Overdue copy of George Orwells The Road to Wigan Pier returned to library 50 years later and it smelled downright awful

A George Orwell book checked out of a library in the United Kingdom 50 years ago was finally returned by a mortified borrower.The hard-cover book of George Orwell’s “Road to Wigan Pier” was due at the Hull Central Library all the way back in 1974.

What would’ve been a hefty fee was eliminated thanks to the library’s choice to waive all fines during the COVID-19 pandemic.“In those days, there were fines for late returns – and there’s some strict wording stamped inside the book to remind users of that,” Hull Central Library’s event manager Katie Holdstock told BBC.“We waived library fines in the pandemic and never brought them back in again.We want there to be as few barriers as possible to customers using our libraries.”As remarkable as the book’s recovery is, Holdstock said that it is in no shape to be put back on the shelves following its five-decade adventure.

She noted that outside of its poor physical condition, it also smelled downright awful.“That musty odor is just what you get in our library stacks – where we keep old books that aren’t on our public shelves, in case anyone requests one!” Holstock told the outlet.Orwell’s “The Road to Wigan Pier” was first published in 1937 and served as his two-part sociological commentary.The first part discusses the working class in the North of England before World War One, while the second provides insight into his own upbringing in the middle-class and how his political thought process shaped over time.Forgetful bookworms pop into their local libraries every so often to return long-lost books anywhere from 30 to even 100 years late — and usually without having to pay any fines.

One witty borrower returned a book titled “Psychedelics” to a library in Colorado 37 years late and left a note apologizing and explaining that they had a “long, strange trip.” Yet again in Colorado, a woman returned a book presumably checked out by her late mother 105 years earlier.The origin...