Peter Hobley Davison OBE (10 September 1926 – 16 August 2022) was a British professor of English and an authority on the life and works of

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 totalit ...

Background

Born in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

on 10 September 1926, he worked in the

Crown Film Unit The Crown Film Unit was an organisation within the British Government's Ministry of Information during the Second World War. Formerly the GPO Film Unit it became the Crown Film Unit in 1940. Its remit was to make films for the general public in ...

and served in the Navy during the Second World War. He gained his bachelor's degree through correspondence and also had a master's degree in bibliography and

palaeography Palaeography ( UK) or paleography ( US; ultimately from grc-gre, , ''palaiós'', "old", and , ''gráphein'', "to write") is the study of historic writing systems and the deciphering and dating of historical manuscripts, including the analysi ...

Career

After time as a Fellow at the

Shakespeare Institute The Shakespeare Institute is a centre for postgraduate study dedicated to the study of William Shakespeare and the literature of the English Renaissance. It is part of the University of Birmingham, and is located in Stratford-upon-Avon. The Insti ...

, a lecturer at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

, and as lecturer and senior lecturer at Birmingham University, he was appointed Professor of English at Saint David's University College (later University of Wales Trinity Saint David) and then at the University of Kent, De Montfort University, Leicester. He was later an emeritus professor of English at Glyndŵr University. In 1992, he was president of the

Bibliographical Society Founded in 1892, The Bibliographical Society is the senior learned society dealing with the study of the book and its history in the United Kingdom. Largely owing to the efforts of Walter Arthur Copinger, who was supported by Richard Copley ...

and edited its journal, ''The Library'', for 12 years. He received the Society's Gold Medal in 2003. From 1991 to 2005 he was Secretary of the Economic and Social Research Council in London. Between 1986 and 1998 he was also Honorary Steward of

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

. In 1998, assisted by his wife, Sheila Davison, and Ian Angus he edited the 20-volume ''The Complete Works of George Orwell'' (

Secker & Warburg Harvill Secker is a British publishing company formed in 2005 from the merger of Secker & Warburg and the Harvill Press. History Secker & Warburg Secker & Warburg was formed in 1935 from a takeover of Martin Secker, which was in receivership, ...

, 1998). In 2012 Davison announced the launch of The Orwell Society and was made an honorary founding member the following year. In 2013, he edited Orwell's ''Diaries'' and ''Orwell: A Life in Letters''.

Personal life and death

Davison married Sheila Bethel in 1949. They had three children and remained together until her death in 2017. He died at a hospital in

Swindon Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon unitary authority area had a population ...

on 16 August 2022, at the age of 95.

Publications

*''George Orwell: A Literary Life'' (Palgrave Macmillan, 1996) *''The Complete Works of George Orwell'' (Secker & Warburg, 1998) *''The Lost Orwell'' (Timewell Press, 2007) *''George Orwell: A Life in Letters'' (Penguin, 2011)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davison, Peter 1926 births 2022 deaths 20th-century biographers 21st-century biographers Academics of De Montfort University Academics of the University of Birmingham Academics of the University of Wales Trinity Saint David British academics of English literature English biographers English expatriates in Australia George Orwell Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Newcastle upon Tyne Royal Navy personnel of World War II University of Sydney faculty