Emails from Orwell
"Orwell Daily is a lovely use of Substack, finding the best pieces from his archive and making them available online” - Helen Lewis
Orwell Daily is the new way to read one of the world’s greatest writers. We dig out highlights and hidden gems from George Orwell's journalism, letters and diaries and deliver them to your inbox “on the day” they were first published.
Orwell Daily is a project from The Orwell Foundation, a registered charity working to promote and protect George Orwell’s legacy for everyone. Support our work and join the community in the comments by taking out a paid subscription on Substack - or find out more about joining us as a Friend on our website.
Unless otherwise stated, all material produced on Orwell Daily remains under copyright and may not be distributed or reused in any way or broadcast without permission from the Orwell Estate.
Orwell Daily is edited by
. For any queries or questions, you can reach him at jeremy.wikeley@orwellfoundation.com.i) Why Orwell’s journalism?
Although he is best remembered now as the author of two of the 20th century’s most influential novels, George Orwell (1903-1950) was also a prolific, insightful, entertaining and provocative journalist, essayist and critic.
Orwell’s journalism offers a remarkable insight into a writer’s mind at work and a fascinating snapshot of life, politics and literary culture in Britain in the 1940s. Scrabbling to make a living from his typewriter, Orwell wrote about everything from saucy seaside postcards to the psychology of nationalism. These articles are also where you will find the origins of some of his most striking ideas, including the principles which would go on to influence Nineteen Eighty-Four.
ii) How does it work?
Emails are sent “on the day” Orwell’s article was first published. We send out one or two extracts a week and we will always make it clear where you can find the original if you want to read further.
Orwell wrote for a variety of magazines, not all of which were published daily. Sometimes, we might share pieces in the month or season in which they were published (e.g. ‘Autumn’ or ‘September’).
iii) It’s free?
Yes! However, if you are enjoying the emails, please consider taking out a paid subscription: your support makes projects like this possible.
Orwell Daily is just one of the ways in which The Orwell Foundation keeps Orwell’s legacy alive. To find out more about supporting our work as a Friend or Patron - or make an individual one-off donation - visit our website, where you can also find out about other ways to get involved, from attending our events to volunteering.
iv) Finally, a word about the text
We hope Orwell Daily will inspire you to find out more about Orwell’s journalism and essays and even get your hands on your own copies of the texts we’re serialising.
In all our serials, the text is taken from The Complete Works of George Orwell, edited by the late Peter Davison. Orwell Daily is a homage to Peter’s authoritative edition.
Orwell’s diaries can also be found in George Orwell: Diaries, also edited by Davison.
Illustration courtesy of André Carrilho
