During the Oban launch of a book on the life of George Orwell, its author got a big surprise when a former neighbour of the novelist turned up.
And he even brought photos to prove it.
Author Norman Bissell, whose book Barnhill is published by Luath Press, was delighted to meet Jura man Ian MacKinnon, who was a schoolboy at the time Orwell and his family lived on the island.
Mr Bissell’s book focuses on Orwell’s life while he lived at remote farmhouse on the island of Jura, Barnhill. At the time Orwell – real name Eric Blair – was recuperating from tuberculosis and completing the dystopian classic 1984.
At one of the first events to launch the book in Oban, Mr Bissell was surprised when one audience member, Ian MacKinnon, came forward to say he could give a first hand account of Orwell and his family living on the island.
Mr Bissell said: “To have someone in the audience who was actually there at the time Orwell was on the island was quite something.
“It was great to meet Mr MacKinnon and to see his photographs – I hope to see him again so that we can chat about it more.”
Mr Bissell’s book focuses on Orwell’s desperate struggle to complete 1984 before his health fails,
‘Orwell was passionate in his defence of truth,’ Mr Bissell says. ‘He was consumed by the need to alert us to what could happen if we do not stand up against those who lie and spy on us to maintain their power.
‘I live on the Isle of Luing, in sight of Jura, and became fascinated by the contrast between this beautiful place where Orwell lived and the horrors he depicts in Nineteen Eighty-Four.
“I wanted to bring to life the man, his family and friends, and to tell the moving story of how he sacrificed his own future for the greater good.”
Bissell gives a vivid portrayal of Orwell’s efforts to be self-supporting on Jura, and the terrifying incident when he, his son, nephew and niece almost drowned in the Corryvreckan whirlpool.
