Talk:Homage to Catalonia
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These chapters summaries are really great, thanks for writing them Tzartzam. But (there's always a but) I think we've got a bit of a problem with different editions. I should say, before I start, that my edition is a Penguin paperback in print from at least the 60s to at least the 80s, and is presumably very widely read.
You write in the article:
- In his second appendix to the book (formerly "Chapter XI" of the book's first edition, moved at Orwell's request), Orwell discusses the political issues at stake in the May 1937 Barcelona fighting
Now, in the edition I have, this stuff is in chapter eleven and there are no appendices. So I'm wondering when this stuff was moved, and when a first edition with it moved was published (and indeed, I'm wondering what edition you're using, because it appears to be a better one than mine). I suspect the other appendix in your edition is chapter five in mine, which details the political scene ("it looked at first sight as though Spain were suffering from a plague of initials", Orwell writes) - Orwell says something like "you can skip this chapter if you don't want to bother with the politics", so it moving to an appendix would make sense (although it's one of my favourite chapters).
I'm not saying the whole article should be switched around if your edition is more widely read than mine, or closer to what Orwell wanted, or whatever, but I think it's clear that this needs to be briefly addressed in the article to avoid confusion to those people who have an edition that's had a double appendectomy.
I would've fixed it up myself instead of writing all this if I could, but I only know what's in my edition, and the rest is guesswork. Thanks again for the article, it's great. I assume you'll be summarising all his other books and writing brief descriptions of all his essays now ;-) --Camembert
- Agreed -- I was planning on sorting this out. I think putting the summaries under chapter headings, with a note to such as "Chapter Six in first edition, chapter five in second edition." Not got the time now, but I'll do it maybe tomorrow :)
- As to the others... Well... -- Tzartzam
The chapters in question are noted in his essay Why I Write. There's definately scope for a little discussion of this... -- Sam