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Bullied George Orwell 'killed' Eton boy using black magic A new book reveals how the author of 1984 was haunted by the early death of a fellow pupil he had made in effigy, reports Catherine Milner

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From: The Sunday Telegraph London
Date: 20030518
Author:Catherine Milner

GEORGE ORWELL spent his life believing that he had killed a fellow pupil at Eton using voodoo, according to a new biography.

The late Sir Steven Runciman, the medieval historian, revealed in a letter written shortly before his death that he and Orwell practised black magic on a wax effigy of Philip Yorke, an older boy who had been threatening and offensive.

They were horrified, however, when Yorke first broke his leg and then, months later, developed leukaemia and died.

The incident was uncovered by Gordon Bowker, whose biography of Orwell is published by Little, Brown. In the course of his ...

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