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Richard Blair (patron)

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Richard Blair
Born (1944-05-14) 14 May 1944 (age 80)
NationalityBritish
Occupation(s)Trustee, patron
Spouse
Eleanor Blair
​
(m. 1964)​
Children2
Parents
RelativesSonia Orwell (adoptive stepmother)

Richard Horatio Blair (born 14 May 1944)[1] is a British trustee and patron who is the only (adopted) son of English author George Orwell.[2]

Life and works

[edit]

Blair was adopted by Eileen[3] and Eric Blair (George Orwell),[4] and after their deaths, lived with Avril Dunn (née Blair, Orwell's sister, his legal guardian) and Bill Dunn.[1]

Blair went to Loretto School from 1953 to 1960, and attended the agricultural colleges of Wiltshire College and Scotland's Rural College, before joining Massey Ferguson, where he worked in sales and marketing from 1975 to 1986.[5] He married Eleanor in 1964 and they have two sons.[6] Blair's stepmother Sonia died in 1980, passing the income from the Orwell estate on to him.[6] 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.[7] At the beginning of 2009, Blair published his first account of his life with his father,[5] and spoke publicly for the first time about his childhood, in an interview with D.J. Taylor at the Sunday Times CNA Literary Awards.[8] 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.[9] Two years later, Blair was elected trustee of The Orwell Foundation and Orwell Youth Prize, of which he is a patron.[10]

After 2012, Blair increased his public activity by performing ceremonial roles such as unveiling plaques,[11][12] presenting literary prizes,[13] opening international events,[14][15] making guest appearances on radio and television,[16][17] and dedicating a statue to his father installed outside Broadcasting House.[18] Blair is also engaged in more hands-on roles by hosting lectures through both The Orwell Society and The Orwell Foundation,[19][20] publishing articles,[21] sponsoring the Orwell Prize, and conducting annual guided excursions to his childhood house at Barnhill, where his father wrote Nineteen Eighty-Four.[22]

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, eighty years after the book was first published.[23] Blair participated as one of the narrators in Beyond Wigan Pier, an opera first performed in 2018[24] aimed at attracting funding for students to attend Music & Drama school, and bringing the community closer to his father.[25]

Blair has revealed he is committed to stop fake Orwell quotes spreading on social media.[26]

In 2023 Blair was awarded Honorary Fellowship of University College London in recognition of his extensive support for the George Orwell Archive, which resides in the university's Special Collections department.[27][28][29] The majority of the Orwell archive has been digitised and made available for everyone to access online.[30]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Richard Blair (27 October 2011). "Richard Blair on Life With My Aunt Avril". The Orwell Society - Articles. Finlay Publisher January 2009. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  2. ^ Davison, Peter (2007). The Lost Orwell. Timewell Press. p. 244. ISBN 978-1-85725-214-9.
  3. ^ Packer, George (25 March 2009). "Orwell and Son". The New Yorker.
  4. ^ Wynne Jones, Ros (22 March 2017). "George Orwell's adopted son reveals how his dad cared for him while he wrote classic 1984". Mirror. Mirror Newspaper. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  5. ^ a b Richard Blair, 2009 “Op. Cit.”
  6. ^ a b Blair, Richard. "Richard Horatio Blair". OmaVerum. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  7. ^ ""The world is moving toward George Orwell:" Richard Blair - The son of the author of '1984' reflects on the legacy of his father during a visit to Spain". El Pais - News. 22 February 2017. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  8. ^ "The Orwell Foundation". The Orwell Foundation. 3 April 2009. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  9. ^ Orwell. "Committee". The Orwell Society. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  10. ^ "The Orwell Youth Prize". The Orwell Foundation. 21 October 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  11. ^ "George Orwell's Southwold home gets fresh plaque". BBC News. 21 May 2018. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  12. ^ "George Orwell's son Richard unveils plaque in Canonbury Square". Islington Gazette. 24 May 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  13. ^ "The Orwell Youth Prize". The Orwell Foundation. 22 May 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  14. ^ "Orwell (hijo) entra por fin en Huesca". El País (in Spanish). 22 February 2017. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  15. ^ "George Orwell's son follows father's steps in Barcelona during Spanish Civil War". Catalan News - Culture. 19 May 2019. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  16. ^ "Biography Richard Blair (IX)". IMDb. 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  17. ^ "Great Continental Railway Journeys – Salamanca to Calfranc - series 7". BBC. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  18. ^ "BBC blog – Orwell statue unveiled". BBC. 7 November 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  19. ^ Articles (4 November 2018). "Our Speakers 2015-2018". The Orwell Society. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  20. ^ "The Orwell Memorial Lectures". The Orwell Foundation. 30 October 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  21. ^ Blair, Richard (Spring 2020). ""With Love, Eric"". The Orwell Society Journal (16): 6–8.
  22. ^ Butler, Robert (February 2015). "Orwell's World". The Economist 1843 Magazine. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  23. ^ The Newsroom (6 February 2017). "Celebration to mark The Road to Wigan Pier anniversary". Wigan Today (Wigan Observer and Wigan Post). Retrieved 1 April 2020. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  24. ^ Mackenzie, Paul (25 April 2018). "Beyond Wigan Pier - the story behind the George Orwell musical". Lancashire Life. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  25. ^ "Back on the road to Wigan Pier 80 years after George Orwell's classic". iNews - UK. 10 March 2017. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  26. ^ Pingitore, Silvia (12 May 2022). "Interview with George Orwell's son". The Shortlisted. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  27. ^ UCL (14 September 2023). "UCL awards 2023 Honorary Degrees and Fellowships". UCL Alumni. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  28. ^ Kopp, Quentin (7 September 2023). "Richard Blair: Honorary Fellowship". The Orwell Society. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  29. ^ UCL Special Collections (6 December 2021). "Important letters donated to the George Orwell Archive". Library Services. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  30. ^ UCL Special Collections. "George Orwell Archive". UCL Explore Digital Collections. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
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