George Orwell's MI5 dossier revealed!

[Nossa]

As I was reading the newspaper today, I came across a very interesting article talking about George Orwell. The article was talking about an MI5 document that was released a few days ago, and in it certain facts an secrets were revealed about Orwell's life, him being accused of being a communist and being a target for police surveillance.
I googled the topic, trying to find the document, or anything concerning it, and here's one of the useful articles I found concerning the subject.
I thought I'd share, cuz I know there are many people on the board who are huge fans of Orwell (including myself). If anyone found any more useful links, it'd be more than appreciated.

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George Orwell's MI5 dossier revealed.

George Orwell's left-wing views and bohemian clothes led British police to label him a communist - but the MI5 spy agency stepped in to correct that view, the writer's newly released security file reveals.

The secret file that MI5 kept on the author from 1929 until his death in 1950 is being declassified today by the National Archives.

It reveals that in contrast to the fictional "Big Brother", the cruel and all-seeing secret police of Orwell's classic 1984, MI5 took a surprisingly benign view of the writer.

Orwell savaged the totalitarianism of Stalin's Russia in Animal Farm and 1984.

But he was also a socialist who railed against inequality in earlier works such as Down and Out in Paris and London and The Road to Wigan Pier.

The documents show Orwell - whose real name was Eric Arthur Blair - attracted the attention of police in 1936 for alleged "communist activities in Wigan."

Then 33, he had gone to the mining town to research a book about working-class life in northern England.

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Source: http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/orwells-secret-dossier/2007/09/04/1188783207651.html

PS: My apologies if this thread is mis-placed. I wasn't sure where to put it actually.

[The Atheist]

PS: My apologies if this thread is mis-placed. I wasn't sure where to put it actually.

Exactly the right place to put it!

Interesting, thanks. Being the Sydney Morning Herald, I'll believe it! Nothing too controversial there, but great to see anything added to the paucity of personal effects Orwell left behind.

[Logos]

Actually, I moved it from the General Literature forum.

[ennison]

Orwell would have come under suspicion for his socialist beliefs. His stint in Spain would also have had our security services looking at him. My friend Ruaridh Macfarquhar on his return from Spain volunteered for the British Army. A sympathetic SM told him discretely that he had been asked to keep an eye on the 'commie' and report anything untoward. Ruaridh had a good war, serving with distinction with artillery spotter groups, often very close to or behind enemy front lines. Interestingly the poet Roy Campbell who fought on the Francoist side during the Civil War also had a good war in the British army, despite being socially ostracised by the chattering classes for his vehement assaults on what he saw as left-wing barbarism in Spain.
The Gaelic poet Somhairle Mac Gilleathainn felt guilty about not going to Spain and wrestled with that guilt in some of his poetry and was probably driven to great courage in the Western desert.The thirties was a time of political decision making for many writers and 'intellectuals'. It seems to have been accompanied by soul-searching followed by zealous pursuit of political ideals. Orwell was above all a political writer.

[Nossa]

Actually, I moved it from the General Literature forum.

I'm sorry I posted it in the wrong section. Thanks for moving it :)

[HungryFish360]

That's really cool! I didn't know that "George Orwell" was a pseudonym! Your post makes me wonder... Does everybody have some secret file lodged deep within the government's numerous filing cabinets or is it just people who stick out thanks to some odd quirk or other???:goof: (Hey, if anybody know the answer to that, do tell!!!) If everbody has a file, I wonder: What's in mine?

[The Atheist]

Yep, it's all there.

But....

if I told you, I'd have to kill you.

Orwell actually changed his name because he thought Eric Blair was too Scottish!

He loved England with a passion and wanted to have a pen name which was as English as tea & toast. George had obvious appeal - the patron saint of England and a name shared by six of its kings, while the Orwell is reputed to come from the River Orwell, close to where [then] Blair was staying.

[DigitalLove]

Orwell WAS the MI5. Did you ever wonder where he got his ideas from?

[Trystan]

The documents show Orwell - whose real name was Eric Arthur Blair - attracted the attention of police in 1936 for alleged "communist activities in Wigan."

Then 33, he had gone to the mining town to research a book about working-class life in northern England.

....



Would this be The Road to Wigan Pier? Interesting . . . I found that book to be a great documentation of working class life then - nothing pro-communist about it, but very revealing (and pretty depressing in that Dickensian way). After reading it, it's no wonder why they were keeping an eye on him.