Maurice Ashley

The TLS's review of that book, by Maurice Ashley, brought two combative letters from Orwell.Ashley, a future editor of the Listener, had joined the staff of The Times in 1937 and began writing for the TLS at the same time, making a small corner in publications on Spain, perhaps on the basis that he had just written a book about the English Civil War.He was no supporter of the socialist writers who went to Spain, and Orwell was able to show that he had misrepresented Homage to Catalonia so as to suggest that it was critical of the Spanish militias.When Ashley replied, Orwell pointed out that his words had once again been distorted.