Earlylands in Conversation - Episode 19 - Novelist and Biographer DJ Taylor on the Fascinating Life and Continuing Relevance of George Orwell

"Orwell himself has become what academics would call a floating signifier. He's escaped from his original grounding like a hot air balloon and gone floating off across the landscapes of the world. And he means virtually anything that anybody wants him to mean." DJ Taylor on the legacy of George Orwell

As we close out 2025, a year that has undoubtedly been one of the most consequential in recent memory, the Earlylands team thought it would be appropriate to have a conversation that could shed light on a man – George Orwell – whose name has become an adjective that is an ever increasing part of daily discourse.

We are very fortunate to be joined in this endeavor by DJ Taylor, who is considered Orwell’s leading biographer (in addition to being a highly successful novelist and short story writer). Taylor published in 2023 Orwell: The New Life, which served as a major revision to his previous award-winning work, Orwell: The Life, which was released in 2003. The most recent book received wide critical praise, such as the Wall Street Journal noting that, “Expertly told and subtle in judgment, 'The New Life' will not be the last word in the ever-growing field of Orwelliana, but it will become its central monument.”

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Books mentioned on the podcast:

Orwell: The New Life by DJ Taylor

On 1984 by DJ Taylor

Finding George Orwell in Burma by Emma Larkin

Eileen: The Making of George Orwell by Sylvia Topp

Orwell's Roses by Rebecca Solnit