So here it is. After 5 years of walking around Paris in the footsteps of George Orwell (or Eric Blair as he then was), I humbly submit my findings. Well…some of them anyway.
“Down and out in Paris and London” was the book that came out of the time Eric Blair spent in Paris in 1928 and 29. My own book that was to emerge from the days and months spent in a variety of historical archives sheds new light on the 19 months the young writer spent in the capital in the company of a host of colourful characters. None quite so colourful as the elusive Boris; ex-Russian army captain, raconteur and perhaps most importantly, adept at surviving the lifestyle that the 24-year-old Eric found himself living at the end of the 1920s here in Paris.
I say “here” because that’s where I am. I’ve lived in Paris as a dual British-French national for 25 years and that’s allowed me to navigate some of the trickier aspects of the many archive services. I’ve also been able to walk at leisure around the city and piece together the life of an aspiring young writer as he struggled to survive along with his Russian cohort.
While awaiting the publication of my book Orwell and the Russian Captain I’ll be posting findings from my time tracing Eric and Boris’s paths through Paris at the end of the 1920s with occasional time-travel trips even further back to the murky days of WWI. There’ll be insights, off-shoots and even the occasional wild goose chase…
ps. The image is of a microfilm extract from the Paris police archives. It shows that Eric Blair registered with the Paris police on the 20th of June 1928. It appears to be in his own hand. He gives the address of his hotel and (not for the last time) his incorrect date of birth – one year later. The “SP” just under his nationality stands for “Sans Papiers” meaning he had no, or at least presented no, ID papers.
The real people & places from Down and Out in Paris and London are revealed in the forthcoming book, Orwell in Paris – Down & Out with the Russian Captain.
To be published first in French: Orwell à Paris – Dans la dèche avec le capitaine russe. By EXILS éditions, Paris on the 24/04/2024