The journalist and activist Norman MacKenzie, who was on the list, noted “Tubercular people often could get very strange towards the end. I’m an Orwell man, I agreed with him on the Soviet Union, but he went partly ga-ga I think. He let his dislike of the New Statesman crowd, of what he saw as leftish, dilettante, sentimental socialists who covered up for the Popular Front in Spain [after it became communist-controlled] get the better of him.”
Maybe, but I’m more inclined to take this guy’s opinion seriously because he was the object of Orwell’s wrath, yet still managed to have a measured response.
Edit: That said, I’m not sure tuberculosis has that effect. IANAD.
This isn’t a “measured” response, MacKenzie was anticommunist and probably fucking MI6 agent himself, of course he would defend Orwell even if the latter shat on his face, literally.
Here’s the main article for anyone interested: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orwell’s_list
Interesting
Not really, it’s just the old insanity line of defense for indefensable shit libs often goes for when one of theirs got their deeds brought in public.
Maybe, but I’m more inclined to take this guy’s opinion seriously because he was the object of Orwell’s wrath, yet still managed to have a measured response.
Edit: That said, I’m not sure tuberculosis has that effect. IANAD.
This isn’t a “measured” response, MacKenzie was anticommunist and probably fucking MI6 agent himself, of course he would defend Orwell even if the latter shat on his face, literally.