For the first time published in Russian diaries of George Orwell reveal to us an unknown, hidden from the eyes of the readers of his great works the history of the ordinary life of an extraordinary person. The eleven surviving diaries he wrote between 1931 and 1939 describe his youthful wanderings among miners and wandering workers, the rise of totalitarianism, and the terrible drama of World War II. He recorded everything his thoughts, sketches of poems, observations of the weather, clippings from newspapers with recipes and advice to the gardener. These daily records preserved the priceless "seeds" of events and reflections from which his literary masterpieces subsequently grew. They also reflected the tragic moments of his personal life, such as the death of his first wife and his own decline in the painful fight against tuberculosis. Stylistically impeccable, Orwell's diaries have absorbed the fullness of his life and thoughts over the years, being an experience of autobiography that he would never write.