To be poor and destitute in 1920s Paris and London was to experience life at its lowest ebb. George Orwell, penniless and with nowhere to go, found himself experiencing just this as he wandered the streets of both capitals in search of a job. This book gives an account of the streets and those who have no choice but to live on them.

Now presented in a new annotated edition, The Road to Wigan Pier represents a unique record of a society riven by class inequality and plagued by unemployment, inadequate housing, unsafe working conditions and other social ills, as well as providing an invaluable insight into the evolution of Orwell's political consciousness.