About the author: George Orwell

Famous for Animal Farm and 1984, George Orwell is a celebrated author whose work is still taught on literature courses across the country. His classic dystopian novel, 1984, is now being performed as an immersive theatre experience in Hackney Town Hall, bringing the horrors of Big Brother’s world and Room 101 to London audiences. To celebrate this new production of 1984 live, we take a look at the author’s life.

Early life

Born Eric Arthur Blair on 25 June 1903, George Orwell was the middle of three siblings. He spent the first year of his life in Motihari, Bengal, where his father worked as an opium agent, before being brought back to England by his mother.

A studious child, Orwell gained a scholarship to the prestigious St Cyprian’s School in Eastbourne through the connections of his uncle and boarded there for five years. From there, he had a brief stint in Wellington college, Berkshire, before being awarded a King’s Scholarship at Eton. Orwell neglected his studies, preferring to produce publications with his peers, and left Eton in 1921. His family couldn’t afford a university placement for him, so it was decided he would join the Imperial Police.

Time abroad

Orwell was stationed in Burma (now Myanmar) for five years, where he gained a reputation as a bit of an outsider. He learned to speak Burmese and took posts around the country, from Myaungmya and Syriam (now Thanlyin) to Insein and Katha. In 1927 he contracted dengue fever, and while on leave in England, decided to resign from the Imperial Police and become a writer.

In 1928 he moved to Paris, working as a journalist as he began to write novels. His articles, which often concerned poverty and unemployment, appeared in several publications; these themes were also central to his first non-fiction book, Down and Out in Paris and London. His first fictional novel, Burmese Days, was published in 1934.

Life as an author

After moving back to England in December 1929, Orwell took jobs as a teacher and part-time assistant at a second-hand bookshop. He met his first wife in 1935 and they moved to Hertfordshire. Over the following four years, he published three further fiction novels and two non-fiction books. The latter were based on his experiences in the industrial north of England (The Road to Wigan Pier) and Catalonia during Franco’s dictatorship (Homage to Catalonia).

After the outbreak of the Second World War, Orwell continued in journalism and worked for both the BBC and as a war correspondent for The Observer. By April 1944, Animal Farm was complete and ready to publish, but was turned down by several publishers before it was finally printed in August 1945. Two years later, he moved to the Scottish island of Jura where, struggling against ill health, he worked on 1984. It was published in June 1949, six months before Orwell succumbed to tuberculosis.

If you’re a fan of 1984, George Orwell’s final novel, don’t miss the 1984 theatre show. This immersive, 75-minute show retells the gripping story of Winston and Julia in an atmospheric and powerful setting. Book your tickets with KX Tickets today.