Living Relatives?

[Max Power]

Are there any George Orwell´s direct relatives alive today?

[watuknocankillu]

yeah, orwell had an adopted son, richard.
he keeps to himself about things.
he lives on a farm somewhere in england i think.
ive tried to research on him but thats basically all i found out.

[rabid reader]

Are there any George Orwell´s direct relatives alive today?

that's an abnormally creepy question

[The Atheist]

that's an abnormally creepy question

How on earth is that either abnormal or creepy?

I find it quite normal and the question I think most people who who are seriously interested in George Orwell would ask. It's certainly one I've asked myself.

Because it is such a fascinating subject, I'm going to expand upon it.*

The second post is right - Orwell had no children himself, but had one adoptive son, Richard. Unfortunately, the boy was child when Orwell died, so his recollections of the man himself would be somewhat vague.

I found this picture of Richard online, from 1998 (http://groups.msn.com/EricArthurBlair/orwellrelated.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=600)

Orwell himself had two sisters, Marjorie and Avril. I know that Avril was with George during 1948 at Barnhill, at age 40 and was still Avril Blair, so it's likely she died a spinster. Marjorie is almost unknown and I have no details of her life at all.

As far as I'm aware, there is no surviving correspondence between Orwell and his sisters, nor is there any commentary by either of Marjorie Blair or Avril Blair.

The clue to Orwell's relationship with his sisters is pretty well given away by his description of sisters and relatives in Keep the Aspidistra Flying, Burmese Days and even Coming up for Air.

If anyone is able to add to information about Orwell and his sisters, please do so!

I think it's one of the great shames in literature that so little is known of the man as an individual and so small the personal anecdotes about him since Sonia's death.

*But all that may be helped as in the future, anyone looking for links between Orwell and his sisters will be directed to this post, so hopefully, some will add to the pitifully little we have and we can expand on what biographers have told us about him and his tiny family.