Double episode about Jack Hilton, a working-class author, World War I veteran, unemployed movement organiser, and trade union activist from Rochdale, north-west England.
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Part 1: Jack Hilton’s early life in Rochdale’s slums, starting work as a child, World War I, unemployed activism during the Great Depression, his celebrated 1935 debut novel, Caliban Shrieks, and his long-term (and sometimes strained) relationship with George Orwell.
Part 2: Discussion of Caliban Shrieks in more detail and how it compares to other working-class novels from the same period; his later writing and life, and how his writing career would come to an end (despite George Orwell’s efforts); and, finally, the amazing series of events that led to the rediscovery and republication of Caliban Shrieks.