A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name.
135-503: Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was a British novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell , a name inspired by his favourite place, the River Orwell . His work is characterised by lucid prose , social criticism , opposition to all totalitarianism (i.e. to both left-wing authoritarian communism and to right-wing fascism), and support of democratic socialism . Orwell
270-496: A haigō (俳号). The haiku poet Matsuo Bashō had used two other haigō before he became fond of a banana plant ( bashō ) that had been given to him by a disciple and started using it as his pen name at the age of 36. Similar to a pen name, Japanese artists usually have a gō or art-name , which might change a number of times during their career. In some cases, artists adopted different gō at different stages of their career, usually to mark significant changes in their life. One of
405-541: A blue plaque at his Kentish Town residence. At this time, Victor Gollancz suggested Orwell spend a short time investigating social conditions in economically depressed Northern England . The Depression had introduced a number of working-class writers from the North of England to the reading public. It was one of these working-class authors, Jack Hilton , whom Orwell sought for advice. Orwell had written to Hilton seeking lodging and asking for recommendations on his route. Hilton
540-725: A tripe shop. In Wigan, he visited many homes to see how people lived, went down Bryn Hall coal mine , and used the local public library to consult public health records and reports on working conditions in mines. During this time, he was distracted by concerns about style and possible libel in Keep the Aspidistra Flying . He made a quick visit to Liverpool and during March, stayed in south Yorkshire, spending time in Sheffield and Barnsley . As well as visiting mines, including Grimethorpe , and observing social conditions, he attended meetings of
675-440: A Cadet Corps, in which Orwell was an active member. Orwell recalls stealing books off Connolly and Connolly describes how they reviewed each other's poetry. Cecil Beaton vaguely recalled working on the school's war-time allotments with Orwell. During his time at school, Orwell surreptitiously collected the saucy seaside postcards that were later to figure in his essay The Art of Donald McGill . In 1916 Orwell came second in
810-450: A Labour MP, returned for a period while recovering from being gassed in the trenches. The First World War had a significant effect in other ways – there was the increasing roll call of old boys killed in the trenches, Mr Wilkes spent his summer holidays driving ambulances in France, the boys knitted and put on entertainments for the injured troops camped nearby, and food shortages made feeding
945-542: A Swedish author of the 19th century, wrote under the name Ernst Ahlgren. The science fiction author Alice B. Sheldon for many years published under the masculine name of James Tiptree, Jr. , the discovery of which led to a deep discussion of gender in the genre. More recently, women who write in genres commonly written by men sometimes choose to use initials, such as K. A. Applegate , C. J. Cherryh , P. N. Elrod , D. C. Fontana , S. E. Hinton , G. A. Riplinger , J. D. Robb , and J. K. Rowling . Alternatively, they may use
1080-657: A brief visit in mid-1907, he did not see his father until 1912. Aged five, Eric was sent as a day student to a convent school in Henley-on-Thames. It was a Catholic convent run by French Ursuline nuns. His mother wanted him to have a public school education, but his family could not afford it. Through the social connections of Ida's brother Charles Limouzin, Blair gained a scholarship to St Cyprian's School in Eastbourne , East Sussex. Arriving in September 1911, he boarded for
1215-499: A broader-based education than the traditional crammer , offering sports and additional subjects. Prep school children were often boarders, starting as early as five or as late as twelve. Boarding was, and still is, for terms of three months. Eastbourne was a popular town for preparatory schools at the turn of the 20th century because its bracing sea air was believed to be healthy, and by 1896, Gowland's Eastbourne Directory listed 76 private schools for boys and girls. An Eton scholarship
1350-440: A case of mutual masturbation among a group of boys at the school. On the other hand, Orwell describes the actual "pattern of school life" as a continuous triumph of the strong over the weak. Virtue consisted in winning: it consisted in being bigger, stronger, handsomer, richer, more popular, more elegant, more unscrupulous than other people—in dominating them, bullying them, making them suffer pain, making them look foolish, getting
1485-485: A cell he returned home to Southwold. In April 1932 Blair became a teacher at The Hawthorns High School, a school for boys, in Hayes , west London. This was a small private school, and had only 14 or 16 boys aged between ten and sixteen, and one other master. While at the school he became friendly with the curate of the local parish church and became involved with activities there. Mabel Fierz had pursued matters with Moore, and at
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#17328448557301620-459: A challenge. Classics was taught by Mr Wilkes, while the formidable Mrs Wilkes taught English, history and scripture. The long-serving deputy, Robert Sillar, taught geography, drawing, shooting and nature studies and was highly regarded in old boys' accounts. Outings on the South Downs were a regular part of school life, and Sillar led the boys on nature study expeditions. The school had instituted
1755-541: A chill that developed into pneumonia. He was taken to a cottage hospital in Uxbridge, where for a time his life was believed to be in danger. When he was discharged in January 1934, he returned to Southwold to convalesce and, supported by his parents, never returned to teaching. He was disappointed when Gollancz turned down Burmese Days , mainly on the grounds of potential suits for libel, but Harper were prepared to publish it in
1890-498: A common lodging house, possibly George Levy's "kip". For a while he "went native" in his own country, dressing like a tramp , adopting the name P.S. Burton; he recorded his experiences of the low life for use in " The Spike ", his first published essay in English, and in the second half of his first book, Down and Out in Paris and London (1933). In early 1928 he moved to Paris. He lived in
2025-530: A day in the life of a tramp, and the beggars of London, respectively. "In one or another of its destructive forms, poverty was to become his obsessive subject—at the heart of almost everything he wrote until Homage to Catalonia ." He fell seriously ill in February 1929 and was taken to the Hôpital Cochin , a free hospital where medical students were trained. His experiences there were the basis of his essay " How
2160-777: A deposition was presented to the Tribunal for Espionage & High Treason in Valencia , charging the Orwells with "rabid Trotskyism", and being agents of the POUM. The trial of the leaders of the POUM and of Orwell (in his absence) took place in Barcelona in October and November 1938. Observing events from French Morocco, Orwell wrote that they were "only a by-product of the Russian Trotskyist trials and from
2295-472: A flat in Parliament Hill. A Clergyman's Daughter was published on 11 March 1935. In early 1935 Blair met his future wife Eileen O'Shaughnessy , when his landlady, Rosalind Obermeyer, who was studying for a master's degree in psychology at University College London , invited some of her fellow students to a party. One of these students, Elizaveta Fen, recalled Blair and his friend Richard Rees "draped" at
2430-489: A human turd floating in the Devonshire Baths, and mentions how a new boy's teeth turned green because of neglect. According to the essay, the main lesson that Orwell took away from St Cyprian's was that, for a "weak" and "inferior" person such as himself, "to survive, or at least to preserve any kind of independence, was essentially criminal, since it meant breaking rules which you yourself recognized," and that he lived in
2565-421: A kind of ritual square-bashing for dealing with generations of boys) and read mercenary motives into much that was just enthusiasm." Walter Christie and Henry Longhurst went further and wrote their own sympathetic accounts of the school in response to Orwell's and voiced their appreciation for the formidable Mrs Wilkes. Robert Pearce, researching the papers of another former pupil, made a comprehensive study from
2700-451: A moustache similar to those worn by officers of the British regiments stationed there. [He] also acquired some tattoos; on each knuckle he had a small untidy blue circle. Many Burmese living in rural areas still sport tattoos like this—they are believed to protect against bullets and snake bites. In April 1926 he moved to Moulmein, where his maternal grandmother lived. At the end of that year, he
2835-536: A newspaper in Lucknow , but by March 1938 Orwell's health had deteriorated. He was admitted to Preston Hall Sanatorium at Aylesford , Kent, a British Legion hospital for ex-servicemen to which his brother-in-law Laurence O'Shaughnessy was attached. He was thought initially to be suffering from tuberculosis and stayed in the sanatorium until September. Homage to Catalonia was published in London by Secker & Warburg and
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#17328448557302970-519: A normal catalogue of class placings, results of games, and school expeditions. In September 1914 Cyril Connolly arrived at the school and formed a close friendship with Orwell. World War I had just broken out, and Orwell's patriotic poem written at school was published in the Henley and South Oxfordshire Standard . The war made life difficult for the school – most of the teaching staff left to fight, although one staff member Charles Edgar Loseby , later
3105-400: A number of commenters, including Orwell's contemporaries at the school and biographers, but its powerful writing and haunting observations have made it one of Orwell's most commonly anthologised essays. The title of the essay is taken from " The Echoing Green ", one of William Blake 's Songs of Innocence which Orwell's mother had read to him when they lived at Henley : The allusion
3240-459: A pen name is employed to avoid overexposure. Prolific authors for pulp magazines often had two and sometimes three short stories appearing in one issue of a magazine; the editor would create several fictitious author names to hide this from readers. Robert A. Heinlein wrote stories under the pseudonyms of Anson MacDonald (a combination of his middle name and his then-wife's maiden name) and Caleb Strong so that more of his works could be published in
3375-585: A political/literary journal edited by Henri Barbusse (his first article as a professional writer, "La Censure en Angleterre", appeared in that journal on 6 October 1928); G. K.'s Weekly , where his first article to appear in England, "A Farthing Newspaper", was printed on 29 December 1928; and Le Progrès Civique (founded by the left-wing coalition Le Cartel des Gauches ). Three pieces appeared in successive weeks in Le Progrès Civique : discussing unemployment,
3510-552: A safe-conduct from the Spanish Embassy in Paris. Not wishing to commit himself until he had seen the situation in situ , Orwell instead used his Independent Labour Party contacts to get a letter of introduction to John McNair in Barcelona. Orwell set out for Spain on about 23 December 1936, dining with Henry Miller in Paris on the way. Miller told Orwell that going to fight in the Civil War out of some sense of obligation or guilt
3645-490: A single magazine. Stephen King published four novels under the name Richard Bachman because publishers did not feel the public would buy more than one novel per year from a single author. Eventually, after critics found a large number of style similarities, publishers revealed Bachman's true identity. Sometimes a pen name is used because an author believes that their name does not suit the genre they are writing in. Western novelist Pearl Gray dropped his first name and changed
3780-507: A stop to this. Orwell was also able to find a more sympathetic publisher for his views in Fredric Warburg of Secker & Warburg. Orwell returned to Wallington, which he found in disarray after his absence. He acquired goats, a cockerel (rooster) he called Henry Ford and a poodle puppy he called Marx ; and settled down to animal husbandry and writing Homage to Catalonia . There were thoughts of going to India to work on The Pioneer ,
3915-497: A sub-divisional officer, he was responsible for the security of some 200,000 people. At the end of 1924, he was posted to Syriam , closer to Rangoon. Syriam had the refinery of the Burmah Oil Company , "the surrounding land a barren waste, all vegetation killed off by the fumes of sulphur dioxide pouring out day and night from the stacks of the refinery." But the town was near Rangoon, a cosmopolitan seaport, and Blair went into
4050-421: A tank full of pike ." The piece fiercely attacks the cruelty and snobbery of both his fellow pupils and of most of the adults connected with the school, – particularly the headmaster, Mr. Vaughan Wilkes, nicknamed "Sambo," and his wife Cicely, nicknamed "Flip". Orwell describes the education he received as "a preparation for a sort of confidence trick," geared entirely towards maximising his future performance in
4185-456: A unisex pen name, such as Robin Hobb (the second pen name of novelist Margaret Astrid Lindholm Ogden ). A collective name , also known as a house name , is published under one pen name even though more than one author may have contributed to the series. In some cases, the first books in the series were written by one writer, but subsequent books were written by ghostwriters . For instance, many of
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4320-462: A version of the essay to Warburg, in May 1947, Orwell stated that he had written the "long autobiographical sketch" partly as a "sort of pendant" to the publication in 1938 of Enemies of Promise , an autobiographical work by Cyril Connolly , and at Connolly's request. Connolly, who had been Orwell's companion at St Cyprian's and later at Eton, had written an account of St Cyprian's which, though cynical,
4455-606: A version was published in the United States in the Partisan Review . In this version the school was referred to as "Crossgates" and the names of the headmaster and his wife altered to Mr and Mrs Simpson ("Sim" and his wife "Bingo"). Following Mrs Wilkes' death in 1967, "Such, Such Were the Joys" was published in the UK, but with only the name of the school and the proprietors in original form –
4590-471: A world "where it was not possible [for him] to be good." In the piece, Orwell also reflects that children live "in a sort of alien under-water world which we can only penetrate by memory or divination," and he wonders whether even in more modern times, without "God, Latin, the cane, class distinctions and sexual taboos," it might still be normal for schoolchildren to "live for years amid irrational terrors and lunatic misunderstandings." Secondary education for
4725-456: Is Blair as Burton (the name he used in his down-and-out episodes) in search of experience in the kips and spikes, in the East End, on the road, and in the hop fields of Kent. He went painting and bathing on the beach, and there he met Mabel and Francis Fierz, who later influenced his career. Over the next year he visited them in London, often meeting their friend Max Plowman. He also often stayed at
4860-460: Is best known for his allegorical novella Animal Farm (1945) and the dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), although his works also encompass literary criticism , poetry, fiction, and polemical journalism. His non-fiction works, including The Road to Wigan Pier (1937), documenting his experience of working-class life in the industrial north of England, and Homage to Catalonia (1938), an account of his experiences soldiering for
4995-664: Is difficult to trace the authorship of many earlier literary works from India. Later writers adopted the practice of using the name of their deity of worship or Guru's name as their pen name. In this case, typically the pen name would be included at the end of the prose or poetry. Composers of Indian classical music used pen names in compositions to assert authorship, including Sadarang , Gunarang ( Fayyaz Ahmed Khan ), Ada Rang (court musician of Muhammad Shah ), Sabrang ( Bade Ghulam Ali Khan ), and Ramrang ( Ramashreya Jha ). Other compositions are apocryphally ascribed to composers with their pen names. Japanese poets who write haiku often use
5130-553: Is known. Romance writer Nora Roberts writes erotic thrillers under the pen name J. D. Robb (such books were originally listed as by "J. D. Robb" and are now titled "Nora Roberts writing as J. D. Robb"); Scots writer Iain Banks wrote mainstream or literary fiction under his own name and science fiction under Iain M. Banks; Samuel Langhorne Clemens used the aliases Mark Twain and Sieur Louis de Conte for different works. Similarly, an author who writes both fiction and non-fiction (such as
5265-449: Is never explained in Orwell's text, but it is grimly ironic , since Orwell recollects his early boarding school experiences with almost unrelieved bitterness. St Cyprian's was, according to him, a "world of force and fraud and secrecy," in which the young Orwell, a shy, sickly and unattractive boy surrounded by pupils from families much richer than his own, was "like a goldfish " thrown "into
5400-516: Is used as a synonym for "pen name" ( plume means 'pen'). However, it is not the French usage, according to H. W. Fowler and F. G. Fowler in The King's English , but instead a "back-translation" from English. The French usage is nom de guerre (a more generalised term for 'pseudonym'). Since guerre means 'war' in French, nom de guerre confused some English speakers, who "corrected"
5535-551: The Henley and South Oxfordshire Standard . He came second to Connolly in the Harrow History Prize , had his work praised by the school's external examiner, and earned scholarships to Wellington and Eton . But inclusion on the Eton scholarship roll did not guarantee a place, and none was immediately available. He chose to stay at St Cyprian's until December 1916, in case a place at Eton became available. In January, Blair took up
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5670-584: The 8th Earl of Westmorland . His grandfather, Thomas Richard Arthur Blair, was an Anglican clergyman. Orwell's father was Richard Walmesley Blair, who worked as a Sub-Deputy Opium Agent in the Opium Department of the Indian Civil Service , overseeing the production and storage of opium for sale to China. His mother, Ida Mabel Blair ( née Limouzin), grew up in Moulmein , Burma, where her French father
5805-533: The Esperanto movement. The Westropes were friendly and provided him with comfortable accommodation at Warwick Mansions, Pond Street . He was sharing the job with Jon Kimche , who also lived with the Westropes. Blair worked at the shop in the afternoons and had his mornings free to write and his evenings free to socialise. These experiences provided background for the novel Keep the Aspidistra Flying (1936). As well as
5940-772: The First World War , the family moved 2 miles (3 km) south to Shiplake , Oxfordshire, where Eric became friendly with the Buddicom family, especially their daughter Jacintha . When they first met, he was standing on his head in a field. Asked why, he said, "You are noticed more if you stand on your head than if you are right way up." Growing up together, Buddicom and Blair became idealistic adolescent sweethearts, reading and writing poetry together, and dreaming of becoming famous writers. Blair also enjoyed shooting, fishing and birdwatching with Jacintha's brother and sister. While at St Cyprian's, Blair wrote two poems that were published in
6075-490: The Harrow History Prize , had another poem published in the Henley and South Oxfordshire Standard , and with Connolly had his work praised by the external examiner Sir Charles Grant Robertson . In 1916 Orwell won a scholarship to Wellington College , a school with a military background appropriate for colonial service. Mr Wilkes also believed Orwell could win an Eton scholarship and would benefit from Eton College life and so he sat
6210-526: The Karen ethnic group. A colleague, Roger Beadon, recalled that Blair was fast to learn the language and that before he left Burma, "was able to speak fluently with Burmese priests in 'very high-flown Burmese'." Blair made changes to his appearance in Burma that remained for the rest of his life, including adopting a pencil moustache . Emma Larkin writes in the introduction to Burmese Days : While in Burma, he acquired
6345-673: The Republican faction of the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), are as critically respected as his essays on politics, literature, language and culture. Orwell's work remains influential in popular culture and in political culture , and the adjective " Orwellian "—describing totalitarian and authoritarian social practices—is part of the English language, like many of his neologisms , such as " Big Brother ", " Thought Police ", " Room 101 ", " Newspeak ", " memory hole ", " doublethink ", and " thoughtcrime ". In 2008, The Times named Orwell
6480-621: The Spanish Civil War on the Republican side . Under the erroneous impression that he needed papers from some left-wing organisation to cross the frontier, on John Strachey 's recommendation he applied unsuccessfully to Harry Pollitt , leader of the British Communist Party . Pollitt was suspicious of Orwell's political reliability; he asked him whether he would undertake to join the International Brigades and advised him to get
6615-630: The Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia (a wing of the Spanish Communist Party ). Orwell was at first exasperated by this "kaleidoscope" of political parties and trade unions. The ILP was linked to the POUM so Orwell joined the POUM. After a time at the Lenin Barracks in Barcelona he was sent to the relatively quiet Aragon Front under Georges Kopp . By January 1937 he was at Alcubierre 1,500 feet (460 m) above sea level, in
6750-552: The characters of Dickens . Down and Out was modestly successful and was next published by Harper & Brothers in New York. In mid-1933 Blair left Hawthorns to become a teacher at Frays College , in Uxbridge , west London. This was a much larger establishment with 200 pupils and a full complement of staff. He acquired a motorcycle and took trips through the surrounding countryside. On one of these expeditions he became soaked and caught
6885-562: The pen name George Orwell because "It is a good round English name." The name George was inspired by the patron saint of England , and Orwell after the River Orwell in Suffolk which was one of Orwell's favourite locations. Down and Out in Paris and London was published by Victor Gollancz in London on 9 January 1933 and received favourable reviews, with Cecil Day-Lewis complimenting Orwell's "clarity and good sense", and The Times Literary Supplement comparing Orwell's eccentric characters to
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#17328448557307020-446: The Burma police for the novel Burmese Days (1934) and the essays " A Hanging " (1931) and " Shooting an Elephant " (1936). In England, he settled back in the family home at Southwold , renewing acquaintance with local friends and attending an Old Etonian dinner. He visited his old tutor Gow at Cambridge for advice on becoming a writer. In 1927 he moved to London. Ruth Pitter , a family acquaintance, helped him find lodgings, and by
7155-569: The Communist Party and of Oswald Mosley ("his speech the usual claptrap—The blame for everything was put upon mysterious international gangs of Jews") where he saw the tactics of the Blackshirts . He also made visits to his sister at Headingley , during which he visited the Brontë Parsonage at Haworth . Orwell needed somewhere he could concentrate on writing his book, and once again help
7290-637: The Communist press he was a fascist. After his return to the front, he was wounded in the throat by a sniper's bullet. At 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m), Orwell was considerably taller than the Spanish fighters and had been warned against standing against the trench parapet. Unable to speak, and with blood pouring from his mouth, Orwell was carried on a stretcher to Siétamo , loaded on an ambulance and sent to hospital in Lleida . He recovered sufficiently to get up and on 27 May 1937
7425-523: The Communists, Orwell was still ready to treat them as friends and allies. That would soon change." During the Barcelona May Days Orwell was caught up in the factional fighting. He spent much of the time on a roof, with a stack of novels, but encountered Jon Kimche from his Hampstead days during the stay. The subsequent campaign of lies and distortion carried out by the Communist press, in which
7560-429: The Eton exam as well. Orwell headed the school prize list in 1916 with Classics, while Cyril Connolly won the English prize, Cecil Beaton won the drawing prize, Walter Christie won the history prize and Rupert Lonsdale won the scripture prize. Henry Longhurst , Lord Pollington and Lord Malden were among the winners of other class prizes. Other activities in which Orwell was involved included narrowly missing winning
7695-468: The French metaphor. This phrase precedes "pen name", being attested to The Knickerbocker , in 1841. An author may use a pen name if their real name is likely to be confused with that of another author or other significant individual. For instance, in 1899 the British politician Winston Churchill wrote under the name Winston S. Churchill to distinguish his writings from those of the American novelist of
7830-481: The Indian Police Service. For this he had to pass an entrance examination. In December 1921 he left Eton and travelled to join his retired father, mother, and younger sister Avril, who that month had moved to 40 Stradbroke Road, Southwold , Suffolk, the first of their four homes in the town. Blair was enrolled at a crammer there called Craighurst, and brushed up on his Classics, English, and History. He passed
7965-481: The Joys " Such, Such Were the Joys " is a long autobiographical essay by the English writer George Orwell . In the piece, Orwell describes his experiences between the ages of eight and thirteen, in the years before and during World War I (from September 1911 to December 1916), while a pupil at a preparatory school : St Cyprian's , in the seaside town of Eastbourne , in Sussex . The essay offers various reflections on
8100-421: The Joys immediately after Orwell's death, but Sir Richard Rees , who was Orwell's literary executor violently disagreed. He considered the work "grossly exaggerated, badly written, and likely to harm Orwell's reputation" and when Sonia insisted, he told her, "You’re completely nutty about St Cyprian's". Thereafter, Rees had no further involvement in publishing decisions. In 1952, within two years of Orwell's death
8235-471: The O'Shaughnessy home at Greenwich. He found his views on the Spanish Civil War out of favour. Kingsley Martin rejected two of his works and Gollancz was equally cautious. At the same time, the communist Daily Worker was running an attack on The Road to Wigan Pier , taking out of context Orwell writing that "the working classes smell"; a letter to Gollancz from Orwell threatening libel action brought
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#17328448557308370-544: The POUM was accused of collaborating with the fascists, had a dramatic effect on Orwell. Instead of joining the International Brigades as he had intended, he decided to return to the Aragon Front. Once the May fighting was over, he was approached by a Communist friend who asked if he still intended transferring to the International Brigades. Orwell expressed surprise that they should still want him, because according to
8505-581: The Poor Die ", published in 1946 (though he chose not to identify the hospital). Shortly afterwards, he had all his money stolen from his lodging house. Whether through necessity or to collect material, he undertook menial jobs such as dishwashing in a fashionable hotel on the rue de Rivoli , which he later described in Down and Out in Paris and London . In August 1929, he sent a copy of " The Spike " to John Middleton Murry 's New Adelphi magazine in London. The magazine
8640-644: The United States. Meanwhile, Blair started work on the novel A Clergyman's Daughter , drawing upon his life as a teacher and on life in Southwold. Eventually in October, after sending A Clergyman's Daughter to Moore, he left for London to take a job that had been found for him by his aunt Nellie Limouzin. This job was as a part-time assistant in Booklovers' Corner, a second-hand bookshop in Hampstead run by Francis and Myfanwy Westrope, who were friends of Nellie Limouzin in
8775-462: The admissions exams to leading English public schools , such as Eton and Harrow , without any concern for actual knowledge or understanding. Orwell also claims that he was accepted as a boarder at St Cyprian's —at half of the usual fees—in the hopes that he would earn scholarship that would contribute to the school's prestige, and therefore to its commercial success. Morever, he writes that his training relied heavily on corporal punishment , while
8910-473: The age of eight in 1911. The school had been founded twelve years earlier by the headmaster, Vaughan Wilkes, and his wife Cicely. It had moved into newly built facilities in extended grounds in 1906. Although able to charge high fees for better-off parents, the Wilkeses supported traditional families on lower incomes, particularly in the colonial service, by taking their children at considerably reduced fees. Orwell
9045-449: The author of the Warriors novel series, is a collective pen name used by authors Kate Cary , Cherith Baldry , Tui T. Sutherland , and the editor Victoria Holmes . Collaborative authors may also have their works published under a single pen name. Frederic Dannay and Manfred B. Lee published their mystery novels and stories under the pen name Ellery Queen , which was also used to publish
9180-553: The better of them in every way. Life was hierarchical and whatever happened was right. There were the strong, who deserved to win and always did win, and there were the weak, who deserved to lose and always did lose, everlastingly. Orwell's story is also punctuated by anecdotes about the dirt and squalor surrounding him at St Cyprian's. He describes the porridge at the dining hall as containing "more lumps, hairs and unexplained black things than one would have thought possible, unless someone were putting them there on purpose," recalls seeing
9315-546: The city as often as he could, "to browse in a bookshop; to eat well-cooked food; to get away from the boring routine of police life". In September 1925 he went to Insein , the home of Insein Prison . By this time, Blair had completed his training and was receiving a monthly salary of Rs. 740, including allowances. Blair recalled he faced hostility from the Burmese, "in the end the sneering yellow faces of young men that met me everywhere,
9450-505: The clergyman's daughter who worked as a gym-teacher at St Felix Girls' School . Although Salkeld rejected his offer of marriage, she remained a friend and regular correspondent for many years. He also renewed friendships with older friends, such as Dennis Collings, whose girlfriend Eleanor Jacques was also to play a part in his life. In early 1930 he stayed briefly in Bramley, Leeds , with his sister Marjorie and her husband Humphrey Dakin. Blair
9585-494: The contradictions of the Edwardian middle and upper class world-view, on the psychology of children, and on the experience of oppression and class conflict . It was probably drafted in 1939–40, revised in 1945–46, and not completed until May or June 1948. It was first published by Partisan Review in 1952, two years after Orwell's death. The veracity of the stories it contains about life at St. Cyprian's has been challenged by
9720-476: The depth of winter. There was very little military action and Orwell was shocked by the lack of munitions, food and firewood as well as other extreme deprivations. With his Cadet Corps and police training, Orwell was quickly made a corporal. On the arrival of a British ILP Contingent about three weeks later, Orwell and the other English militiaman, Williams, were sent with them to Monte Oscuro and on to Huesca . Meanwhile, back in England, Eileen had been handling
9855-557: The diving competition, playing the part of Mr Jingle in the school play, and being commended as a useful member of the 1st XI cricket team. Although he had won an Eton scholarship, this was subject to a place becoming available. Instead of going to Wellington he stayed at St Cyprian's for an additional term in the hope that a place at Eton would materialise. As this had not happened by the end of term, he went on to Wellington in January. However, after he had been there for nine weeks, an Eton place became available, which Orwell took. On sending
9990-447: The dominant classes in England since the early 19th century has been provided mainly by the fee-paying public schools . These have selective entrance by examination and offer scholarships by competitive examination, which offset all or part of the fees. The curriculum in Orwell's time, and for long after, centred on the classics . Prep schools were established from the 19th century to prepare students for these examinations and to provide
10125-554: The end of 1927 he had moved into rooms in Portobello Road ; a blue plaque commemorates his residence there. Pitter's involvement in the move "would have lent it a reassuring respectability in Mrs. Blair's eyes." Pitter had a sympathetic interest in Blair's writing, pointed out weaknesses in his poetry, and advised him to write about what he knew. In fact he decided to write of "certain aspects of
10260-410: The end of June 1932, Moore told Blair that Victor Gollancz was prepared to publish A Scullion's Diary for a £40 advance, through his recently founded publishing house, Victor Gollancz Ltd , which was an outlet for radical and socialist works. At the end of the summer term in 1932, Blair returned to Southwold, where his parents had used a legacy to buy their own home. Blair and his sister Avril spent
10395-481: The end of the name (often marked by a graphical sign ـؔ placed above it) when referring to the poet by his full name. For example, Hafez is a pen-name for Shams al-Din , and thus the usual way to refer to him would be Shams al-Din Hafez or just Hafez . Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan (his official name and title) is referred to as Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib , or just Mirza Ghalib . Such, Such Were
10530-480: The enigmatic twentieth-century novelist B. Traven has never been conclusively revealed, despite thorough research. A multiple-use name or anonymity pseudonym is a pseudonym open for anyone to use and these have been adopted by various groups, often as a protest against the cult of individual creators. In Italy, two anonymous groups of writers have gained some popularity with the collective names of Luther Blissett and Wu Ming . Wuxia novelist Louis Cha uses
10665-629: The exam, coming seventh out of the 26 who passed. Blair's maternal grandmother lived at Moulmein , so he chose a posting in Burma , then still a province of British India. In October 1922 he sailed on board SS Herefordshire to join the Indian Imperial Police in Burma. A month later, he arrived at Rangoon and travelled to the police training school in Mandalay . He was appointed an Assistant District Superintendent (on probation) on 29 November 1922, at
10800-521: The fireplace, looking, she thought, "moth-eaten and prematurely aged." Around this time, Blair had started to write reviews for The New English Weekly . In June, Burmese Days was published and Cyril Connolly's positive review in the New Statesman prompted Blair to re-establish contact with his old friend. In August, he moved into a flat, at 50 Lawford Road, Kentish Town , which he shared with Michael Sayers and Rayner Heppenstall . The relationship
10935-536: The first version of Down and Out . On the advice of Richard Rees, he offered it to Faber & Faber , but their editorial director, T. S. Eliot , also rejected it. Blair ended the year by deliberately getting himself arrested, so that he could experience Christmas in prison, but after he was picked up and taken to Bethnal Green police station in the East End of London the authorities did not regard his "drunk and disorderly" behaviour as imprisonable, and after two days in
11070-452: The holidays making the house habitable while he also worked on Burmese Days . He was also spending time with Eleanor Jacques, but her attachment to Dennis Collings remained an obstacle to his hopes of a more serious relationship. "Clink", an essay describing his failed attempt to get sent to prison, appeared in the August 1932 number of Adelphi . He returned to teaching at Hayes and prepared for
11205-406: The homes of Ruth Pitter and Richard Rees, where he could "change" for his sporadic tramping expeditions. One of his jobs was domestic work at a lodgings for half a crown (two shillings and sixpence, or one-eighth of a pound) a day. Blair now contributed regularly to Adelphi , with " A Hanging " appearing in August 1931. From August to September 1931 his explorations of poverty continued, and, like
11340-414: The insults hooted after me when I was at a safe distance, got badly on my nerves". He recalled that "I was stuck between my hatred of the empire I served and my rage against the evil-spirited little beasts who tried to make my job impossible". In Burma, Blair acquired a reputation as an outsider. He spent much of his time alone, reading or pursuing non- pukka activities, such as attending the churches of
11475-477: The issues relating to the publication of The Road to Wigan Pier before setting out for Spain herself, leaving Nellie Limouzin to look after The Stores. Eileen volunteered for a post in John McNair's office and with the help of Georges Kopp paid visits to her husband, bringing him English tea, chocolate and cigars. Orwell had to spend some days in hospital with a poisoned hand and had most of his possessions stolen by
11610-532: The later books in The Saint adventure series were not written by Leslie Charteris , the series' originator. Similarly, Nancy Drew mystery books are published as though they were written by Carolyn Keene , The Hardy Boys books are published as the work of Franklin W. Dixon , and The Bobbsey Twins series are credited to Laura Lee Hope , although numerous authors have been involved in each series. Erin Hunter ,
11745-603: The main characters. Some, however, do this to fit a certain theme. One example, Pseudonymous Bosch , used his pen name just to expand the theme of secrecy in The Secret Series . Authors also may occasionally choose pen names to appear in more favorable positions in bookshops or libraries , to maximize visibility when placed on shelves that are conventionally arranged alphabetically moving horizontally, then upwards vertically. Some female authors have used pen names to ensure that their works were accepted by publishers and/or
11880-458: The marketing or aesthetic presentation of the work. The author's real identity may be known only to the publisher or may become common knowledge. In some cases, such as those of Elena Ferrante and Torsten Krol , a pen name may preserve an author's long-term anonymity . Pen name is formed by joining pen with name . Its earliest use in English is in the 1860s, in the writings of Bayard Taylor . The French-language phrase nom de plume
12015-408: The mathematician and fantasy writer Charles Dodgson, who wrote as Lewis Carroll ) may use a pseudonym for fiction writing. Science fiction author Harry Turtledove has used the name H. N. Turtletaub for some historical novels he has written because he and his publisher felt that the presumed lower sales of those novels might hurt bookstore orders for the novels he writes under his name. Occasionally,
12150-514: The most extreme examples of this is Hokusai , who in the period 1798 to 1806 alone used no fewer than six. Manga artist Ogure Ito uses the pen name Oh! great because his real name Ogure Ito is roughly how the Japanese pronounce "oh great". A shâ'er ( Persian from Arabic, for poet) (a poet who writes she'rs in Urdu or Persian ) almost always has a "takhallus", a pen name, traditionally placed at
12285-504: The name Émile Ajar and even asked his cousin's son to impersonate Ajar; thus he received the most prestigious French literary prize twice, which is forbidden by the prize rules. He revealed the affair in a book he sent his editor just before committing suicide in 1980. A pen name may be shared by different writers to suggest continuity of authorship. Thus the Bessie Bunter series of English boarding school stories, initially written by
12420-510: The name "Publius" because it recalled the founder of the Roman Republic and using it implied a positive intention. In pure mathematics , Nicolas Bourbaki is the pseudonym of a group of mostly French-connected mathematicians attempting to expose the field in an axiomatic and self-contained, encyclopedic form. A pseudonym may be used to protect the writer of exposé books about espionage or crime. Former SAS soldier Steven Billy Mitchell used
12555-448: The next five years, returning home only for holidays. Although he knew nothing of the reduced fees, he "soon recognised that he was from a poorer home". Blair hated the school and many years later wrote an essay " Such, Such Were the Joys ", published posthumously, based on his time there. At St Cyprian's, Blair first met Cyril Connolly , who became a writer and who, as the editor of Horizon , published several of Orwell's essays. Before
12690-476: The north was The Road to Wigan Pier , published by Gollancz for the Left Book Club in 1937. The first half of the book documents his social investigations of Lancashire and Yorkshire , including an evocative description of working life in the coal mines. The second half is a long essay on his upbringing and the development of his political conscience, which includes an argument for socialism. Gollancz feared
12825-516: The pay of Rs. 525 per month. After a short posting at Maymyo , Burma's principal hill station , he was posted to the frontier outpost of Myaungmya in the Irrawaddy Delta at the beginning of 1924. Working as an imperial police officer gave him considerable responsibility while most of his contemporaries were still at university in England. When he was posted farther east in the Delta to Twante as
12960-484: The pen name Gum Yoong (金庸) by taking apart the components of the Chinese character in his given name (鏞) from his birth name Cha Leung-yung (查良鏞). In Indian languages, writers may put a pen name at the end of their names, like Ramdhari Singh Dinkar . Some writers, like Firaq Gorakhpuri , wrote only under a pen name. In early Indian literature, authors considered the use of names egotistical. Because names were avoided, it
13095-482: The perspective of the school, investigating school records and other pupils' accounts. While some features were universal features of prep school life, he concluded that Orwell's depiction bore little relation to reality and that Orwell's defamatory allegations were unsupportable. Davison writes "If one is looking for a factual account for life at St Cyprian's, this is not the place to seek it." On Orwell's claimed state of misery, Jacintha Buddicom , who knew him well at
13230-532: The piece "It is hilariously funny, but it is exaggerated". Connolly, on reviewing Stansky & Abraham's interpretation, wrote "I was at first enchanted as by anything which recalls one's youth but when I went to verify some references from my old reports and letters I was nearly sick... In the case of St Cyprian's and the Wilkes whom I had so blithely mocked I feel an emotional disturbance... The Wilkeses were true friends and I had caricatured their mannerisms (developed as
13365-459: The place at Wellington, where he spent the Spring term. In May 1917 a place became available as a King's Scholar at Eton. At this time the family lived at Mall Chambers, Notting Hill Gate. Blair remained at Eton until December 1921, when he left midway between his 18th and 19th birthdays. Wellington was "beastly", Blair told Jacintha, but he said he was "interested and happy" at Eton. His principal tutor
13500-515: The political situation in Barcelona had deteriorated and the POUM—painted by the pro-Soviet Communists as a Trotskyist organisation—was outlawed and under attack. Members, including Kopp, were arrested and others were in hiding. Orwell and his wife were under threat and had to lie low, although they broke cover to try to help Kopp. They finally escaped from Spain by train. In the first week of July 1937 Orwell arrived back at Wallington; on 13 July 1937
13635-532: The present that he set out to know" and ventured into the East End of London —the first of the occasional sorties he would make intermittently over a period of five years to discover the world of poverty and the down-and-outers who inhabit it. In imitation of Jack London , whose writing he admired (particularly The People of the Abyss ), Blair started to explore the poorer parts of London. On his first outing he set out to Limehouse Causeway , spending his first night in
13770-571: The production of other publications— College Days and Bubble and Squeak —and participated in the Eton Wall Game . His parents could not afford to send him to university without another scholarship, and they concluded from his poor results he would not be able to win one. Runciman noted he had a romantic idea about the East , and the family decided Blair should join the Imperial Police , the precursor of
13905-435: The prolific Charles Hamilton under the name Hilda Richards, was taken on by other authors who continued to use the same pen name. In some forms of fiction, the pen name adopted is the name of the lead character, to suggest to the reader that the book is an autobiography of a real person. Daniel Handler used the pseudonym Lemony Snicket to present his A Series of Unfortunate Events books as memoirs by an acquaintance of
14040-808: The protagonist of A Clergyman's Daughter , he followed the East End tradition of working in the Kent hop fields. He kept a diary about his experiences there. Afterwards, he lodged in the Tooley Street kip , but could not stand it for long, and with financial help from his parents moved to Windsor Street, where he stayed until Christmas. "Hop Picking", by Eric Blair, appeared in the October 1931 issue of New Statesman , whose editorial staff included his old friend Cyril Connolly. Mabel Fierz put him in contact with Leonard Moore , who became his literary agent in April 1932. At this time Jonathan Cape rejected A Scullion's Diary ,
14175-442: The pseudonym Andy McNab for his book about a failed SAS mission titled Bravo Two Zero . The name Ibn Warraq ("son of a papermaker") has been used by dissident Muslim authors. Author Brian O'Nolan used the pen names Flann O'Brien and Myles na gCopaleen for his novels and journalistic writing from the 1940s to the 1960s because Irish civil servants were not permitted at that time to publish political writings. The identity of
14310-419: The pseudonym George Sand . Charlotte , Emily , and Anne Brontë published under the names Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell, respectively. French-Savoyard writer and poet Amélie Gex chose to publish as Dian de Jeânna ("John, son of Jane") during the first half of her career. Karen Blixen 's very successful Out of Africa (1937) was originally published under the pen name Isak Dinesen. Victoria Benedictsson ,
14445-460: The public. Such is the case of Peru's Clarinda , whose work was published in the early 17th century. More often, women have adopted masculine pen names. This was common in the 19th century when women were beginning to make inroads into literature but, it was felt they would not be taken as seriously by readers as male authors. For example, Mary Ann Evans wrote under the pen name George Eliot ; and Amandine Aurore Lucile Dupin, and Baronne Dudevant, used
14580-473: The publication of his book, now known as Down and Out in Paris and London . He wished to publish under a different name to avoid any embarrassment to his family over his time as a "tramp". In a letter to Moore (dated 15 November 1932), he left the choice of pseudonym to Moore and to Gollancz. Four days later, he wrote to Moore, suggesting the pseudonyms P. S. Burton (a name he used when tramping), Kenneth Miles, George Orwell, and H. Lewis Allways. He finally adopted
14715-540: The real names of his fellow pupils were still disguised. In the Completed Works edition (2000), the original text including all names has been restored. Most biographers have to a greater or lesser extent concluded that "Such, Such Were the Joys" significantly misrepresents the school and exaggerates Orwell's suffering there . David Farrer, partner of Orwell's publishers, considered it a "gross distortion of what took place". Of his contemporaries, Cecil Beaton wrote of
14850-465: The rich boys received preferential treatment and were never beaten. The essay lashes out at the hypocrisy of the Edwardian society in which Orwell grew up and in which a boy was "bidden to be at once a Christian and a social success, which is impossible." A chapter is devoted to the puritanical attitudes towards sex at the time and to the frightful consequences of the discovery of what appears to have been
14985-538: The rue du Pot de Fer, a working class district in the 5th arrondissement . His aunt Ellen (Nellie) Kate Limouzin also lived in Paris (with the Esperantist Eugène Lanti ) and gave him social and, when necessary, financial support. He began to write novels, including an early version of Burmese Days , but nothing else survives from that period. He was more successful as a journalist and published articles in Monde ,
15120-458: The same name . An author may use a pen name implying a rank or title which they have never actually held. William Earl Johns wrote under the name "Capt. W. E. Johns" although the highest army rank he held was acting lieutenant and his highest air force rank was flying officer . Authors who regularly write in more than one genre may use different pen names for each, either in an attempt to conceal their true identity or even after their identity
15255-412: The same pseudonym; examples include T. H. Lain in fiction. The Australian fiction collaborators who write under the pen name Alice Campion are a group of women who have so far written The Painted Sky (2015) and The Shifting Light (2017). In the 1780s, The Federalist Papers were written under the pseudonym "Publius" by Alexander Hamilton , James Madison , and John Jay . The three men chose
15390-611: The second half would offend readers and added a disculpatory preface to the book while Orwell was in Spain. Orwell's research for The Road to Wigan Pier led to him being placed under surveillance by the Special Branch from 1936. Orwell married O'Shaughnessy on 9 June 1936. Shortly afterwards, the political crisis began in Spain and Orwell followed developments there closely. At the end of the year, concerned by Francisco Franco 's military uprising, Orwell decided to go to Spain to take part in
15525-476: The second-greatest British writer since 1945. Eric Arthur Blair was born on 25 June 1903 in Motihari , Bengal Presidency (now Bihar ), British India , into what he described as a " lower-upper-middle class " family. His great-great-grandfather, Charles Blair, was a wealthy slaveowning country gentleman and absentee owner of two Jamaican plantations ; hailing from Dorset , he married Lady Mary Fane, daughter of
15660-501: The spelling of his last name to Zane Grey because he believed that his real name did not suit the Western genre. Romance novelist Angela Knight writes under that name instead of her actual name (Julie Woodcock) because of the double entendre of her surname in the context of that genre. Romain Gary , who was a well-known French writer, decided in 1973 to write novels in a different style under
15795-676: The staff. He returned to the front and saw some action in a night attack on the Nationalist trenches where he chased an enemy soldier with a bayonet and bombed an enemy rifle position. In April, Orwell returned to Barcelona. Wanting to be sent to the Madrid front, which meant he "must join the International Column", he approached a Communist friend attached to the Spanish Medical Aid and explained his case. "Although he did not think much of
15930-512: The start every kind of lie, including flagrant absurdities, has been circulated in the Communist press." Orwell's experiences in the Spanish Civil War gave rise to Homage to Catalonia (1938). In his book, The International Brigades: Fascism, Freedom and the Spanish Civil War, Giles Tremlett writes that according to Soviet files, Orwell and his wife Eileen were spied on in Barcelona in May 1937. Orwell returned to England in June 1937, and stayed at
16065-671: The thing I care most about is gardening, especially vegetable gardening". He also tested the possibility of reopening the Stores as a village shop. Keep the Aspidistra Flying was published by Gollancz on 20 April 1936. On 4 August, Orwell gave a talk at the Adelphi Summer School held at Langham , entitled An Outsider Sees the Distressed Areas ; others who spoke at the school included John Strachey , Max Plowman , Karl Polanyi and Reinhold Niebuhr . The result of his journeys through
16200-583: The various guests of the Westropes, he was able to enjoy the company of Richard Rees and the Adelphi writers and Mabel Fierz. The Westropes and Kimche were members of the Independent Labour Party , although at this time Blair was not seriously politically active. He was writing for the Adelphi and preparing A Clergyman's Daughter and Burmese Days for publication. At the beginning of 1935 he had to move out of Warwick Mansions, and Mabel Fierz found him
16335-491: The work of several ghostwriters they commissioned. The writers of Atlanta Nights , a deliberately bad book intended to embarrass the publishing firm PublishAmerica , used the pen name Travis Tea. Additionally, the credited author of The Expanse , James S. A. Corey , is an amalgam of the middle names of collaborating writers Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck respectively, while S. A. is the initials of Abraham's daughter. Sometimes multiple authors will write related books under
16470-428: Was A. S. F. Gow , Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge , who gave him advice later in his career. Blair was taught French by Aldous Huxley . Steven Runciman , who was at Eton with Blair, noted that he and his contemporaries appreciated Huxley's linguistic flair. Blair's performance reports suggest he neglected his studies, but he worked with Roger Mynors to produce a college magazine, The Election Times , joined in
16605-612: Was "sheer stupidity" and that the Englishman's ideas "about combating Fascism, defending democracy, etc., etc., were all baloney". A few days later in Barcelona , Orwell met John McNair of the Independent Labour Party (ILP) Office. The Republican government was supported by a number of factions with conflicting aims, including the Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (POUM), the anarcho-syndicalist Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT) and
16740-429: Was a commercial flop; it re-emerged in the 1950s, following on the success of Orwell's later books. Pen name A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise the author's gender, to distance the author from their other works, to protect the author from retribution for their writings, to merge multiple persons into a single identifiable author, or for any of several reasons related to
16875-651: Was assigned to Katha in Upper Burma , where he contracted dengue fever in 1927. Entitled to a leave in England that year, he was allowed to return in July due to his illness. While on holiday with his family in Cornwall in September 1927, he reappraised his life. Deciding against returning to Burma, he resigned from the Indian Imperial Police to become a writer, with effect from 12 March 1928. He drew on his experiences in
17010-566: Was edited by Max Plowman and Sir Richard Rees , and Plowman accepted the work for publication. In December 1929 after nearly two years in Paris, Blair returned to England and went directly to his parents' house in Southwold , a coastal town in Suffolk , which remained his base for the next five years. The family was well established in the town, where his sister Avril ran a tea-house. He became acquainted with many local people, including Brenda Salkeld,
17145-422: Was fairly appreciative compared to Orwell's. In his letter to Warburg, Orwell wrote that he thought his essay "really too libellous to print", adding that it should be printed "when the people most concerned are dead". The libel report for Secker & Warburg, compiled after Orwell's death, judged that well over thirty paragraphs were defamatory. Sonia Orwell and Warburg both wanted to publish Such, Such Were
17280-539: Was involved in speculative ventures. Eric had two sisters: Marjorie, five years older; and Avril, five years younger. When Eric was one year old, his mother took him and Marjorie to England. In 2014 restoration work began on Orwell's birthplace and ancestral house in Motihari. In 1904, Ida settled with her children at Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire. Eric was brought up in the company of his mother and sisters and, apart from
17415-447: Was most highly prized, not just for its financial value but because it provided access to the elite intellectual cadre of King's Scholars . One of the leading prep schools of the time, Summer Fields School , set in the university town of Oxford and with which St Cyprian's eventually was to merge, won every year at least five of the available Eton scholarships. Orwell's mother sent him (as Eric Blair) to board at St Cyprian's School at
17550-417: Was one of several beneficiaries, who also included Cyril Connolly , Alaric Jacob , and Walter Christie . Mrs Wilkes spotted Orwell looking sad on his arrival and tried to comfort him, but noted "there was no warmth in him". Nor did he respond positively to being taken on a picnic the following day. Senior boys in Orwell's first year included Ian Fraser and Bolo Whistler . His early letters home report
17685-399: Was provided by Aunt Nellie, who was living at Wallington, Hertfordshire in a very small 16th-century cottage called the "Stores". Orwell took over the tenancy and moved in on 2 April 1936. He started work on The Road to Wigan Pier by the end of April, but also spent hours working on the garden, planting a rose garden which is still extant, and revealing four years later that "outside my work
17820-400: Was sent on to Tarragona and two days later to a POUM sanatorium in the suburbs of Barcelona. The bullet had missed his main artery by the barest margin and his voice was barely audible. It had been such a clean shot that the wound immediately went through the process of cauterisation . He received electrotherapy treatment and was declared medically unfit for service. By the middle of June,
17955-560: Was sometimes awkward and Blair and Heppenstall even came to blows, though they remained friends and later worked together on BBC broadcasts. Blair was now working on Keep the Aspidistra Flying , and also tried unsuccessfully to write a serial for the News Chronicle . By October 1935 his flatmates had moved out and he was struggling to pay the rent on his own. He remained until the end of January 1936, when he stopped working at Booklovers' Corner. In 1980, English Heritage honoured Orwell with
18090-562: Was unable to provide him lodging, but suggested that he travel to Wigan rather than Rochdale, "for there are the colliers and they're good stuff." On 31 January 1936, Orwell set out by public transport and on foot. Arriving in Manchester after the banks had closed, he had to stay in a common lodging-house. The next day he picked up a list of contacts sent by Richard Rees. One of these, the trade union official Frank Meade, suggested Wigan , where Orwell spent February staying in dirty lodgings over
18225-412: Was writing reviews for Adelphi and acting as a private tutor to a disabled child at Southwold. He then became tutor to three young brothers, one of whom, Richard Peters , later became a distinguished academic. His history in these years is marked by dualities and contrasts. There is Blair leading a respectable, outwardly eventless life at his parents' house in Southwold, writing; then in contrast, there
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