George Orwell Orwell's gravestone bears the simple epitaph: "Here lies Eric Arthur Blair, born June 25th 1903, died January 21st 1950"; no mention is made on the gravestone of his more famous pen name. Orwell's son, Richard Horatio Blair, was brought up by Orwell's sister Avril. He maintains a public profile as patron of the Orwell Society. He gives interviews about the few memories he has of his father. In 1979, Sonia Brownell brought a High Court action against Harrison when he declared an intention to subdivide his 25 percent share of the company between his three children. For Sonia, the consequence
Why Orwell Matters induced to return to the source." George Packer of "The Independent" gave the book a mixed review, however, remarking, ""Why Orwell Matters" is presented by its publisher as a case of posthumous affinity between writers across generations, but critic and subject turn out to be mismatched, and it's the critic who suffers as a result." Despite praising many of Hitchens's analyses of Orwell, Packer added, "For a slender book, "Why Orwell Matters" is oddly unfocused and hard to get through. What Hitchens has to say is what a sympathetic reader of Orwell would want said. But he never sustains a