Richard Horatio Blair (born 14 May 1944) is a British trustee and patron who is the only son of English author

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitar ...

Life and works

Blair was adopted by

Eileen Eileen ( or ) is an Irish feminine given name anglicised from Eibhlín and may refer to: People Artists *Eileen Agar (1899–1991), British Surrealist painter and photographer *Eileen Fisher (born 1950), clothing retailer and designer *Eileen ...

and Eric Blair (George Orwell), and after their deaths, lived with Avril Dunn (née Blair, Orwell's sister, his legal guardian) and Bill Dunn. Blair went to

Loretto School Loretto School, founded in 1827, is an independent boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 0 to 18. The campus occupies in Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland. History The school was founded by the Reverend Thomas Langhorne in 1827. L ...

from 1953 to 1960, and attended the agricultural colleges of

Wiltshire College Wiltshire College & University Centre is a tertiary college of education founded in 2002 by the merger of Chippenham Technical College, Lackham College and Trowbridge College. Consolidation was completed with the merger of Salisbury College, whi ...

and

Scotland's Rural College Scotland's Rural College (SRUC) is a public land based research institution focused on agriculture and life sciences. Its history stretches back to 1899 with the establishment of the West of Scotland Agricultural College and its current organis ...

, before joining

Massey Ferguson Massey Ferguson Limited is an American agricultural machinery manufacturer. The company was established in 1953 through the merger of farm equipment makers Massey-Harris of Canada and the Ferguson Company of the United Kingdom. It was based in T ...

, where he worked in sales and marketing from 1975 to 1986.Richard Blair, 2009 “Op. Cit.” He married Eleanor in 1964 and they have two sons. Blair's stepmother

Sonia Sonia, Sonja or Sonya, a name of Greek origin meaning wisdom, may refer to: People * Sonia (name), a feminine given name (lists people named, Sonia, Sonja and Sonya) :* Sonia (actress), Indian film actress in Malayalam and Tamil films :* Sonia ...

died in 1980, passing the income from the Orwell estate on to him. In 1985, Blair became the proprietor of Loch Craignish (self-catering) Cottages, which he ran until 2008. Having sold his business in 2008, Blair dedicated his time to preserving the memory of his father, George Orwell, which he continues today. At the beginning of 2009, Blair published his first account of his life with his father, and spoke publicly for the first time about his childhood, in an interview with D.J. Taylor at the

Sunday Times CNA Literary Awards The ''Sunday Times'' CNA Literary Awards are awarded annually to South African writers by the South African weekly newspaper the ''Sunday Times (South Africa), Sunday Times''. They comprise the ''Sunday Times'' CNA Literary Award for Non-ficti ...

. In the following year, he worked with a group of Orwell academics and enthusiasts, who inspired the founding of

The Orwell Society The Orwell Society is a literary society and a UK registered Charitable organization, charity. It was founded in 2011 with the aim of promoting the understanding and appreciation of the life and work of George Orwell (the pen name of Eric Arthur ...

, of which he is both patron and trustee. Two years later, Blair was elected trustee of

The Orwell Foundation The Orwell Foundation is a charity registered in England and Wales, the aim of which is "to perpetuate the achievements of the British writer George Orwell (1903–1950)". The Foundation runs the Orwell Prize, the UK's most prestigious prize for po ...

and Orwell Youth Prize, of which he is a patron. After 2012, Blair increased his public activity by performing ceremonial roles such as unveiling plaques, presenting literary prizes, opening international events, making guest appearances on radio and television, and dedicating a statue to his father installed outside

Broadcasting House Broadcasting House is the headquarters of the BBC, in Portland Place and Langham Place, London. The first radio broadcast from the building was made on 15 March 1932, and the building was officially opened two months later, on 15 May. The main ...

. Blair is also engaged in more hands-on roles by hosting lectures through both The Orwell Society and The Orwell Foundation, publishing articles, sponsoring the

Orwell Prize The Orwell Prize, based at University College London, is a British prize for political writing. The Prize is awarded by The Orwell Foundation, an independent charity (Registered Charity No 1161563, formerly "The Orwell Prize") governed by a boa ...

, and conducting annual guided excursions to his childhood house at Barnhill, where his father wrote ''

Nineteen Eighty-Four ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (also stylised as ''1984'') is a dystopian social science fiction novel and cautionary tale written by the English writer George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final ...

''. In 2017, The Orwell Society initiated a series of engagements with the local community in Wigan to increase awareness of Orwell's motives in writing ''

The Road to Wigan Pier ''The Road to Wigan Pier'' is a book by the English writer George Orwell, first published in 1937. The first half of this work documents his sociological investigations of the bleak living conditions among the working class in Lancashire and Yor ...

'', eighty years after the book was first published. Blair participated as one of the narrators in ''Beyond Wigan Pier'', an opera first performed in 2018 aimed at attracting funding for students to attend Music & Drama school, and bringing the community closer to his father.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blair, Richard Horatio 1944 births Living people George Orwell People educated at Loretto School, Musselburgh Alumni of the University of Aberdeen