry, Walter Sickert, and Henry Moore. Book and jacket designed by a London-based group of Austrian-Jewish refugees. Minor paper reisude to front and rear covers, very light bumping and rubbing at spine ends; jacket with very minor rubbing at extremities, without price as issued. A near-fine copy in like jacket. Carney, Britain in Pictures: A History and Bibliography 100; Fenwick A11a. Barry Windeatt, "Rare Book Series: 'Britain in Pictures' (1941-1950)", Emmanuel College, Cambridge, accessible online.