George Orwell: A Life in Letters

The letters of George Orwell (real name: Eric Arthur Blair) suggest a life beset by internal conflict.

George Orwell: A Life in Letters, by George Orwell, Peter Davison (Editor), Liveright Publishing Corporation, 560 pages

As evidence of controversial government surveillance rockets around the globe, the adjective “Orwellian” is getting plenty of use. My bet is that many of those employing the term know little or nothing about the man behind the name. In fact, my bet is that most have no idea that “George Orwell” is a pen name, made-up name to mask the identity of Eric Arthur Blair, born June 25, 1903, in India to British parents.

As a journalist, editorialist, and book author, Orwell was frequently controversial. Today, 63 years after his death, he probably qualifies as iconic – unless “iconic” suggests saintly and uncomplicated. Orwell, who was definitely not saintly, was more like the polar opposite of uncomplicated.

Long-time Orwell scholar Peter Davison served as co-editor of the complete set of Orwell's letters, which fill 20 volumes. This new collection is meant to be accessible for lay readers who, realistically, will never peruse 20 volumes. Here is how Davison explains the thinking behind his winnowing for the current volume: “Firstly, the letters chosen should illustrate Orwell’s life and hopes, and secondly that each one should be of interest in its own right.”

Davison succeeds admirably, not only in his selection of letters, but also in the annotations and the mini-biographies of Orwell’s correspondents. As all first-rate letter collections must, the letters tell a story about their author, although usually the reader of the letters must fill gaps.

Orwell’s letters, despite the gaps, constitute a sort of autobiography. That is a welcome result because Orwell did not live long enough to write an autobiography. If he had been so inclined, it would have included many interesting scenes. Before earning his living as a writer, Orwell served five years in the nation of Burma as part of the Indian Imperial Police; explored Paris while trying to seek meaning in his life after leaving the police force; did menial restaurant work that became part of the fabric of his book “Down and Out in Paris and London”; picked hops for pay in the English countryside; taught at the equivalent of high school and college levels; resided back in his parents’ home as an adult; fought for the Republicans in the Spanish civil war; and spent time in various hospital beds due to illnesses.

If anybody can analyze Orwell post mortem, Davison ought to be that person. The letters, personal diary entries studied by Davison, and Orwell’s published writings (which go far beyond his famous, anti-toltalitarian books “Animal Farm” and “1984”), suggest an individual beset by internal conflict about how to handle renown, about the value of political parties in a politicized nation, about marriage, about how to rear children, about organized religion, about the existence of an afterlife, and about how to measure success during an earthly life.

The conflicts shine through in some of the letters. For the most part, Orwell’s deepest emotions do not shine through. As Davison notes, “Orwell’s letters tend to be businesslike. This applies equally to friends and to his literary agent." But “businesslike” should not suggest Orwell as a cold person. He simply believed, as did many other literate men and women of his era, that pain should be expressed primarily in private. There is no doubt from other evidence that Orwell mourned at the deaths of his parents, his sister, and his first wife, who left him a widower, even as Orwell, who died before age 50, would leave his second wife a widow.

It is clear from Orwell’s letters that becoming a bestselling author did not equate with financial wealth. Orwell frequently wondered how to pay the bills, which sometimes led casual observers to consider him a dour man. He has been equated with his fictional character Benjamin, the name of the donkey in “Animal Farm.” Yet there is evidence in the letters that Orwell liked to laugh, and liked to bring out laughter in his friends.

There is no “typical” or “all knowing” Orwell letter to quote in summary. But I did find a charming a letter dated November 19, 1932, in which Eric Arthur Blair was trying to choose a pen name. He had used P.S. Burton while traveling tramp-like, but felt no resonance from that name as an author. So, he suggested to his publisher Kenneth Miles, H. Lewis Allways, and George Orwell, noting “I rather favour George Orwell.”

Circa 2013, no other name would seem right.  

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to George Orwell: A Life in Letters
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Books/Book-Reviews/2013/0812/George-Orwell-A-Life-in-Letters
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe