Keep the aspidistra flying (Tapa blanda)

Gordon Comstock loathes dull, middle class respectability and worship of money. He gives up a good job in advertising to work part time in a bookshop, giving him more time to write.

But he slides instead into a self induced poverty that destroys his creativity and his spirit.

Only Rosemary, ever faithful Rosemary, has the strength to challenge his commitment to his chosen way of life.

Through the character of Gordon Comstock, Orwell reveals his own disaffection with the society he once himself renounced.