George Orwell
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| Born: | June 25, 1903 |
| Died: | January 21, 1950 |
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[edit] Biography
Eric Arthur Blair better known by the pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist. Noted as a novelist, critic, political and cultural commentator, Orwell is among the most widely admired English-language essayists of the 20th century. He is best known for two novels critical of totalitarianism in general, and Stalinism in particular: Animal Farm and 1984. Both were written and published towards the end of his life.
Born in India when it was still part of the British Empire under the British Raj, George Orwell, a British author and journalist, was born on June 25, 1903 as Eric Arthur Blair. His father, Richard Walmesly Blair, worked for the Civil Service Opium Department. He was brought to England by his mother, Ida Mabel Limouzin Blair when was one year old. He saw again his father in 1907 when Richard visited England for three months before leaving again. Eric had two siblings, Marjorie (older) and Avril (younger).
At five, he was sent to a small Anglican parish school in Henley-on-Thames. Two years later, he was recommended by his teachers to one of the most successful preparatory schools in England at the time, St. Cyrian’s School in Eastbourne, Sussex. He was able to attend the school as a partial scholar; his parents pay only half of the usual fees. During his time at St. Cyprian’s, he was able to earn scholarship to both Wellington and Eton. He spent a term or “half” at Wellington then moved to Eton as a King’s Scholar from 1917 to 1921. His family cannot afford to send him to university after Eton and there is no possibility of another scholarship so he joined the Indian Imperial Police in 1922.
In 1928, he tried his luck and failed as a freelance writer in Paris. He was forced to take on menial jobs to support himself. His financial instability and an illness forced him to move back to England in 1929 back to his parents’ house. It was in the early 1930s when he worked briefly as a schoolteacher at a private school in Hayes, Middlesex.
All the while writing his experiences, his first book was published in 1933, Down and Out in Paris and London, based mainly on his stint in Paris. By this time, he already adopted the pen name George Orwell. He had other options: Kenneth Mile, H. Lewis Allways, and PS Burton but he chooses George and nobody could tell the exact reason why he picked it. His other books were also based on his experiences – A Clergyman’s Daughter, Keep the Aspidistra Flying, and Homage to Catalonia among others.
Aside from writing books and articles, Orwell was also once employed at BBC Eastern Service. After his resignation in 1943, he became the literary editor of Tribune and was on the staff until 1945. Orwell also left the Tribune to become a war correspondent for The Observer.
In 1945, he was again taken ill. Orwell’s failing health did not keep him from writing, though. In fact, his 1984 novel was completed during this period. He was in and out of hospitals for the last years of his life, but was still able to tell his last wish that pertains to his burial – a simple one in accordance with the Anglican rite. He took his last breath on January 21, 1950 and later on was interred in All Saints’ Churchyard, Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire. His epitaph contains the words: Here lies Eric Arthur Blair, born June 25, 1903, died January 21, 1950.
More than fifty years later after his death, George Orwell’s books are still getting published.
George Orwell, a popular literature figure then and now.
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