I'm always a huge fan of a story shining light on the women forced to the background, especially in history. Though Funder takes a very objective and worshipful approach to Orwell, I'm ready to shout and demand attention for the woman forced into his shadow.

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I loved this book! Funder did an awesome job of recreating the scenes of Orwell's life from his wife's perspective. I wrote a review of it for the Post and Courier here: https://www.postandcourier.com/features/review-george-orwell-was-a-terrible-husband-and-other-revelations-in-wifedom/article_a2f14f9a-48e4-11ee-9fd6-e3635ca3e251.html

Anna Fundler explores a timeless truth in Wifedom, how there is consistent erasure throughout history of the ways women contribute to the success of their male counterparts, be it monetary support or menial labor or anything in between.

Fundler focuses on Eileen, wife of George Orwell, digging into the various biographies on George Orwell (born Eric Blair), noticing how the authors switch to passive voice to erase Eileen from the narrative. She digs into letters and other sources to create a framework of George and Eileen's relationship and gives a more complete picture of the time.

While Fundler has long admired Orwell, this examination of him in a new light requires her -- and us -- to consider what we do with flawed geniuses. I cannot help but ache at the ways Eileen suffered in her marriage, but how in the same token she truly allowed Orwell to flourish, and there is no doubt her edits and support contributed to his success.

Fundler wrestles with what this means for her own life, as well, finding new sympathies with a previously little known, marginalized figure. This work allows Eileen and her accomplishments to be brought to light, as we also must face what patriarchy has brought about: "We are said to have the same human rights as men, but our lesser amounts of time and money and status and safety tell us we do not." This is a thorough, provocative read.

(I received a digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.)

Anna Funder's "Wifedom," in the vein of Julian Barnes' “Flaubert’s Parrot,” is a literary hybrid in which a real-life figure is held up for examination both in the person's own right and also as a vessel for probing a concern for a real or fictional narrator.
In Barnes’ case, as the Times noted, the issue was the question of historical truth, both with regard to biographical depictions of Flaubert and, less prominently – almost too discreetly, the Times noted – the fictional narrator’s attempt to come to terms with his own wife’s betrayals and suicide.
Historical truth is also very much an issue in “Wifedom,” as the book probes what biographers of George Orwell have had to say – or, more to the point, what they haven't had to say – about his wife, Eileen, and the circumstances of her life with her husband that made marriage for her, contrary to the popular conception of matrimony being a coveted state for women, something less than ideal.
It put me in mind, the almost seeming heresy of the notion – hasn't marriage always been seen as the ideal for women in romantic fiction? – of a study or survey I came across some years ago in which not only were married women found not to be so happy as supposed, but, perhaps even more surprising, single women were found to be the happiest of all four demographic groups, single and married women and single and married men. So counter, indeed, did the results run to conventional thought as to have had me wondering over the years if I’d gotten them right, until they were verified for me by a female doctor of my acquaintance.
No thoughts from her, though, happy as she was with her singlehood, as to possible reasons for married women’s discontent, and Funder’s book at its core is a meditation on the question, with a particular focus on Eileen and how she has been diminished by Orwell historians and biographers.
When, for instance, at the end of Spain’s Civil War, in a orchestration of no small doing and no small risk to herself, Eileen helps Orwell effect his escape from Stalinists, who George feared were on his trail for the rest of his life (so fearful of them was he that he once borrowed a gun from Hemingway), her agency in the business has been diminished to where, in that indirect or passive voice of historians, his escape is seen as having simply been “achieved."
And not only have her contributions been diminished in Orwell's personal life, where at their most quotidian they were positively repugnant for her – when, for instance, it fell to her to deal with a backed-up latrine – but also in his literary achievements, where Funder also finds Eileen’s influence to have been considerable.
She notes, for instance, how when the two were in Morocco and Eileen observes in a letter that “the Arabs don’t have coffins which is nice … for the flies who leave even a restaurant for a few minutes to sample a passing corpse,” it made a funeral scene come more “pithily alive” than how it was recalled in an essay of George's.
So considerable, indeed, does Funder find Eileen's Morocco contributions that she sees them as pointing ahead to what Orwell was able to accomplish in "Animal Farm" and the “more vivid, more humane, more humorous” ways in which characters and creatures of all kinds were depicted there.
Morocco is also an occasion in the book for Orwell to manifest his predilection for infidelity, with Funder reporting how he said to Eileen at one point that with how hard he’d been working he deserved a “treat,” meaning a tryst with one of the young Arab women who had caught his eye – something he dismisses as not mattering, but Funder bets sure mattered to Eileen.
And not just on foreign soil does Orwell indulge his “pouncing,” as Funder characterizes his unfaithfulness, but on home ground, where, for instance, he makes evident his desire to bed Eileen’s close friend, Lydia, who, in addressing his unappreciated interest, complains about how "the unwelcome, the positively repellent role of an accomplice in deceit was thrust upon me."
Not that Orwell is presented as being without any redeeming personal attributes. When, for instance, he was a literary editor, Funder notes, he was kind-hearted enough that it pained him to reject even the weakest submissions – indeed, rejections so pained him that he was inclined to send money to the person being rejected (“somebody has written his heart out,” he tells a friend," and I just didn’t have the courage to send them back”).
And, above all, of course, there was the indisputable fact of his being a writer of the highest order, making for a secondary concern of Funder's book, how to reconcile such splendidness of literary creation with such deplorable personal conduct, a question about writers which has vexed readers and critics alike over the ages and indeed is the subject of a recent book, Claire Dederer's "Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma."
But to give Funder the final word on that: “To my mind, a person is not their work, just where it came from. To want the two to be the same, on pain of ‘cancellation,’ is a new kind of tyranny. And from there, no art comes. "
Words to heed in these times of cancellation and rejection.

Anna Funder's objective in writing this book was not to cancel George Orwell, and I respect that. This is a beautiful testament to a beautiful woman.

This is the first book written solely about George Orwell‘s wife Eileen O’Shaughnessy Blair was married to George Orwell who was born Eric Arthur Blair and although a lot wasn’t known about her based on six letters to her best friend Nora the author wrote this book I loved her analogy about the disappearing woman and the interactions in conversations the author had with her children that she put in the book. I found this book super interesting and although we didn’t get the letters verbatim we did get a whole new version of Eileen But make no mistake this book is way more than just a biography about an authors wife it’s also a discussion with the author about patriarchy when it started and where women stay in today I wish I was well worded and convince people to read this book it was so good I just loved it and love this author and will read anything she puts out in the future. This book is one of the main reasons I love adult non-fiction. I want to thank the publisher and Net galley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Please read my full review posted at BookBrowse: https://www.bookbrowse.com/mag/reviews/index.cfm/ref/pr299328

I absolutely love historical retellings, and I especially love when they are centered around female narratives. Silenced voices and tales deserve to be told and I was just captivated by their re-analyzed angle of one of the greats and his main support system.

I’m a bit fatigued of fictionalized biographies, especially the ones that focus on the Guy Behind the Guy (or Gal Behind the Guy, as is the case here). Structurally and in terms of overall theme they are pretty much all the same, so unless you’re just extremely enamored of the basics of the subgenre, the subject feels a bit shopworn.

The exception for me is always a subject about whom I have particular interest. I don’t mind Orwell’s work, but he’s not a favorite and his life story doesn’t hold much appeal for me. Thus his wife and her ties to his career and subsequent fame didn’t do much for me either. And while I’m glad so many women are posthumously getting credit for work or influence that their husbands got all the glory for during their lifetime, it still won’t hold my attention because without any particular affinity for Orwell’s work, it just feels like more of the same. So I suppose I don’t recommend reading these types of novels unless you’re especially enamored of the spouse of the subject,

There is no issue of quality here; Funder writes well, the pacing is fine, and the research seems thorough. For big fans of Orwell, I expect this well-constructed story will be of great interest.

I've read a lot of books about Orwell and all the books by Orwell. So when I heard there was going to be a book of dissecting the letters from his wife I was instantly interested. Anna Funder is the author of the book and she interweaves the letters with the life the two of them actually lived. It's a fascinating book and really made think back on the things I believed about Orwell that certain biographers seemed to gloss over. They can be forgiven because the newly discovered letters may not have been around when writing their bios. This book is an important book for all Orwell fans to read because as we grow as a society we often take for granted the truths we've been told and sometimes we don't get to hear about the uncomfortable truths about someone we admire. It shouldn't take away the importance of their work, though for some it does. I will definetly look at Orwell in a different light from this point on but also know that when someone that we admire for their greatness there usually are many people they may have hurt along the way and also there may be other people who made them who they are. Thank you to @knopf and #netgalley for the read. I've learned so much from this book. Excited to share this book!

My opinion is not a popular one. I must have read a different book than others did. I thought this book was slow, boring and a mish-mash of the story of George Orwell's wife, Eileen.

There was no easy flow of the book. The author used biographies on Orwell, Eileen's own letters to friends and family, as well as the authors opinions about their marriage. Those that like Orwell as a writer, may come away with a totally different view of him. He was a sexist man that had no respect for his wife. He cheated on her countless times. Eileen supported them for years and worked herself to the bones. Orwell comes off in a very bad light in this book.

I just struggled to read it. I thought I should have DNF'D it, but kept thinking I would find out why she stayed. My only reason is that she truly loved him. Not my favorite book, but not the worst I read, either.

Tentative publishing date: August 22, 2023

Thanks to Netgalley and Knopf for the E-ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

😊 Happy Reading 😊

#netgalley
#knopf
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Anna Fundervhas written a unique fascinating memoir writing about George Orwell and his barely known wife Eileen.She also blends in her life her world so this is also a memoir. I was drawn into George Orwells world and the authors world.So unusual so creative a wonderful read. #netgalley #wifedom

Anna Funder’s book exposes George Orwell with a side that has been invisible for years until recently when six letters were found – letters that his first wife, Eileen Blair, wrote to her best friend, Norah Symes Myles.

Orwell is known as an “influential serious author of the 20th century.” However, the way he treated Eileen was another matter. The beautiful, intelligent and witty Oxford graduate changed after she married Eric Blair (with the pen name of George Orwell).

The young couple moved into his family’s 16th century English cottage in Wallington that lacked electricity. Her dream of writing would be derailed as she would now be busy caring for her husband, feeding the animals and taking care of the garden as well as cooking and cleaning. She hated the cold winters. Orwell was needy and manipulative. It was accepted for women to be in a secondary role at that time. Yet, Eileen edited and retyped his work which helped him to become famous.

Funder follows the timeline from their marriage in 1936 until the time George Orwell died in 1950 with an overview of the family and intense time during the Spanish Civil War. She combines a highly researched historical account with highlights from the letters along with photos. Funder also includes a few personal remarks in the long chapters which some may enjoy or find it to be distracting.

Eileen was the good wife. “His work was her purpose.” There are multiple interesting and complex cases of where she extended herself to make his life comfortable while he did nothing to reciprocate when she very much needed it. She was also aware of his affairs with other women.

Orwell’s manipulative behavior towards Eileen in the book is upsetting and sets a different opinion of the man that is admired for his brilliant books. Funder wanted to draw attention to the way he controlled Eileen. It's certainly disturbing to read about how the marriage weakened her in many ways. She died young, at the age of 39 alone from a botched operation trying to save a few dollars.

It would be a good discussion for a book club about a woman’s role with marriage to a dominate man. Also, can an author’s personal thoughts, behaviors and characterizations change the way one feels about their books?

My thanks to Alfred A. Knopf and NetGalley for allowing me to read this advanced copy with an expected release date of August 22, 2023.

Anna Funder is the author of well-received fiction and nonfiction books. She bases her book about George Orwell’s first wife on the letters written by Eileen O'Shaughnessy to her female friend and to her husband of nine years. Funder credits O’ Shaughnessy with larger influence on Orwell’s life than was previously acknowledged. She also investigates their marriage. She says that Orwell's biographies written by men had largely wiped O' Shaughnessy out of Orwell's life and she wants to right this wrong. In parallel with that, Anna is looking at her own experience as a wife and mother. She says, "I would look under the motherload of wifedom I had taken on, and see who was left. I would read Orwell on the tyrannies, the ‘smelly little orthodoxies’ of his time, and I would use him to liberate myself from mine." This book is very compelling and original in style. It is for those who are interested in the life of George Orwell, the topics of marriage and a place of a woman in it. For all the admirers of Orwell's talent the big question after reading this book would be, how do you reconcile Orwell’s genius as a writer and his really bad behavior as a husband? It is also a good book to read for those who are interested in innovative writing blending genres forms.

Readers who hold George Orwell in high esteem may be best served not reading this book, as it will do them no favors in regards to his personal character. The book covers the marriage of Orwell to his wife Eileen, and offers a much more unvarnished perspective than previously seen in delving into their relationship. Even though the Orwells lived in a different time, it’s hard for a modern woman not to struggle with the toxic masculinity and the helplessness with everyday tasks so that Orwell can focus all his efforts on the much more important task of writing. These things are not what drove me crazy about the book, as they were enlightening and eye-opening. The way the story is told is a mess. It’s told in the time of the Orwell with presumed actions and interactions based on information available. It’s also told through letters Eileen wrote. It’s also told through recollections of people that knew the couple. It’s also told by the author as she researches them, and her interpretation of their relationship. This is all mish-mashed together and makes it difficult to keep straight the perspectives. It may be more obvious distinguishing these in a final copy, but it won’t change the structure itself that I didn’t care for. And even after reading this, while I had a better understanding of their relationship and how awful Orwell was, Eileen still feels like a ghost to me that defines her role in life by how she can serve her spouse. That she questions whether she is worthy of medical attention she desperately needs is terribly sad to me.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I did not like this "biography". I say that term loosely because of the way the author had of writing. One moment, it's her personal memoir, reflecting on her own life with anecdotes that are supposed to tie into the Orwell's life, but it was too much of a stretch for me. Then the reader gets some biographical information about the couple. And when we do get biographical info, it's interspersed with prose. It almost feels like Funder was just padding out the biography because so little is known about Eileen, and what she found out couldn't fill up a whole book.

Instead of a straight biography about Orwell's wife, Eileen, we got this disjointed mess. The author says she didn't want to write historical fiction, but at times, that's how it reads, interjecting stuff that no biographer could know unless it was written down in a letter or journal. Stuff like pushing hair away from the face or lighting a cigarette. This is the type of biography I hate reading because little things are made up, which makes me question all the research done.

In keeping with my rules, I will not review any book below three stars on my blog and will not share on social media, only Goodreads.

Wifedom: Mrs. Orwell’s Invisible Life, by Anna Funder

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy of this book.

This is more than a biography of a woman mostly hidden behind her husband’s fame, first by domesticity and then by history. It is a meditation and exploration of what it means to be the quiet but vital partner in a relationship. This silent partner almost always is a woman, who gives up her talent and aspirations in the service of her husband’s ambitions.
George Orwell’s work is precious to the author, Anna Funder, and she turns to it at a time of great stress in her own life as mother, wife, and writer. Wondering about Orwell’s wife, Eileen O’Shaughnessy, Funder begins writing this book in an effort to become visible to herself – to determine what is important to her as a modern-day woman and writer. Not only does she discover much about Orwell’s little-known wife; she describes the process of self-discovery through research and writing.

Though Funder begins by saying she does not want to disparage Orwell (real name: Eric Blair), the events she describes make it difficult to forgive him for the ways in which he used Eileen not just domestically and financially, but as a sounding board, thinker, and editor, yet omitted her from recognition, let alone mention, in his work. His attitudes and behavior towards women in general are disturbing and at times disgusting. He is no hero, whatever the importance of his work.

As sources for her work, Funder uses recently found letters from Eileen, memoirs and diaries of her close friends and colleagues. The book is rich in research and in imagination, as she details scenes with no record in order to bring Eileen to life. This raises a question: in a sense, is Eileen being used again, this time as a warning of the effects of patriarchy?

Eileen seems to have had little sense of self-worth, and her effort to spend as little as possible on herself may have cost her life, as she died from a hysterectomy done at the smallest expense. At one point Funder writes that “wifedom is a wicked magic trick we’ve learned to play on ourselves.” Her thoughtful and thought-provoking book shows some of how that “magic” is conjured, through a patriarchy that makes what a woman does disappear, and then makes the woman herself vanish.

I was really looking forward to this biography because it is on George Orwell’s wife. However, this biography feels very disorganized. It is sad because I think she makes a fascinating subject.

I don't think I have read a conglomerate work like this--biography, personal essay, literary analysis, fiction. The format serves the subject well. I appreciate that Anna Funder does not serve up a bitter feminist banter, but instead presents what biographers might have missed when documenting Orwell's life and why his wife, Eileen, should get a second look (or more). It's probable the same could be said for many women behind great men. I found the piece to be thoughtful and balanced, and I still have more to ponder on the subject. I received this book as an e-arc from Netgalley.