George Orwell, serialised
Orwell Daily is the new way to read one of the world greatest writers. George Orwell's words delivered direct to your inbox, daily.
From the 31st January 2023, we will be following George Orwell’s journey to Wigan Pier in real-time, with The Wigan Pier Diaries.
Orwell Daily is curated by the Orwell Foundation and comes with an official stamp of approval from the Orwell Estate.
i) What are The Wigan Pier Diaries?
George Orwell travelled to the north of England in January 1936 to report on the hardship of working-class life in the wake of the Great Depression. The result was The Road to Wigan Pier - first half sociological investigation, second half socialist polemic. In addition to a great deal of research, the book was based on Orwell’s diaries, which begin in Coventry on the 31st January 1936 and end near Barnsley on the 25th March.
ii) How does it work?
From the 31st January 2023, Orwell Daily subscribers will receive Orwell’s diary entries in real-time, eighty-seven years to the day since they were written, offering a unique insight into a crucial moment in his development as a writer.
George Orwell made an entry in his diary almost every day. We’re also sharing the occasional letter and telegram from the same period.
iii) What if I’ve started late, or fall behind?
There are previous editions of Orwell Daily available in the archive to catch up. However, for copyright reasons most our our extracts will need to be removed at regular intervals. To avoid disappointment, subscribe today. That way you’ll get every future edition of Orwell Daily delivered to your inbox, to read at your leisure.
iv) Orwell, every day, for free?
That’s right - and it always will be. If you’d like to support the project, there is also an option to take out a paid subscription (think of it as the official Orwell book club).
The Orwell Foundation is an independent charity based in the United Kingdom. Since all the proceeds Orwell Daily receives after administrative fees go to the Foundation, by joining the community you'll also be supporting the work we do to keep Orwell’s legacy alive, from school outreach to projects like this one.
If you’d prefer, you can also make a donation via our website.
v) Why Orwell?
George Orwell was deeply in tune with the times he wrote in: he set out to uncover untold stories and confronted his audiences with uncomfortable truths. For the Foundation, sustaining and celebrating Orwell’s legacy has always gone hand in hand with working to reimagine political writing and reporting today.
If you’d like to find out more about George Orwell - and about the work the Foundation is doing to keep his legacy alive - you can subscribe to our newsletter, where we’ll be sharing specially commissioned responses to our serials, alongside special features on Orwell’s life and works, and insights from all the Orwell Prizes. You can find out more about our work on the Foundation website.
vi) Finally, a word about the text
We hope Orwell Daily will inspire you to find out more about Orwell’s work 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’s is a homage to this authoritative edition, which is also the inspiration for our navy/red colour scheme.
The diaries can also be found in George Orwell: Diaries, also edited by Davison and published in hardback by Harvill Secker (US) and in paperback by Penguin.
Illustration courtesy of André Carrilho
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