The 1st article Eric Blair (the future George Orwell) wrote for Henri Barbusse’s communist journal Monde, is not only a window onto the “strange” world of English censorship at the time, but a glimpse into the preoccupations of the author himself. Here, translated back into English from H.J.Salemson’s French translation, as it appeared in print in October 1928.
My very own French reception is fast approaching – my book Orwell à Paris will be published on the 23rd of April.
In 1935, George Orwell’s first book was set for French Publication in July. Nicolas Ragonneau has written an article on how the French press reacted to Orwell’s debut La Vache Enragée…
In the autumn of 1934, days before the publication of Burmese Days in New York, George Orwell penned the introduction to the French translation of the book that launched his literary career. His introductory text was slotted in between Panaït Istrati’s preface and chapter one of La Vache enragée. Orwells’ introduction translated back into English…
The moment has arrived: on the 25th of April, I’ll be at the Hotel Littéraire Le Swann, Paris, for the launch of my book, Orwell à Paris which will have been published 2 days earlier in France by Exils Éditions.
Tricky questions & the signing of books will be dealt with simultaneously…
See you there. 19h.
“Crowley, Edward Alexander, 12.10.75, Leamington, Britannique, Homme de lettres.” The microfilm is an interesting historical document in itself, but in addition to the fact that Aleister Crowley and George Orwell were both in Paris in 1928-1929, they are also linked by association to one woman…
Panaït Istrati, writer of the French preface to Orwell’s “Down & Out in Paris & London” (La Vache Enragée) died in 1935, a pariah, slandered by the Communists. Orwell died in 1950, also of tuberculosis and at the same age as Istrati.
Guest author Nicolas Ragonneau explores the common ground between the 2 writers & tells of Istrati’s long path to redemption…
On the 29th of March 1929, days after discharging himself from the Hôpital Cochin, Eric Blair (the future George Orwell) attended the funeral of Maréchal Foch. The former WWI Supreme Allied Commander was honoured with a full, state-funeral carriage procession that set out from the Arc de Triomphe and ended at the gold-domed Invalides where the French Maréchal was laid to rest opposite Napoleon.
He signed in as Arthur Blair, once again gave his incorrect year of birth (1902), and was assigned a ward where the foreigners outnumbered the French.
“In the year 1929 I spent several weeks in the Hôpital X, in the fifteenth arrondissement of Paris. The clerks put me through the usual third-degree at the reception desk…”
If Eric Blair had come to Paris to broaden his outlook, the Hotel at 6 Rue du Pot de Fer fitted the bill perfectly. The Hotel des Bons Amis* (renamed L’Hotel des 3 Moineaux in the book) catered for a demographic that was largely made up of immigrants and those passing through.
“Well, he died young. He was very talented. He did two Orwells for us but was also known for his excellent Russian translations of Bulgakov. He was one of the best, but had…health problems. What did you want to ask him?”