Review: Vivien Horler
Wifedom – Mrs Orwell’s invisible life, by Anna Funder (Hamish Hamilton/Penguin)
The picture on the cover hints at the story: a half-glimpse of an attractive woman, intelligent-looking, good hair – but almost not there at all.
And if you read George Orwell, or his biographies, that would be the impression you’re left with – where is Eileen Orwell?
This book – part memoir, part fiction, and part biography – appeared in 2023 and has garnered excellent reviews. I came across it in a bookshop in Sydney’s Kingsford Smith airport – Anna Funder lives in Sydney – recognised I had read about it, and bought it. By the time I reached Cape Town, nearly 24 hours later, I had almost finished it.
It has been described variously as electrifying, brilliant, spellbinding, fascinating. I would go with all those adjectives.
It’s a look at marriage, as the title suggests, and why women, particularly clever, ambitious women, should probably have nothing to do with it. Continue reading