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sharkybookshelf's review against another edition
2.0
An attempted biography of Eileen Orwell and her significant contributions to George Orwell’s work and life, exploring the question of what it is to be a wife…
Going into this, I knew nothing about Eileen Orwell - honestly, I’m not sure I even knew Orwell was married. So in that respect, it was great to learn about a woman effectively erased from history by Orwell’s biographers (apparently on purpose). Her work in the Spanish Civil War was especially interesting, as were her likely contributions to Orwell’s work. It does present an unflattering portrait of Orwell, and Funder grapples a bit with how to approach a favourite author who, it turns out, was rather a dick.
But…
There are fictional inserts where Funder imagines events, and whilst the formatting clearly delineates the fictional parts, that clarity between fact and fiction evaporates when I think back on what I read. There’s also a lot of conjecture about how Eileen would have felt, mostly based on how Funder her spec would have felt, rather than any indication on Eileen’s part. Both of these are quite an issue and weaken the book overall.
Fundamentally, the problem is the minimal source material - it felt like Funder was trying to make a lot out of not very much.. Yes, the book is based on six recently-discovered letters from Eileen to a friend, but she didn’t leave behind any diaries or anything else that truly reveals her thoughts and opinions. It’s irritating to repeatedly read that Eileen “must have” felt/wanted/been… - must she? Based on what exactly?
The “wifedom” theme and attempt to equate the expectations that Eileen faced as a wife to those faced by contemporary women had potential. Contemporary women means Funder herself - it involved a lot of self-inserts by the author, which I lost patience with. I don’t think Eileen was the best choice of subject - again, it comes down to the minimal source material.
An interesting enough undertaking, but as a biography of Eileen Orwell, it is seriously weakened by all the conjecture and fictional interludes.
ktteacher's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
kaithrin's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
samikoonjones's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.75
maryvdb2024's review against another edition
4.0
This is a book about the obscurity of - Eileen O'Shaughnessy - behind her famous writer husband, George Orwell. All Orwell's previous biographies relegate "his Wife" to footnotes or leave her out all together, though Eileen's letter to Norah on which "Wifedom" weaves her story around only come to light in 2005. Wifedom makes a very important contribution to the literary world. Funders own position resonated strongly. How sad that so little has changed for women and how adept we are at adapting to an unequal world, forced by economics, lack of affordable childcare and keeping the peace. As Funder states"this kind of labour theft, and erasure mechanism of patriarchy, operates on you as a woman no matter how privileged you are" (Q&A interview with Penguin on 19 June 2023),
Eileen's contribution to Orwell's literary output is clear - she made conditions perfect for Orwell to be incredibly productive. As Funder points out we could all perform better with a "wife" like Eileen behind us. Better reading review aptly states "Compelling and utterly original, Wifedom speaks to the unsung work of women everywhere today, while offering a breathtakingly intimate view of one of the most important literary marriages of the 20th century. It’s a book that speaks to our present moment as much as it illuminates the past".
'All biography is partial, but Funder makes an undeniable case for believing in Eileen. Careful not to overstate her input to Orwell’s writing, she sees an obvious reason for his creative growth after marriage. Certainly Eileen suggested making Animal Farm a fable; most likely her poem End of the Century, 1984, and her second world war work in the Ministry of Information, fed the dystopian masterpiece written after her death". (Susan Wyndham, Gaurdian (7 July 2023)
"Patriarchy is the doublethink that allows an apparently ‘decent’ man to behave badly to women … In order for men to do their deeds and be innocent of them at the same time, women must be human – but not fully so, or a ‘sense of falsity and guilt’ would set in. So women 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. Women, too, must keep two contradictory things in our heads at all times: I am human, but I am also less than human. Our lived experience makes a lie of the rhetoric of the world. We live on the dark side of Doublethink".
I highly recommend this book. It really spoke to me. Thank you Anna Funder.
Eileen's contribution to Orwell's literary output is clear - she made conditions perfect for Orwell to be incredibly productive. As Funder points out we could all perform better with a "wife" like Eileen behind us. Better reading review aptly states "Compelling and utterly original, Wifedom speaks to the unsung work of women everywhere today, while offering a breathtakingly intimate view of one of the most important literary marriages of the 20th century. It’s a book that speaks to our present moment as much as it illuminates the past".
'All biography is partial, but Funder makes an undeniable case for believing in Eileen. Careful not to overstate her input to Orwell’s writing, she sees an obvious reason for his creative growth after marriage. Certainly Eileen suggested making Animal Farm a fable; most likely her poem End of the Century, 1984, and her second world war work in the Ministry of Information, fed the dystopian masterpiece written after her death". (Susan Wyndham, Gaurdian (7 July 2023)
"Patriarchy is the doublethink that allows an apparently ‘decent’ man to behave badly to women … In order for men to do their deeds and be innocent of them at the same time, women must be human – but not fully so, or a ‘sense of falsity and guilt’ would set in. So women 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. Women, too, must keep two contradictory things in our heads at all times: I am human, but I am also less than human. Our lived experience makes a lie of the rhetoric of the world. We live on the dark side of Doublethink".
I highly recommend this book. It really spoke to me. Thank you Anna Funder.