Father’s Day

Richard Blair is George Orwell’s adopted son. After training in agriculture, he worked for a well-known tractor company before taking ownership of a holiday complex. Since retiring, Richard describes himself as being in a position to give more time to all things Orwell and he enjoys leading discussions at cultural and educational events about his father and the issues he cared passionately about. Richard is the Founding Patron of The Orwell Foundation and sits on The Orwell Council, a group of four people with a special relationship to the Orwell estate and Orwell’s legacy. As well as advocating for the charity in public life, Richard and his fellow Council members are the Foundation’s first and most important source of advice on its stewardship of Orwell’s work, values, and contemporary significance.

D. J. Taylor is the author of The Lost Girls; Derby Day (nominated for the Booker Prize); and Orwell: The Life (2003), winner of the Whitbread Biography Award. D. J. is a book critic for several British newspapers and lives in London.