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) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to a ...

Background

Born in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

on 10 September 1926, he worked in the Crown Film Unit 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 (American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, UK) or paleography (American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, US) (ultimately from , , 'old', and , , 'to write') is the study and academic disciplin ...

Career

After some time as a Fellow at the Shakespeare Institute, a lecturer at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

, and as lecturer and senior lecturer at

Birmingham University The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

, he was appointed Professor of English at Saint David's University College (later

University of Wales Trinity Saint David The University of Wales Trinity Saint David () is a public university with three main campuses in South West Wales, in Carmarthen, Lampeter and Swansea, a fourth campus in London, and learning centres in Cardiff, and Birmingham. The university ...

) and then at the University of Kent and

De Montfort University De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) is a public university in the city of Leicester, England. It was established in accordance with the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, Further and Higher Education Act in 1992 as a degree awarding body ...

, Leicester. He was later an

emeritus professor ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

of English at Glyndŵr University. In 1992, he was president of the Bibliographical Society 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 The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), formerly the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). UKRI is a non-departmental public body (NDPB) funded by the UK government. ESRC provides fundi ...

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 Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

. 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

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 in Wiltshire, England. At the time of the 2021 Census the population of the built-up area was 183,638, making it the largest settlement in the county. Located at the northeastern edge of the South West England region, Swi ...

on 16 August 2022, at the age of 95.

Collections

In 2004 Davison donated his archive to

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

. The collection includes material relating to his books, correspondence with publishers, and photocopies of Orwell's work which have been annotated by Davison.

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)

External links

Davison Papers
at

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davison, Peter 1926 births 2022 deaths 20th-century English biographers 21st-century British 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 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 Academic staff of the University of Sydney Presidents of the Bibliographical Society