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‘The Enemy of Nonsense’
George Orwell, who wrote for The Observer, described it as “the enemy of nonsense”. Now, more than ever, it has a job to do. James Harding, Editor-in-Chief It was with great interest I read James Harding’s note after the merger of The Observer with Tortoise Media back in April this year. Harding not only evoked […]
Lost Letter (1942)
“Orwell must have had some scheme for winning the war, or perhaps, as William Empson remembered, for organised guerrilla warfare if there were a German invasion. He received a short acknowledgment on 26 March 1942 from Tom Jones, C. H., Lloyd George’s famous Cabinet Secretary: “your memorandum will be read by the Secretary of State […]
Geoffrey Grigson on Orwell
“I once too had known this Eric Blair. But I had never had cause to remember him. I had forgotten that he was called Eric Blair, I had forgotten the encounter, until, last week…”. […]
Animal Farm: A Fairy Story
The 80th anniversary of the publication of George Orwell’s novel has been celebrated this week from a range of perspectives in the mainstream media. Richard Blair wrote an article in The Guardian and The Orwell Society published a number of posts at the website by members. What follows is some less well-known insights into the publication […]
(Review) Sir Spencer Harcourt Butler: A Master Governor in British India (1890–1928)
Title: Sir Spencer Harcourt Butler: A Master Governor in British India (1890–1928) Author: Michael Fenwick Macnamara Published: 12 November 2024 ISBN: 9781803746586 Imprint: Peter Lang Verlag Format: Trade Paperback Pages: XVIII, 482 Pages RRP: US $112.95 “Sir Harcourt Butler, G.C.S.I., G.C.I.E., who died yesterday at the age of 68, was one of the greatest Indian […]
Orwell, the Anglo-Indian
George Orwell’s ambivalent relationship with his Anglo-Indian heritage is mostly discussed in the context of critiquing his writing set in Burma or when considering why he joined the Indian Imperial Police as a teenager (and his resignation five years later). Burmese Days, his ‘crisp, fierce, and almost boisterous attack on the Anglo-Indian’; The Road to […]