The “Birth’ of George Orwell

No.1 in a series of posts on Orwell trivia.

“George Orwell came into being on Thursday 8 January 1933, the official publication day of Down and Out in Paris and London.” This is according to Peter Stansky and William Abrahams, the authors of Orwell: The Transformation (Constable and Company Limited, 1979, London).

Prior to the publication of “Down and Out”, and even occasionally afterwards, Orwell’s writing was under his real name of Eric Blair. In fact, it is quite possible that had it not been for the famous publisher, Victor Gollancz, the name Orwell might never have come into being.

In the summer of 1932, Eric confided in his sister Avril over his concern at the effect the book might have on their parents. Avril told him that she thought he was over estimating their sensitivity, but that if he wished to use a pseudonym, that was up to him. Eric discussed the matter further with his agent Leonard Moore, and subsequently came up with four potential pen names, which Moore sent off to Victor Gollancz.

Opinion exists to the effect that Orwell would probably have preferred to use his proper name, but he did not want to worsen the already strained relationship with his parents. He was particularly concerned about his father, who had been devastated by his son’s abandonment of a career in the colonial police in Burma. Indeed at the time, the two were virtually estranged. If Gollancz had rejected the idea of a pseudonym, it seems that there would have been little protest from Eric. Despite his sensitivity regarding his parent’s opinion of his book, he probably also harboured doubts about using a pseudonym, even though he wanted anonymity. As it was, the final decision was left to Gollancz, and the rest is history.

It is worth noting that, despite being addressed as George by many friends and acquaintances following his adoption of the pseudonym, he never changed his name legally. Family, and friends who had known him prior to the publication of “Down and Out” continued to use his real name. His gravestone, too, is marked with his real name.