Peter Stansky News Today

One of the most respected essayists and novelists of the 20th century, whose opinions on how to write, make a cup of tea, travel, read and much else…

Anna Funder explains how the search for Eileen O’Shaughnessy, a compelling figure strangely absent from Orwell’s writing, illuminated her own life

In this week's letters to the editor: Sassoons are not Sacklers; Proud of Mayor Breed; The perils of adulation; Students show us the way; Weaponizing the Holocaust

30th April 2020 by George Orwell and Fatherhood: Part One The most important influence on George Orwell was probably his father. This essay, then, explores the crucial theme of fatherhood in a number of contrasting ways. It first examines the responses of both Orwell and his contemporaries to his father. It then looks at the many fascinating representations of fathers in his novels. Orwell’s own strikingly progressive attitudes as a dad are highlighted as are, finally, the responses of his s...

The Crazy Real-Life Story Of 1984 Author George Orwell Justin Sullivan/Getty Images By S. Flannagan/Jan. 11, 2021 3:08 pm EDT/Updated: Jan. 11, 2021 3:10 pm EDT Theres an old stereotype about novelists — that theyll do anything to get new material. In the case of George Orwell, one of the most quoted (and misquoted) authors of the 20th century, this certainly rings true. In fact, the British author had what can only be described as an almost pathological necessity to accumul...