![This recording is presented in partnership by Princeton Public Library and Labyrinth Books. Writer, historian and activist Rebecca Solnit introduces her latest works, "Orwell’s Roses" and "Waking Beauty." <br /><br />The author speaks about her recently released books, one a biography and the other a retelling of a classic fairytale, at this hybrid event. <br /><br />About "Orwell's Roses":<br />Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction and the PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography, this lush exploration of politics, roses, and pleasure, offers a fresh take on George Orwell as an avid gardener whose political writing was grounded by his passion for the natural world<br /><br />“In the year 1936 a writer planted roses.” So begins Rebecca Solnit’s book "Orwell's Roses", a reflection on George Orwell’s passionate gardening; the way that his involvement with plants, particularly flowers, and the natural world illuminated his other commitments as a writer and antifascist; and the intertwined politics of nature and power. Solnit delivers a compelling examination of this understudied aspect of Orwell’s life and delivers a fresh take on the writer as a far more nature-loving figure than is often portrayed. <br /><br />About "Waking Beauty":<br />Expanding, transforming, and subverting the magical tale of Sleeping Beauty, Solnit revitalizes this classic story with a new perspective: Maya, the sister who stayed awake. "Waking Beauty" tells of Maya’s great adventures, the inspiring, extraordinary artist and changemaker who “found [beauty] everywhere and gave it to everyone”; Atlas, who guarded the golden apples and was definitely not a prince; and Ida, who slept for a century and woke up in a very different world. The perfect follow-up to "Cinderella Liberator", this a book that is as enchanting as it is empowering.<br /><br />About the Author: <br />Rebecca Solnit is the author of more than 20 books on feminism, western and urban history, popular power, social change and insurrection, wandering and walking, hope and catastrophe. Her books include "Recollections of My Nonexistence"; "Men Explain Things to Me"; and "A Field Guide to Getting Lost." She writes regularly for The Guardian, serves on the board of the climate group Oil Change International, recently launched the climate project Not Too Late and has worked on environmental and human rights campaigns since the 1980s.<br /><br />This event was recorded on November 7, 2022.](https://princetonlibrary.org/wp-content/plugins/youtube-feed-pro/img/placeholder.png)
The author speaks about her recently released books, one a biography and the other a retelling of a classic fairytale, at this hybrid event.
About “Orwell’s Roses”:
Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction and the PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography, this lush exploration of politics, roses, and pleasure, offers a fresh take on George Orwell as an avid gardener whose political writing was grounded by his passion for the natural world
“In the year 1936 a writer planted roses.” So begins Rebecca Solnit’s book “Orwell’s Roses”, a reflection on George Orwell’s passionate gardening; the way that his involvement with plants, particularly flowers, and the natural world illuminated his other commitments as a writer and antifascist; and the intertwined politics of nature and power. Solnit delivers a compelling examination of this understudied aspect of Orwell’s life and delivers a fresh take on the writer as a far more nature-loving figure than is often portrayed.
About “Waking Beauty”:
Expanding, transforming, and subverting the magical tale of Sleeping Beauty, Solnit revitalizes this classic story with a new perspective: Maya, the sister who stayed awake. “Waking Beauty” tells of Maya’s great adventures, the inspiring, extraordinary artist and changemaker who “found [beauty] everywhere and gave it to everyone”; Atlas, who guarded the golden apples and was definitely not a prince; and Ida, who slept for a century and woke up in a very different world. The perfect follow-up to “Cinderella Liberator”, this a book that is as enchanting as it is empowering.
About the Author:
Rebecca Solnit is the author of more than 20 books on feminism, western and urban history, popular power, social change and insurrection, wandering and walking, hope and catastrophe. Her books include “Recollections of My Nonexistence”; “Men Explain Things to Me”; and “A Field Guide to Getting Lost.” She writes regularly for The Guardian, serves on the board of the climate group Oil Change International, recently launched the climate project Not Too Late and has worked on environmental and human rights campaigns since the 1980s.
This event was recorded on November 7, 2022.