Originally published in 1936, before Orwell achieved fame, Keep the Aspidistra Flying takes Money as its theme. Gordon Comstock gives up a good job in an advertising agency to become part-time bookshop assistant at a meagre wage, thereby gaining leisure for writing. However, after some modest success in the world of letters he eventually slides into the abyss, to be rescu by the faithful Rosemary. Ironically, Gordon's voyage of discovery leads him back to commercial security, marriage, & the unexpected pleasures of domesticity. But above all he learns of the courage of keeping up appearances despite hardships. The symbol of this is the potted aspidistras: the ugly, stubborn, organic emblem of social & biological survival. This new edition restores most of the material censored on first publication due to fears of action for libel, defamation & obscenity Of particular interest are the previously suppressed advertising slogans of the 1930s &, in light of the censorship he experienced, Orwell's ironic choice of surname for Gordon: Comstock.