Remembering The Old Man

Richard Blair is a retired engineer who lives in a pleasant English village in Warwickshire. He is the son of George Orwell, and until now, he has never had much to say about life with his famous dad. By Richard's account, the author of Homage to Catalonia, 1984 and Animal Farm was a kind and loving father, and a great deal of fun besides. What few memories he has of Orwell, who died when Richard was six, are filled with little adventures around their remote home, on the island of Jura.

Orwell had, he says, “a heart of deep paternal affection.” George Packer's take here.