Åbo Akademis bibliotek

In 1920s colonial Burma, the disillusioned Englishman John Flory struggles to navigate life in a small British outpost. Isolated and resentful of the corruption around him, he befriends the ambitious Burmese doctor Veraswami, whose fate depends on being accepted by the ruling Europeans. When Elizabeth Lackersteen, a young Englishwoman, arrives in town, Flory sees a chance for love and escape from his loneliness—but his hopes are soon threatened by racial tensions, social expectations, and the scheming of a ruthless magistrate.
A searing critique of British colonialism, Burmese Days exposes the moral decay at the heart of empire. George Orwell’s sharp prose and unflinching realism paint a world where power is maintained through cruelty, and where those who challenge the status quo risk losing everything. A novel of disillusionment and tragic inevitability, it remains a haunting exploration of oppression, identity, and the cost of complicity.

GEORGE ORWELL was born in India in 1903 and passed away in London in 1950. As a journalist, critic, and author, he was a sharp commentator on his era and its political conditions and consequences.