When Anna Funder turned to her literary hero, George Orwell, for inspiration, she discovered not just that Eileen O’Shaughnessy, his first wife's, contribution had been ignored by his biographers but that Orwell himself had blatantly downplayed both her work and her contribution. 

In her book Wifedom, Funder forensically proves Orwell’s deliberate erasure of his wife and not only puts O’Shaughnessy back in the story, but in the process comes face to face with the doublethink of patriarchy and how it continues to shape women’s lives today. Funder is joined by Jemma Birrell for this conversation, as she unpacks Orwell's double-edged legacy and her latest masterpiece.  

This event was recorded at All About Women festival at the Sydney Opera House on March 10, 2024. 

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