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Sarah Harkness's avatar

So interesting, so clever to draw these comparisons, and lots here for me to think about as I start my new project. Thank you. Also, I had forgotten the links between the Macmillan family, Victorian Christian Socialists, right through Daniel De Mendi as friend and publisher of Keynes, to his brother Harold, hardly a Tory at all by the late 1930s. Their grandfather the original Daniel Macmillan would have been very proud of them!

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E.J. Barnes's avatar

I need to read your book! Yes, Daniel Macmillan was so important in publishing Economic Consequences of the Peace. It was such a tightly bound networked world at that time - maybe still is - for good and bad.

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E.J. Barnes's avatar

Thank you Michael.

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Maria (Linnesby essays)'s avatar

This is marvelous. I know a fair amount about Orwell, but frankly have learned much of what I know of Keynes from your writing here. Would never have thought of them in conjunction with each other.

Isn’t Solnit’s book great? I wrote about it in an early Substack essay, which uses Orwell to talk about planting apple trees.

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E.J. Barnes's avatar

I know a lot less about Orwell than Keynes, but the parallels kept jumping out at me. I enjoyed the Solnit book a lot - started it a while back, then came back and finished it in a couple of days!

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Maria (Linnesby essays)'s avatar

Isn’t it (Solnit’s book) lovely? I read it in a similar way, and don’t know anyone else who’s read it, so was so pleased when you mentioned it! Orwell’s non-fiction (as with you, not the fiction) was so important for me when I was young, primarily as someone who put a moral value onto seeing things clearly. Now am increasingly interested in Keynes! Is your fiction on him (other than the short story that was posted a while back), already available to read?

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E.J. Barnes's avatar

Yes, I've written two novels. I think Keynes is fascinating and a real hero, but I guess that's not surprising! I think as an economist he is overlooked by artistic/literary circles (although he was a prominent member of the Bloomsbury Group) but both intellectually and practically he had a huge impact, and was really trying to save civilization from political extremism (like Orwell, but Keynes was looking at the economic theory). I will message you!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BNZ5YHBY?binding=kindle_edition&ref=dbs_dp_rwt_sb_pc_tkin

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Maria (Linnesby essays)'s avatar

Thank you! Just read the opening chapters and loved them.

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Michael Dawson's avatar

Fascinating and convincing. (And crazy that it remains a buried point.)

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