Biographers in Conversation

Anna Funder’s ‘Wifedom’: Restoring Visibility & Voice

Listen Later

In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies chats with multi-award-winning author Anna Funder about her choices while crafting Wifedom: Mrs Orwell’s Invisible Life. Wifedom resurrects Eileen O’Shaughnessy, a brilliant Oxford graduate who married George Orwell in 1936.  

   

Here’s what you’ll discover in this episode:   

  • Anna Funder’s inspiration for writing Wifedom  
  • Why and how Eileen O’Shaughnessy was written out of George Orwell’s life story  
  • How Anna restored Eileen’s voice and visibility  
  • How Anna challenged the traditional biographical form by blending memoir, biography, literary criticism and feminist polemic  
  • The literary devices Anna employed to craft compelling and at times, gripping, narrative  
  • How Anna retraced Eileen’s footsteps through World War Two London and the trenches of the Spanish Civil War  
  • How Anna revealed the systemic biases that have historically silenced women’s contributions, especially those of a wife or female partner  
  • Why Wifedom stands as a testament to the importance of re-examining history through a more inclusive lens, ensuring voices like Eileen’s are heard and remembered.  
    • ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store
    Biographers in ConversationBy Gabriella
    • 5
    • 5
    • 5
    • 5
    • 5

    5

    3 ratings

    More shows like Biographers in Conversation

    View all
    The New Yorker Radio Hour by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

    The New Yorker Radio Hour

    6,753 Listeners

    HistoryExtra podcast by Immediate

    HistoryExtra podcast

    3,241 Listeners

    Desert Island Discs by BBC Radio 4

    Desert Island Discs

    2,008 Listeners

    Late Night Live — Full program podcast by ABC Australia

    Late Night Live — Full program podcast

    89 Listeners

    Conversations by ABC Australia

    Conversations

    786 Listeners

    All In The Mind by ABC Australia

    All In The Mind

    754 Listeners

    Health Report by ABC Australia

    Health Report

    139 Listeners

    The Bookshelf by ABC Australia

    The Bookshelf

    43 Listeners

    Chat 10 Looks 3 by Chat 10 Looks 3

    Chat 10 Looks 3

    240 Listeners

    The Book Show by ABC Australia

    The Book Show

    20 Listeners

    What's That Rash? by ABC Australia

    What's That Rash?

    236 Listeners

    The Rest Is History by Goalhanger

    The Rest Is History

    15,717 Listeners

    The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

    The Ezra Klein Show

    16,198 Listeners

    Gone Medieval by History Hit

    Gone Medieval

    1,889 Listeners

    Secret Life of Books by Sophie Gee and Jonty Claypole

    Secret Life of Books

    91 Listeners