Shortly before he went off to fight against fascism in Spain in 1936, George Orwell planted roses. Today, those rosebushes are still thriving. Solnit presents a neglected side of Orwell, who took enormous pleasure in the natural world and found great meaning and value in it. She explores the roses in various contexts, perspectives, and meanings, following the contours of Orwell's life and tracking how deeply enmeshed the love of nature is in all his writing.