Keep the Aspidistra Flying

Keep the Aspidistra Flying was first published in 1936. Written by George Orwell (whose real name was Eric Arthur Blair), it is not as well-known as other works like 1984 and Animal Farm, nor was it well received when it was released. Like much of Orwell’s other fiction, though, it is a social criticism novel; it examines and critiques social, political, and economic issues contemporary to the time of its writing. In 1997, Robert Bierman directed a film adaptation starring Richard E. Grant and Helena Bonham Carter. Likely because the meaning of aspidistra is not as well-known in the United States, it was released there as A Merry War.

The novel’s title is a reference to the aspidistra, a popular household plant in England. Owning aspidistras became common during the Victorian era because they could thrive indoors with little sunlight. As a result, aspidistra was associated with the English middle class. “Keep the aspidistra flying” is a play on “keep the red flag flying”—a lyric from the official song of the British Labour Party—that replaces the socialist red flag with a symbol of English middle-class culture.