Dating from 1934-37, the documents give fresh insight into the publication of four of Orwell’s earliest published works: A Clergyman’s Daughter, Keep the Aspidistra Flying, The Road to Wigan Pier and Inside the Whale, as well as observations on the politics of 1930s Europe that helped shape Orwell’s thoughts and ideas.
The purchase by UCL, with support from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the Friends of the Nations’ Libraries, prevents the historic correspondence from being sold to private collectors piecemeal.
The documents, bought for £154,000 from Jonkers Books and Peter Harrington Rare Books, will now be preserved, cared for and publicly appreciated as a valuable piece of Britain’s cultural heritage.
They shine a light on the relationship between Orwell, the celebrated novelist, essayist and critic, and Victor Gollancz, his original publisher. The letters had been kept by the publisher, most recently part of the Hachette Group, for decades until a decision to close the archive in 2018.
Gollancz’s libel concerns run throughout the letters, with the publisher often requesting that Orwell change names and details in his novels to reduce similarities with real people, places and companies.
Responding to Gollancz’s concerns, Orwell changed the name of a school in A Clergyman’s Daughter from ’Carshalton Grange’ to ’Rushington Grange’, and in December 1934 Orwell told his publisher that the text had been ’altered in accordance with your suggestions’ and that ’Perhaps you could let me know... whether you can now see your way to publishing the book’.
By the publication of Keep the Aspidistra Flying in 1936, the letters show Orwell growing frustrated with his publishers’ feedback that advertisements he had quoted too closely resembled real brands, products and slogans.
" "Absolutely impossible make changes suggested would mean complete rewriting." - George Orwell, 19 February 1936
The letters show Orwell eventually conceded, not without claiming ’these alterations spoil the book altogether’.
The unguarded correspondence shows how George Orwell, one of the most influential writers of the 20th century, approached the publication process, displaying his response to both praise and critique of his early work.
In the materials relating to the publication of The Road to Wigan Pier, Orwell pens a long letter to Gollancz denying accusations of being a middle-class snob.
Norman Collins, a Gollancz employee, describes A Clergyman’s Daughter as ’really brilliant’ in parts, likening it to the work of Sean O’Casey, but also ’one of the oddest [books] I have ever read’.
The political context of 1930s Europe, which informed so much of Orwell’s thinking, is also reflected in the newly acquired documents, particularly the letters relating to the publication of The Road to Wigan Pier and Inside the Whale.
Writing from Barcelona in May 1937, Orwell described the street fighting that had broken out in the city and how he accidently joined the Spanish Workers’ Party of Marxist Unification (POUM) instead of International Brigades.
Orwell later writes to Gollancz asking for help in countering libellous reports in the press that he and the POUM were fascists, following the Spanish Civil War.
" ’I hope I shall get the chance to write the truth about what I have seen. The stuff appearing in the English papers is largely the most appalling lies - more I can’t say, owing to the censorship.’ - George Orwell, May 1937
In letters written in early 1940, as Europe descended into war, Orwell sets out his hopes and fears for the adoption of socialism in the West.
’When the pinch comes the common people will turn out to be more intelligent than the clever ones’ - George Orwell, January 1940
These letters now join the Orwell Archive in UCL Special Collections, the most comprehensive body of research material relating to Orwell anywhere in the world.
Formally inscribed to the prestigious UNESCO Memory of the World International Register, the Orwell Archive features manuscript notebooks, diaries, letters and other personal papers, and photographs belonging to the author. It contains the first hand-written notes of some Orwell’s most famous words and phrases, such as "Two Minutes Hate", "Newspeak", and "War is Peace. Ignorance is strength. Freedom is slavery".
Once catalogued, UCL will display these illuminating documents for the first time at a special Orwell Festival event with the writer’s son, Richard Blair on 25th June. The festival is run by The Orwell Foundation, the registered charity which promotes the work and values of George Orwell through the awarding of the UK’s foremost prizes for political writing and reporting, The Orwell Prizes, in addition to a programme of events.
The documents will thereafter be made freely accessible to students, researchers and the public through the UCL Special Collections reading rooms in central London and online on the Digital Collections webpages.
Sarah Aitchison, Director of UCL Special Collections, said: "These fascinating letters reveal the editing process behind Orwell’s published works and the legal anxieties that spurred these amendments, but they also offer valuable insight into George Orwell’s development as a writer during these formative inter-war years.
"Orwell kept very few personal papers, leaving researchers to piece together his writing process through his letters.
"Few writers have shaped the minds of their readers to the extent that George Orwell has, and we are delighted that these materials will now be accessible at the UCL Orwell Archive to anyone who wishes to study them."
Dr Paul Ayris, UCL Pro-Vice-Provost Library, Culture, Collections and Open Science, said: "The Orwell Archive housed in UCL Special Collections is one of the jewels of UCL’s holdings. This acquisition provides important evidence on Orwell’s relationship with his original publisher Gollancz, illustrating the frustration the author felt at some of the publisher’s suggestions."
Simon Thurley, Chair of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, said: "This fascinating archive provides a rare insight into the early career, influences and ideas that helped shape one of the UK’s greatest literary minds. The Memorial Fund exists to save the UK’s finest heritage and create a timeless collection that belongs to us all, as a permanent memorial to those have given their lives for the UK. We are delighted that the Orwell Archive is now part of that growing collection and will soon be available for all to enjoy."
- From top: Sarah Aitchison, Head of UCL Special Collections, and Richard Blair at an event held at UCL to celebrate the donation. Credit: UCL / James Tye.
- George Orwell with a writer friend, Samuel McKechnie, and Eleanor Jaques on a beach in Southwold in 1932. Courtesy of the estate of Dennis Collings.
- George Orwell writing in Morocco in 1938/9. Courtesy of UCL Special Collections and the Orwell Estate.
- Orwell letters and Orwell biographer D.J. Taylor with Sarah Aitchison and Richard Blair. Credit: UCL / James Tye.
Mark Greaves
T: +44 (0)7990 675947E: m.greaves [at] ucl.ac.uk
- University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT (0) 20 7679 2000
