MY FRIEND WAYNE DONNELL of Greensboro, a literate man, provided important research materials at just the right moment in my preparations for this book, and I would like to begin my acknowledgments by thanking him.
My brother, Ed Ferrell, provided a base of operations and a source of good advice on research when I was in New York. Herb Katz of M. Evans, and Henry Morrison, formerly of Greenwich Village, both helped as I gathered some perspective on Orwell, as did Leslie Owen. Diane Gedymin saw to it that this book is so attractive.
Linda Cabasin of M. Evans proved once more her abilities as an editor. Her accessibility, insight, and sense of humor were as always invaluable.
Even more accessible were, and are, my wife Martha and my son Alec. They both heard more about George Orwell than they may have wished to hear, but I could not have written this book without them.
The major sources for this biography were these:
Bernard Crick’s George Orwell: A Life (New York: Atlantic/Little, Brown, 1980). Professor Crick’s book is exhaustive but not exhausting, a major biographical effort that is a pleasure to read and rewarding to contemplate. The volume of material examined and documented is staggering. The book is effectively organized, with a valuable long introductory essay that establishes the author’s attitude toward his subject and his sources, while at the same time offering provocative comment and reflection upon the nature of biography. Professor Crick’s knowledge of Orwell and Orwell’s work is equaled or surpassed by his understanding of political, social, and literary contexts. This is a fine close-up history of an era as well as an individual.
It was my pleasure to hear Bernard Crick speak as I was writing this book. His opinions are as sound and clear in person as on the page; so sound that when one disagrees with his conclusions, one is forced to think especially hard and carefully. Surely that is a sign of an important work, and an important writer. The last decade of Orwell’s life was, of necessity, treated only briefly in the present book. It was, however, a rich and event-filled time in Orwell’s life, to which fully a third of Professor Crick’s book is devoted. Anyone who wishes to learn more about Orwell should turn immediately to George Orwell: A Life. Should the political context of that life appeal, Professor Crick’s bibliography and a bibliography of Professor Crick’s other distinguished works will serve well as guides.
Peter Stansky and William Abraham wrote a two-volume study of Orwell’s life through the Spanish Civil War. The Unknown Orwell (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1972) carries Orwell through the publication of Down and Out in Paris and London. Orwell: The Transformation (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1980) follows Orwell through his escape from Spain. Although the authors perhaps accept too much of Orwell’s own work as authoritative, their interpretation of his life and its psychological underpinnings is interesting. The books are clearly written and chronologically organized.
Jacintha Buddicom, Eric Blair’s childhood friend, became a poet. Her reminiscence of their youth, Eric and Us (London: Leslie Frewin, 1974) is a poignant story that offers a gentle picture of the youth of Eric Blair and their friendship. While Eric and Us is a personal, rather than a documented, biography, it should prove of interest to all who wish to know more about the Blair from whom Orwell grew.
As with the subject of any literary biography, the best place for readers to learn more about the subject is with his own works. Eric Blair dreamed of a collected edition of his works, and that edition is becoming available now.