George Orwell

1. George Orwell Author of Fiction, Polemical Journalism, Literary Criticism, and Poetry

2. The Legend • Considered the twentieth century’s best chronicler of English culture • His most famous books, 1984 and Animal Farm, have sold more copies than any two books by any other twentieth-century author • Coined the term “Orwellian”, which describes a concept that obstructs the idea of a free society

3. Early Life • Born Eric Arthur Blair on June 25, 1903 in what is now India • Blair’s pen name was George Orwell • Generations of the Blair Family were very wealthy, but Blair described his family as “lower middle class” • His father was a soldier, and his mother took him, and his two sisters, to England when he was a year old

4. Education • Began working as a day-boy at the age of five, for a private school, so that he would eventually qualify for a scholarship • Transferred to St. Cyprian’s School, which he hated, and parodied in his later work • Published poems while in school, which earned him a scholarship to Wellington College and Eton College, although he never earned a degree

5. Policing • Became a policeman when college never proved productive • Placed 7th in intelligence within the academy • Was responsible for more than 200,000 people at one time • Promoted to Assistant District Superintendent • Became ill with Dengue Fever, an insanely contagious rash, and never returned to the force

6. Teaching • After recovering from being ill, and traveling the world, living in poverty, he moved in with his parents • Blair took a job teaching at a high school, and then transferred to a local college • Wrote articles of the socialist persuasion to make ends meet • Took up the pen name, George Orwell, to prevent embarrassment to his family

7. Salesman • Became ill with pneumonia, and resigned from his teaching position • Became an afternoon salesman for “Booklover’s Corner” • Job provided room and board • Wrote during the day, and partied at night • Left the life of a salesman, and concentrated on writing his own works, which meant he lived in poverty again

8. Marriage and Thievery • Moved to a cottage his aunt owned, when he could no longer pay his bills • Turned the cottage, which had no modern-day utilities (running water / indoor plumbing), into a village shop and tourist attraction • Married Eileen O’Shaughnessy in 1936 • Became ill after being bitten by a poisonous animal, and had most of his possessions stolen

9. Animal Farm • Became ill with tuberculosis, and after recovering from TB, became ill with bronchitis • Even though he suffered from chronic bronchitis, meaning it never went away, he was a lifelong chain smoker. In fact, he rolled his own cigarettes. • Was labeled as unfit for any war efforts • His mother died in 1943, and he began working on a political novel, which would become Animal Farm • Struggled with finding a supportive publisher

10. 1945 • Animal Farm was published in 1945, and gave Orwell fame • He and his wife adopted a son, naming him Richard Horatio in 1945 • His wife went to the hospital for a routine hysterectomy, and died during surgery in 1945 • Continued to write political articles, and had to hire help to take care of his newly adopted son • Orwell suffered a tubercular hemorrhage

11. Death • In 1949, Orwell became seriously ill, and was hospitalized • Started dating Sonia Brownwell right before being hospitalized, and married her on his deathbed • The couple planned to visit the Swiss Alps, but the trip was interrupted by his death, when a main artery burst in his lungs, killing him at 46 (1950) • Orwell was buried with no mention of his pen name, just his birth name • His last request was that no biography be written about him, and it wasn’t until his second wife’s death, that one was published