Wifedom - Mrs Orwell's Invisible Life (Omnibus)

Anna Funder's revelatory biography of Eileen, George Orwell's forgotten first wife. Read by Fenella Woolgar.

Here we discover a sharp, witty and fearless woman, who made an astonishing and remarkable contribution to her husband's literary work as well as his daily life.

Anna Funder, the Australian award winning writer, best known for Stasiland and All that I Am, has immersed herself in the scholarship on George Orwell to write Wifedom. Here Funder shines a light on Eileen, Orwell's extraordinary wife.

Using newly discovered letters written by Eileen, Funder paints an intimate portrait of a forgotten woman, and one of the twentieth century's most significant literary marriages.

She also illuminates the social and cultural values that kept Eileen in the shadows, and continue to shape how the world regards the unsung work of wives everywhere.

Written by Anna Funder.

Omnibus of five episodes abridged by Katrin Williams.

Read by Fenella Woolgar.

Producer: Elizabeth Allard

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2023.