Richard Horatio Blair (born 14 May 1944) is a British trustee and patron who is the only (adopted) son of English author

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to a ...

Life and works

Blair was adopted by Eileen and Eric Blair (George Orwell), and after their deaths, lived with Avril Dunn (née Blair, Orwell's sister, his legal guardian) and Bill Dunn. Blair learned that he had been adopted when he was around ten years old: "I didn't know I was adopted until I was about nine or 10. Avril was driving me somewhere and just dropped it in the conversation". Blair went to

Loretto School Loretto School, founded in 1827, is an independent school (UK), independent boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 3 to 18. The campus occupies in Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland. History The school was founded by the Reverend Th ...

from 1953 to 1960, and attended the agricultural colleges of

Wiltshire College Wiltshire College & University Centre is a tertiary college of education founded in 2002 by the merger of Chippenham Technical College, Lackham College and Trowbridge College. Consolidation was completed with the merger of Salisbury College, wh ...

and

Scotland's Rural College Scotland's Rural College (SRUC; ) is a Public university#United Kingdom, public land based college, land based Research university, research institution focused on agriculture and life sciences. Its history stretches back to 1899 with the estab ...

, before joining

Massey Ferguson Massey Ferguson is an agricultural machinery manufacturer, established in 1953 through the merger of farm equipment makers Massey-Harris of Canada and the Ferguson Company of Ireland. It was based in Coventry then moved to Beauvais in 2003 when ...

, where he worked in sales and marketing from 1975 to 1986.Richard Blair, 2009 “Op. Cit.” He married Eleanor in 1964 and they have two sons. Blair's stepmother Sonia died in 1980, passing the income from the Orwell estate on to him. In 1985, Blair bought Loch Craignish (self-catering) Cottages, which he ran until 2008. Having sold his business in 2008, Blair dedicated his time to preserving the memory of his father, George Orwell, which he continues today. At the beginning of 2009, Blair published his first account of his life with his father, and spoke publicly for the first time about his childhood, in an interview with D.J. Taylor at the Sunday Times CNA Literary Awards. In the following year, he collaborated with Dione Venables to inspire the founding of The Orwell Society, of which he is both patron and trustee. Two years later, Blair was elected trustee of

The Orwell Foundation The Orwell Foundation is a charity registered in England and Wales, the aim of which is "to perpetuate the achievements of the British writer George Orwell (1903–1950)". The Foundation runs the Orwell Prize, the UK's most prestigious prize for pol ...

and Orwell Youth Prize, of which he is a patron. After 2012, Blair increased his public activity by performing ceremonial roles such as unveiling plaques, presenting literary prizes, opening international events, making guest appearances on radio and television, and dedicating a statue to his father installed outside

Broadcasting House London Broadcasting House is the headquarters of the BBC, in Portland Place and Langham Place, London. The first radio broadcast from the building was made on 15 March 1932, and the building was officially opened two months later, on 15 May. T ...

. Blair is also engaged in more hands-on roles by hosting lectures through both The Orwell Society and The Orwell Foundation, publishing articles, sponsoring the

Orwell Prize The Orwell Prize is a British prize for political writing. The Prize is awarded by The Orwell Foundation, an independent charity (Registered Charity No 1161563, formerly "The Orwell Prize") governed by a board of trustees. Four prizes are award ...

, and conducting annual guided excursions to his childhood house at Barnhill, where his father wrote ''

Nineteen Eighty-Four ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (also published as ''1984'') is a dystopian novel and cautionary tale by the English writer George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final completed book. Thematically ...

''. In 2017, The Orwell Society initiated a series of engagements with the local community in Wigan to increase awareness of Orwell's motives in writing ''

The Road to Wigan Pier ''The Road to Wigan Pier'' is a book by the English writer George Orwell, first published in 1937. Its first half documents his sociological investigations of the bleak living conditions among the working class in Lancashire and Yorkshire in the ...

'', eighty years after the book was first published. Blair participated as one of the narrators in ''Beyond Wigan Pier'', an opera first performed in 2018 aimed at attracting funding for students to attend Music & Drama school, and bringing the community closer to his father. Blair has revealed he is committed to stopping fake Orwell quotes from spreading on social media. In 2023 Blair was awarded Honorary Fellowship of

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

in recognition of his extensive support for the George Orwell Archive, which resides in the university's Special Collections department. The majority of the Orwell archive has been digitised and made available for everyone to access online.

Life and works

References

Further reading