George Orwell (1903-1950) was the pseudonym of Eric Arthur Blair, novelist, essayist and journalist. Orwell was born in Bengal and educated in England. In 1922, he joined the Imperial Police in Burma (now Myanmar), serving for five years before his mounting dislike for imperialism induced him to resign. He returned to a series of ill-paid jobs in Paris, then London, living in fairly severe poverty, before becoming a regular contributor to The Adelphi from 1930. His first book, Down and Out in Paris and London (1933), described these early experiences and was followed by Burmese Days (1934), a novel which reflected his indignation towards political injustice. Animal Farm (1945) and Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) remain his most popular works. George Orwell died of tuberculosis.
