George Orwell by Keith Ferrell

Author:Keith Ferrell
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781590773550
Publisher: M. Evans & Company

SIXORWELL

HE REMAINED, AND THOUGHT of himself as, Eric Blair, but he learned that a pseudonym can quickly create a life of its own. When reviews began to arrive, and he chose to acknowledge or respond to them, how should he sign his letters? Signing Eric Blair would give away the whole game, not to mention jeopardizing his job should the book prove controversial. But to sign George Orwell raised problems of its own. Was he accepting an alter ego, even if only a literary one? The pen name was no closely held secret—pieces of Down and Out had been derived from published articles that had been signed by Eric Blair, and literary detectives would not face too much of a mystery in putting the two together. But who was to become the important writer? Whose name, finally, would appear on the “collected edition” that the young author so rarely thought of any more? Closer to the present, should Blair’s or Orwell’s name go on the novel of Burma that was in the typewriter?

Down and Out in Paris and London settled those questions. It was no world-shaking success, but at least initially the book did well. Before Down and Out had been in the stores a month its 1,500 copy first printing was gone, and a second printing of 500 copies had been ordered. As the second month passed another 1,000 copies were printed. In America, Harper Brothers printed 1,750 copies, but no second printing was required. While its surge did not last in Britain, the book did sell well for an author’s first book, and it became clear to Orwell that his pen name would be used on his novel. Gollancz pointed out that though Down and Out was no bestseller, it had introduced George Orwell to the book reviewers and to a few thousand book buyers. Eric Blair remained unknown, except by his friends. Socially, he used his own name throughout his life.

Orwell was pleased with the book’s sales, and even more pleased with the reviews, which were generally favorable. He saw his name and his book mentioned in newspapers and magazines where he had reviewed other writers’ works. J. B. Priestley commended Down and Out in Paris and London. More than one critic praised the style of the book, noting the effectiveness of its quiet, straightforward narrative manner. Readers and reviewers seemed to realize from the first few pages that they were in the presence of a real talent, a writer who not only wrote clearly, but also had seen corners of the world they could only imagine.

Mingled with the praise were occasional criticisms that expressed doubt about Orwell’s own poverty. Wasn’t he just an affluent person traveling among the poor in disguise, some critics asked. Orwell made no response to such reviews, but when the veracity of his account of restaurant kitchens was questioned, he wrote a letter to The Times maintaining that every filthy practice he mentioned was true, and had been witnessed during his days as a dishwasher.

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